Colin Stearns may sound familiar to some because he was a photography instructor here at the University of Alabama for two semesters. I was lucky enough to have him during the Spring and Summer which he was here. Colin encouraged me to try different types of negative manipulations including bleaching, scratching, and burning. Also encouraged was different types of printing including ortho-film, salt printing, van dyke, argyrotype, etc.
In his work he uses the same van dyke, salt, and argyrotype processes that he shared with us. He shoots with a 5x7 film camera and contact prints the negatives in the sun. I thought this was fantastic seeing that you do not have to have a darkroom to do this type of printing. The series of his work that I wanted to share is called "I cannot see the forest for the trees." He has more photo series, but I feel like this is the strongest one. This is a rather ironic name for the series because the works portray the clearing of forests. I think that this process give an extra touch to this images because of the natural look that it brings. It is also not on a glossy surface or even mass manufactured paper, but on handmade paper for an even more natural element.
I have some work that I have done with these types of alternative printing and I would like to try and possibly incorporate them into a collage with digital and darkroom images. I still try to experiment as much as I can with my photographs and processes. I am very interested in learning different ones.
Interesting work. Good. So what makes this work strongest? I am also drawn to work that uses these older processes. I wonder why they are so appealing? What makes them seem more like "art" How would these image be different if they were made in digital color? There is no "correct" answer, but the question leads us to the tension between realism and art where photography finds its uneasy balance
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