Stoney Run, Baltimore
I have been taking pictures in a small patch of Baltimore’s urban wilderness called Stoney Run for several years now. I was supposed to be heading down there this weekend, but unfortunately the trip had to be postponed. I’m still hoping to make it before the end of winter.
It is interesting to go back and look through the photos I’ve taken in this area over the years, as they show a clear progression of my growth as a photographer. The first time I visited with my new “photographer’s eyes” (2007, I think), I took a few unremarkable pictures of the area with a digital SLR. Something about the place piqued my interest, though, and I returned the next year with a medium format camera and some black and white film. Some of those pictures ended up as part of The universal theory of absolutely everything.
In March of 2009 my wife and I visited our friends in Baltimore again and I took another batch of photos in the ravine. It was some of my first work using color film and I was very happy with the results. Over time, however, I became dissatisfied with the scanning, processing, and selection of images, and I eventually removed them from my site.
I have finally gotten around to re-scanning and processing everything, creating a new edit, and posting them to my site. It’s incredible how much I’ve learned about dealing with color film in that time, and how much better the photos look. The tighter edit leaves me with just seven photos, which isn’t very many, but I think the series is very much improved by its brevity.
Wyman Park, Baltimore
I was planning to bring my large format camera to Baltimore this time. That will unfortunately have to wait, but I look forward to making more work in this hidden part of the city for years to come. I suppose after I finally get down there with the 4×5, the only thing left will be to get an 8×10!
February 12, 2010