A year of change.
Well, what a year it has been! I hope that if you are reading this that you and your family has remained safe during the current pandemic. For those reading that have lost loved ones or have been affected either physically or mentally by coronavirus my thoughts are with you at this difficult time.
It has been an extremely difficult year for many businesses and families, I am extremely fortunate that my own business has so far managed to stay afloat and continue to operate without the loss of any staff members. Photography has been a welcome hobby to fill the gaps where work has not been possible, and the time spent in lockdown allowed me to finally make the dream of having a dedicated and permanent darkroom at home a reality.
There have been many delays in the work being completed but everything was finally up and running just before Christmas. Below are some of the photos that I took during the construction that due to delays and money concerns lasted around 6 months.
My equipment such as enlarger, paper stocks and processing equipment have been moved back in and I can finally get back to doing what I love, spending time under the warm red glow of the safelight making prints. It’s probably been close to 9 months since I’ve been able to make any type of print as my inkjet printer also went into storage. I still have plenty of prints to frame and hang but the main thing is that I have a functional working space now.
I have spent the first few sessions testing and refining the digital negative printing process that I use to ensure consistent results. In the future I am hoping to be able to offer a printing service to other photographers. Those who are looking to have their digital or scanned film images made into traditional handmade silver gelatin prints by simply sending me the digital file. Ensuring that the process produces results that are consistent and of the highest quality is very important, especially if I decide to offer this to others.
During time at home when I have been unable to work, I have already had the privilege of making a couple of prints for photographers whose work has inspired me on my journey as a photographer. To be given such a responsibility has been a wonderful experience and a nice addition and challenge to printing my own images.
My website is long overdue an update with the images that I have made this year and a change to the ‘Print Sales’ page is also needed. I have made the decision to sell only silver gelatin prints in the future. I want to present my photographs in the best way possible and feel that the look and feel of a traditional darkroom print is the best way of doing this.
There may be the addition of a printing services page but I am yet to decide if this is something that I wish to do, or even if it would attract any customers. Please feel free to drop me an email if this is something that may interest you using the Contact page.
With regards to cameras I have continued to use a pair of Leica cameras in the form of the MP for 35mm film and the M10 Monochrom for digital. I find that the cameras suit me down to the ground and do everything that I want with remarkably simple functionality. The feeling I used to have of needing to upgrade or look for new equipment has all but dissolved. I would love to add a 35mm Summicron to my lens collection but I won’t be rushing out to buy one any time soon.
Below is a selection of images that I have made with each camera last year. With the travel restrictions that have been in place a lot of my photography has been very local to the area that I live in. Due to a restriction of locations my photography has been moving in a slightly different direction also. The regular landscape images that I make have been replaced with more of a documentary/Street Photography style for now and I am really enjoying the time that I spend walking around with a camera.
I’ll try to be more consistant in the future with my blogs and site content updates. I will have plenty of time to put fingers to keyboard over the next couple of months and feel free to email me any questions that you may have. If I can I may even write a blog post in reply if that level of detail is required.
I will be writing an update to my digital file to darkroom print blog now that I have my darkroom up and running and will be sure to show plenty of example prints.
All the best and stay safe.
Matt.