February 04, 2005

of days gone by...

I spent the majority of the day in the darkroom during my time being introduced to photography. When my classes ended at noon, I'd go straight to the darkroom and live in there til it closed at 9:30 pm. I'd print side by side with Doug, another photographer wanna be. We were the only maniacs that spent more time in the dark then the day. We lived and breathed photography and learned from each other as we brought in books by Avedon, Penn, magazines like American Photographer and Zoom. Openly we shared printing technique and built our portfolios, of which there are photos I am still proud of today.

During those learning years, I don't remember so much hitting the shutter, as much as seeing the image slowly appear from nothing. The smell of dektol, stop and fixer and the stepping in the room filled with amber. The communion between all of the other students trying to create "The" print, regardless of subject matter was the goal. We all worked towards that goal, together.
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2 comments:

Randy said...

I remember those days. I remember the camaraderie of photographers. For me personally, it was not even so much about "the" print as it was about the process of creation. The process of art.

Part of what is missing in today's digital world is the "magic" of the process. Going out and shooting a roll of film and no matter how skilled you were, it was always a mystery as to how the negative would look. Seeing the film come out of the stainless steel tank, pulling the wet film up and across a lightbulb and seeing your vision become reality. The magic of seeing that image come up in the photographic chemicals.

The digital world is repeatable, controlled and sterile. It's hard to think that the process of art, that magical act of creation has any home in the world of digits.

10:24 AM
Erio said...

I agree to some degree that there has been some magic lost while in the darkroom. I dove into digital in the early years and thought I'd never look back. Though I would not invest in anymore film equipment, I'd jump at the chance to print a photo on Ilford Gallerie Matt again. I'll have to admit though that the only film I would shoot these days would be Polaroid Type 55. And those negs are a bear to print! I am sure after having to deal with the dust issues and the fragile nature of film, I'd come back to digital open armed.

4:06 PM

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