When I was here, back in February, one of the actions of self-preservation was a resolve to print and print and print. More about that critical period soon, but emerging, I’ve come to feel rather deeply that the work is of no consequence unless it is printed.
This one’s still in the wash: beneath a running hose maybe a cm below the surface.
The paper had lots of irritating little faults in it: black smudgy spots like a felt tip pen mark, but just under the surface. And a couple of the negatives I’d wanted to print turned out to have strange tiny holes, or were scratched. It’s been frustrating. But to some extent darkrooms can be frustrating places: it’s part of what makes it all worth doing.
So on the whole, I’m rather pleased, it’s been a good day’s work. It’s the long term project.
Everything else I’m doing fits into this.
The denes, the salters’ and pilgrims’ lanes, places where people were once very busy, but are no more. Land that’s ready to be something else, or isn’t ready at all. Two earlier pieces of this work, printed at the beginning of March are in Darlington Media Group’s members’ exhibition, which opens on 17th. It has been wonderful working with photographers again.
The paper is Ilfospeed semi-matt fibre paper, a heavy curl with the convex side the sensitive surface. It’s matt, nothing semi- about it, and it’s just right for this. The colour is much less sepia, more black & white than this, and the right size and shape for those who’re looking for submissions of an A3 print for an exhibition.
Relieved? I’ll say.
Would you like to see more of these? Digital photographs or scans of proper prints?
Similar Posts:
- The Seaham Dive Survey
- Ephemera Display
- Summer Degree Shows 2008
- Handy Zone Ruler and Another Rebuild
- Quotidian Ends
Popularity: 1% [?]
8 Comments
Despite their ‘faults’ I think they look excellent, from what I can make out. You can’t beat the old ‘fix finger’ smell! :)
Yes, I’m pleased. Must say the fall-off on that one second down is that good. :)
We must arrange a time for you to come up & check it out. Am horribly busy the next 2 weeks, but after that? let’s put something in the diary, huh? Sort it out via twitter?
I haven’t been in a darkroom for ages… I miss the smell!
I’ll lend you stuff if you want to start developing your own. I have lots of spare tanks & a thermometer. You’ll need chems & a dark bag. Just let me know & I’ll give you a quick lesson.
Do we want more? Does the tide come in then go out? Really tempting glimpses of something wonderful here, I feel – you’re so cruel!
It sitting here, less than 5 minutes away, although some is off for exhibition mounting.
The photography of the prints adds another dimension of mystery.
Main thing is, they just look bleh scanned, and at least photographed like this, they look like actual artifacts. The tension between the necessity of showing them, and the way they look on a computer screen us always there. I’d prefer not to scan them at all really.
2 Trackbacks
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brenda Burrell. Brenda Burrell said: http://www.thephotographypages.co.uk/2010/04/today-in-the-darkroom/ aka why I smell so strongly of fixative. [...]
[...] so will be calling in at lunchtime today to see that space and how the work has been displayed. The work I submitted is soft matt prints of fallow brown land, urban disguised as a meadow or building site, so it may [...]