Category archives: process
The burden of the past
Brooklyn, New York
Studio360 did an interview with classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein this week that got me thinking. Dinnerstein recently released a very successful version of the Goldberg Variations, a well-known piano work by J.S. Bach. Glenn Gould famously recorded this piece in 1955, and then again in 1981. Both of Gould’s versions are stunning in their own way (I prefer 1981), and there are plenty of other great performances to choose from as well.
Landscape Theory
Bronx, New York
I continue to wander the wilds of New York City searching for a unified theory of landscape photography. Recent experiments with exposure and depth of field have yielded many interesting failures, but only a few successes. I feel I may be at an important turning point: shrugging off some preconceived notions of what makes a good picture and more clearly able to see into the landscape for what it is.
into the woods
Self Portrait, Sleepy Hollow, 4x5 Pinhole Photograph
There are the obvious visual clues as to the camera I am using here: the distorted wide angle, the vignetting and blurring of the edges of the image. The pinhole camera also lacks a viewfinder, which means that you have to look carefully when planning your picture and be willing to accept that things won’t always go the way you expect them to.
Testing… testing… is this thing on?
I have been holed up in my basement for the last two weeks, coming up for air only occasionally. I’m pretty sure my wife has forgotten what I look like by now. I’ve been hard at work developing my process for palladium printing with digital negatives. It has been hit-or-miss so far: these test charts represent only about half of the total work I’ve done in the darkroom. Some of the charts are getting close, but I’m still not really happy with any of them.
Weird Science
Plate burner exposing a digital negative on Pt/Pd paper
All of my equipment and chemicals arrived last week, so I’m finally able to get started in the darkroom with platinum and palladium. So far I’m just doing exposure and calibration tests; nothing to report except that things seem to be doing what they’re supposed to be doing and that I’ve got a lot of work to do.