Well here we are in 2009. I won’t go on about the obvious financial turmoil we are experiencing except to say that I believe this will not be resolved soon. We are going through a fundamental series of changes to our lifestyle that will eventually prove to be of great benefit. In the meantime however, I am sure that expenditure on photography is down (like everything else) and everyone is hurting to some extent. That should not restrict creativity however and this is a good time to get down to photographing those close to home items that have been calling to you for such a long time.
Speaking for myself, I have been re-reading John Blakemore’s “Black and White Photography Workshop” and have found it just as stimulating the second time as it was the first time. I have redone my film speed tests prior to my trip to England in March. I have also secured the rights to exclusive rental darkroom usage for 5 days per month (I do not have a darkroom of my own) wherein I will prepare my own chemicals for use with silver bromide and chlorobromide papers). I am keen to try the new Lodima Fine Art chlorobromide paper produced by Michael A Smith and Paula Chamlee. I have also taken my trusty old Toyo Field 4x5 out of mothballs and have some still life and natural environment black and white large format projects in mind that I am looking forward to working on.
During the last few months I have done a lot of traveling (too much perhaps) and have recently returned from trips to Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela. While in those countries I managed to add several churches to my growing portfolio of church interiors using HDR technology (see below) and I now have well over 50 churches in the portfolio. This is probably the year I will make my next Blurb self-published book of the first batch of church interiors. I am also thinking of publishing some of my airplane window shots (I know that Julieanne Kost has already done this superbly but there is so much more to show).
In March I will be returning to England to complete the work for my second “Pathways of Childhood” book subtitled “Manchester”. I am looking forward to filling in some of the gaps left from my first trip and hope the weather is reasonably clement. The book will not feature poetry (“The White Peak” did) but will have anecdotal memories from my childhood. After working in Manchester for two days I will visit the Lancashire coast to try some long exposure techniques along the shoreline. These out of season trips home are becoming a favorite of mine, since it gives me time alone to reminisce and to ruminate on a variety of issues that are important to my work.
Books currently available for purchase through Blurb.com are:
- Pathways of Childhood – The White Peak @ $89.95
- Guanella Pass (including Geneva Creek) @ $84.95
- Crown Lake (softcover) @ $21.95
Thanks for reading this. Have fun with your photography!
