Why I write as a Photographic printer.
Without an image.
“Winter Solstice, Reflections.” Nantes France. 8.55 16th December 2023.
When I have an image as above, I can let it speak for itself, as an image is worth a thousand words. But when I have the words, sometimes I cannot find the image and I go with the words. It is that simple.
It is now coming closer to Christmas as I finish writing and I am reflecting on the year that has passed. The following is a, not so brief, description as to why I decided to jump in here and write. It has been a blast so far, and a big thank you to everyone who read or followed me this year. I have plenty more for next year, but for the moment I will leave you with the following.
I write for myself.
I was thinking about the low take up rate of my writing the other day. To be honest, I have only been writing for a couple of months now and have Eight articles in that time. Most are photography related, two are about Instagram and their recent decisions, so I suppose they are supposed to be photo related to. With about thirty views in total and one follower, is it really worth it. For me, it is, but that is not the full answer. When I started to write it was about me sharing and educating others about the kind of work I do in the darkroom, hence the name I chose. I wanted to put pen to paper and create an archive of articles, photo printing related, so that those who are only new to exploring analogue photography, or photography as it was called when I started, could understand some of the process and the reason behind some of the things that were traditionally done.
Now the numbers.
While there are thousands of people who photograph, the percent who actually print a final image today, of any sort, is low, maybe as much as 5%. As I am an advocate of printing your best images, I do not include social media, of any sort. I am talking about a physical print, from a printer if it is digital or on photo paper if it is film, I include the hybrid printers in the digital printing, which is all right in my book. If you narrow down those who use darkrooms, again the percent is probably only about 5% and then only those who read about photographic printing 1%. So in reality I am on the outer verge of the photographic scene, thus for every 4000 people who claim to be a photographer, I would only attract 1 reader.
Something I realised over two years ago when watching the YouTube videos of Timi Hall, an absolute brilliant darkroom printer who spent a lifetime working in the printing business, however his videos never got more than a few hundred views. I later realised that those who were viewing the videos were highly motivated, loyal and even though some of the videos were hours long, I and others like me would watch the video tutorials to the very end, and some times a second time. This was not just quantity over quality but both. Timi Hall has created an archive of fascinating darkroom print work and detailed explanation for referencing, translation and professional techniques, all in his home darkroom. Like me he was always disappointed in his viewing figures, but his audience like mine is not the general public, and his and my figures confirm that.
And I keep returning to the statement that “I am writing for me”. If one, and it would be great if even more read this, but even one other person reads this, then I have been successful for me, and that is my aim.
What I write about.
I believe in photography as a whole and I write about it today, not just some arcane process practised by a few, but whatever format you want to use, from an iPhone to a vintage camera and everything in between, no exceptions, even a gingerbread pinhole Instax camera. The process of expressing yourself using images is one of the greatest things you can do. It crosses every barrier that is known to man or woman, as every artist has their own voice for expression, from the traditional on one hand to the absolute abstract at the other. At a minimalist form it can be monochromatic and at the other end of the spectrum it could be using a full spectrum device that seas things behind the human spectrum. There really is no limit. What I write is not for everyone. For those who are curious about certain details in an easily accessible medium, this may be for you.
Technology advances at a relentless pace, but the principals which I explain do not change very much. I regularly read technical manuals for cameras written 30, 40 or even 50 years ago and the information is still as relevant for a repair today as it was when the manual was written.
The use of modern technology like an Arduino in a darkroom timer, not only gives precision printing times but also offers the ability to F stop print, something I will cover in a later article. With calculations for filters, different papers and even calculate dry down of a print, the use of modern technology will extend the life of the darkroom even longer. The use of LED lights in modern enlargers is giving many people the opportunity to print in black & white or even colour at an affordable price, and with companies like Harmon technologies realising there phenix 200 ISO colour film who knows where the adventure will end.
Who I am writing for.
So there is much for me to write about, both traditional and new. I am here as a guide to help anyone to express themselves in this medium. This is not an exclusive club only for a select few, even though only a few of us will now the whole way and print in a darkroom. There are many other options and probably some that have not even been invented yet. But I digress.
This is therapy for me.
Putting my thoughts on paper or thinking about a process or technique, has been a new experience for me. Having never had to describe or think about the sequence of events, has lead me to discover new things about those same processes. When you do a familiar action, it generally becomes automatic, and if you were asked to describe what you just did, you would, no doubt give a generally good description of your action. However if you were to video yourself and then watch that video frame by frame, you would notice many small insignificant actions that you did not describe during your initial brief description. This is one of the things that writing has opened up for me, the realisation of the multiple complexity of something I take for granted, but when I have to describe it, inevitably requires much more description than I originally thought it would require. As I read back and re re-wright, I end up adding more and more detail. Try it for yourself. Without actually doing it, think about what is required to load a role of 135 film into your camera. Do not leave out any detail, and I am sure your first description will be brief. Now imagine you have to write that same instruction for someone who has never loaded a camera with film. All those steps that you take for granted, become part of the structure that is required for that beginner in order to do something as simple as loading a role of film.
The act of thinking about all these seeming less simple tasks and breaking them down into there basic elements, using nothing but words has become a form of therapy or meditation. For someone like myself that grew up in the golden age of film, converted to digital and now uses both processes today, it is amazing how many things I have rediscovered while writing these articles, and I know that there are also so many more to be revealed.
AI cannot write the way I do.
And I can prove it. The way a human constructs sentences is directly based on their background, their age, and even in which part of the English speaking world they come from.
I am Irish by birth, and have lived in France for the last 20 years. Both of those things influences the way I think now, and speak, even view the world. AI may mimic my actions but it could never mimic my flawed non linear thinking. AI does not make mistakes, per say, but “to err is to be human”
In a recent publication, I wrote about a technical process for loading film into a daylight developing tank. When photographing the process, I realised that the original manual was incomplete in a small detail causing a problem with the process. I understood the problem because I could see it, AI could not see a problem, and although it could probably write more than me, more coherent than me and I am sure faster than me, it could not write a technical procedure or manual without been fed all of the relevant information.
So unless AI can learn to read and interpret technical photographs, It will never write a technical manual. That makes me feel good that I am still unique enough in that respect.
Would you read something I wrote.
So going back to the start, I love the photographic process, from the taking of the image, to putting it on a wall. To be able to write about the processes and maybe help others, is now part of my photographic journey.
If you have read to this point, I thank you and I hope I inspired you to go and express yourself, in words, in pictures or however you do your thing. If the image above inspires you to emulate it or if it just motivates you to photograph in your style, that is great. Go and do it.
I leave you now wishing every one, where ever you are, a happy and peaceful Christmas and an even better New Year. Till we meet again, Phillip.