Interrogating

I wonder about mass, and, specifically, the space that exists between mass.

More than that, though, I recognize that there is no absolute context and vocabulary with which to discuss this wonder, to identify this emptiness, to question this void. We cannot define what is not; we only define what is.

Photography provides, in essence, a documentation of the void. The process of capturing images relies on the movement of photons across some distance, which leave an imprint on a prepared surface as evidence of that space. However, this cannot provide answers; this is only a response to the asking of questions.

I find myself asking questions of the void, sometimes shouting desperately at the emptiness, often demanding replies to resolve all of the issues created by the collective human need for delineations and organizations of a measurable reality. The answers never come; what I find often creates more problems than if I had never asked to begin with. This never dissuades me.

The camera's ability to capture a void space and render it into a static object provides a sense of power, even if I know the fallacies of relying on that power. I make photographs that remind us of the emptiness between masses, that the space between people, barriers, ideals, and messages contain just as much information, if not more, than the positive masses we can easily discuss. The void has a weight and a structure to it, a meaning that we've ascribed to it by virtue of identifying the things that already exist.

I don't know what happens with this evidence; I just know that it's important to make it.

07 July 2014

Shadowplay; editing notes

People tend to ascribe a notion of purity and truth to photographs, as if the translation from photons bouncing off objects to pixel data recorded on a chip (or causing a chemical reaction with a strip coated in silver nitrate) holds some sort of absolute fact about the world with little room for deceit. Relatedly, I find problems with the term 'post-processing', as it implies excess actions that one has performed on a captured image that somehow dilute the validity of the photograph.

On the other side of the issue, I feel a responsibility to present an image that accurately represents my interpretation of the space, taking into consideration everything from the state of my eyesight to any romantic notions I have about how foggy alleyway mornings ought to appear. If I fail to translate my thoughts on a particular space to a viewer, have I failed to present the image appropriately? Does someone need to be able to identify this moment and location in reality in order for it to be a truthful photograph?

It's complicated. This is why I bristle when people ask me for technical details about my photographs, as if the pen I used to put together a piece of writing mattered just as much as the words I stitched together.

These images are a sequence of drafts, from the JPG that my camera's internal software rendered as a companion to the raw format I worked from, through several iterations of color balance adjustment and spot-editing to emphasize a specific sens of space and object definition. Some changes are more subtle than others, depending on your viewing conditions.

08 April 2014

The Qatar Lab

In the spring of 2013, I lived in Qatar as a photography instructor on Carnegie Mellon University's branch campus. There had been no prior photography classes on that campus, so I improvised.

Facilities

I used the biology department's chemistry lab as my base of operations, as they could provide me with chemicals and lab equipment. I did not have access to any space that could handle conversion to a traditional red-light darkroom, so I modified my workflow to allow work under white light. From the Pittsburgh campus, I imported a few plastic trays, film developing tanks and reels, and a film changing bag that allowed daylight manipulation of undeveloped film. For producing images, I used a Hasselblad 500 and a Toyo 4x5 view camera to expose film, created negatives from digital files printed on Pictorico transparency film, and wet/oiled paper prints.

The lab reserved a hood for my chemical storage, and I did most of my prep work for mixing solutions and coating paper in the lab after hours. I relied on late morning and mid-afternoon sunlight as a UV source, but also experimented with a small UV illuminator used by the biology program. I stored all non-hazardous materials and equipment in my office on the other side of the building, where I could also set up a clothesline for drying prints.

Materials

The chemistry lab was able to order raw materials from Sigma Aldrich, but import regulations made some photography-specific compounds harder to get. I enjoyed giving myself the challenge of creating photographic solutions from scratch; the only thing that surprised me was that hydrogen peroxide was unavailable, both in stores and through the lab.

For film developer, I used caffenol, a coffee-based solution that can be produced from items available at a typical grocery store. I used instant Folgers coffee from the faculty break room, sodium carbonate from the supermarket, and crushed vitamin C tablets from the pharmacy to get ascorbic acid. For fixer, I ordered pure sodium thiosulfate through the lab and mixed a 10% solution. I opted not to use a particular stop bath or hypo clear, and just used a long water rinse to clean the film. The lab provided silver waste disposal services.

I decided on print processes that could take advantage of the strong, consistent sunlight of the Arabian peninsula, along with being well-suited to limited facilities. I was able to order ammonium ferric citrate and potassium ferricyanide for cyanotype, gum arabic and potassium dichromate for gum bichromate, and table salt and silver nitrate for salt printing. I brought over a large stash of Rives BFK paper and a bolt of unbleached muslin for printmaking. In addition, I used bleach, sodium carbonate, and tannic acid produced from faculty break room teabags for toning prints, and liquid watercolor pigment for coloring gum.

For more specific information about the caffenol process and the courses I taught, see the documents page.

01 April 2014