Despite not writing a word about this since April 2008 the project has continued. This evening I was processing film in the darkroom. Back in November photography ground to a halt as my friend Gordon and I began to edit our images and put together a Blurb book. For me that’s a difficult process and one I go to great lengths to avoid. I’m finally wrapping up work on the 24 or so images that will appear in the book reflecting my experience with the project.
It’s good to be back in the darkroom processing film. This evening it was two rolls of 35mm Ilford HP5 processed in ZonalPro film developer. A heady affair with a new Nikon D700 digital SLR camera keep my Leica M6 in the camera bag for a long time but now we’re back together, the Leica my primary creative sketching tool. The D700 is an amazing tool and can do things I did not think possible. But after the glow of newness faded I found it cold, empty, and without the magic I feel shooting, processing film and making prints in a darkroom.
Darkrooms are cozy places and maybe sometime I’ll try and make a picture that depicts that feeling. But even with the lights on a see a lot of comforting things around. And once the lights go down, the sound of water running, and some soft music, well, it is a great place to work.
