About The Work
I work almost exclusively in black and white film photography. I appreciate that black and white images begin by not being tied to reality. The world is not black and white. Once we allow ourselves to view the world in a different reality, the room for expression is limitless.
I look at a photographic print in two ways. First, the image. What's in the frame? Am I drawn to the subject matter and its composition? What does it say? Do I want a closer look? Second, what does the print itself look like? Are the blacks, black? The whites, white? What is the surface texture? Would I like to touch it? Does the paper appear to have substance? Is there a surface patina?
For my purposes, both qualities come together in selenium toned, gelatin silver prints on heavy fiber based paper. Image and texture. It is this combination that continues to draw me to the darkroom. Each print becomes its own original since it is impossible to produce two prints that are identical even if done at the same time. Developers dilute and temperatures change. Dodging and burning takes on their own life.
The images are offered in numbered sets of 10 to 15 prints. Since I am not looking for reality, I experiment with the tonal range of the print and what is included in the cropping. When I find the one that pleases me the most, I document the exposures, developing times, papers and chemistry so that I can complete a "set" under similar conditions. While I make every attempt to conform all the prints to the image chosen, the side-by-side comparisons inevitably reveal slight differences.
I usually shoot Ilford FPR 4 and print on Ilford Multigrade or Brilliant fiber-based papers. Edwal's Ultra Black is my preferred developer and the prints are then toned in selenium. The selenium is used to clarify the whites and blacks and is stopped before the color of the print is noticeably affected. The final prints are then spotted and scanned for use on websites and in publications. The studio-based work is taken on a medium format Mamiya RZ-67. None of the images are sold in digital form and are available only as gelatin silver prints in limited editions.
We are clearly in an accelerating evolution of the photographic image. Photo festivals and industry magazines have been carrying on the digital vs. film debate for some years now. It is interesting that the intensive workshops at the festivals are almost all now directed toward digital work while the professional photo reviewers at those same festivals will hold a sturdy double weight gelatin silver print in appreciation and lament its passing. Galleries and collectors continue their own debate as to which is a true work of art and what is its worth.
My background is solely in the wet darkroom. Mistakes in the darkroom are common, at least in my experience, all of which may explain the joy of a successfully completed image. From my personal point of view, there is something special about a gelatin silver print on good double weight fiber paper. It possesses a surface texture and patina that I do not think can be matched in the digital work at this time. The digital print may be perfect thanks to the wonderment of Photoshop. But few things are perfect and I believe that is especially true in the world of art. Some of my mistakes have become my favorites.