I’ve spoken before on this Substack about the importance of process to feed the creative juices, literally forcing creation over consumption. I’m finding this is particularly so in the Photo of the Day project upon which I’ve embarked. Forcing myself to take a photo every day (and in reality multiple photos a day as I bracket and sometimes have multiple ideas for the shot) has led to an explosion of inspiration for my other photography.
Last year was a very low year for me with regards to taking photos. The number of digital photos I take each year is usually a good gauge of the number of film photos I take each year (i.e. if I’m taking a lot of digital I’m also shooting a lot of film), and last year both were down substantially. A few hundred digital photos and I only took 7 rolls of film in total. This year by the end of February I’d already shot over 40 rolls of film! (with about 30% of them not connected to this project) My POTD project and the associated buildout of my Darkroom has become so all encompassing I’ve actually yet to pick up my digital camera at all.
However, this does not mean that I am not bursting with ideas and projects for both film and digital! My POTD project sometimes takes me to Wrightsville Beach to look for subject matter, and this is led to a project idea for capturing surfers in black-and-white using an old-style medium format camera such as my Rolleiflex. Following on from this project idea I have become enthused by other Substack authors demonstrating how they have produced zines of their work, and I’ve started to think about how I can package my photography projects and put them in a zine. This in turn has led me to think about whether I should offer my Substack subscribers a subscription tier that includes a print from the new Darkroom I am setting up, and if so, how could I do this at cost to ensure that I don’t lose money, but also to make the price low enough to encourage people to purchase so that they can see for themselves the beauty of a traditional silver gelatin black-and-white print. Etc. etc. and so on and so on run the ideas until I become positively drunk with the potential of all these projects.
Of course, all these ideas are exciting in the rush of the creative moment but then reality intrudes, and I have to remind myself that I’ve still not got to square one (or “first base” to use American vernacular) with my POTD project. That is, I still do not have a functioning Darkroom, and still have not yet made a single optical print. (For why this is see the Darkroom Update section below). As such, until I can say that my POTD project is fully launched and producing silver gelatin darkroom prints I will need to shelve these other ideas and concentrate on following through on my original promise for this project and this Substack. A little bit deflating and yet heartening at the same time, as the creative block that I was suffering from last year seems to have not just been broken, but shattered, which can only be a good thing. I just need to keep reminding myself that follow-through is everything!
About The Photo
I wasn’t sure whether to show this one. I love it, but I don’t think it’s a particularly good photo. It’s boring, but it means something to me. It’s a tree in my garden, taken from upstairs on a very stormy day when I was unable to get outside (my Rolleiflex ain’t waterproof) and desperate for a subject. I just like the white color and texture of the winter-dormant tree against the more evergreen foliage behind it. That’s all it is. However, it does illustrate one truth of a POTD project - sometimes you’re scratching around for subjects and just need to fall back on simple photos of everyday things. Unfortunately the negative has a massive scratch down the right hand side that I’ve had to digitally clean up which will eventually mean hours of spotting fun when I print it in the darkroom. Sigh.
Technical Details
Camera: Rolleiflex 2.8F
Film: Kodak Tri-X
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Aperture: f5.6
Darkroom Update
In my last Darkroom Update I cheerily suggested that the next update might be an announcement that I have finally got my printing going. Fat chance! The past week has been spent in “enlarger alignment hell” trying to align my enlarger’s negative stage (holder), lens and baseboard so that everything is exactly parallel for the sharpest possible prints.
The Beseler Printmaker 67’s (totally inadequate) instructions make it all look so easy: twiddle a few screws, move the negative stage/lens board back and forth while you check alignment with a carpenter’s square and then Hey Presto! you’re done. The reality is a nightmare of inadequate carriage travel, limited maneuver, copious cursing, eventual baseboard shimming etc. etc. and then more spending as I bought a laser alignment tool to see if I could get the thing perfectly aligned.
This is as close as I got before I had to admit defeat (the two dots should align in the center of the crosshairs if you’ve got everything perfectly parallel):
I’ll have to see how the first prints come out. BUT, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be so this weekend will be Darkroom blast-off, so to speak.
Thanks for reading!
I think it's a very good photo. Simple and strong. I say simple, but there's a universe in that tree. The contrast brings out the shapes and textures.
I have similar thoughts about other projects. I am a happy recipient of one of Josh Weinberg's zines (it arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago). I'm still working out how to respond, as I've never made a zine.
Further, I’d say I like it. I have my own gut reax for more work on the final image. And I loved those moments in the darkroom as you choose a warm or cold tone paper, a contrast grade, considered dodging and burning to bring out the heart of the image. . . Ever considered enlarging the negative to do a platinum print? It might soften the tones making both the lichens on the branches and the sky both wonderfully visible while holding value for the bark.