Lockdown Prints.

As the world goes into a period of great social and economic termoil, I find myself thinking of the future and what it will bring. My business in the UK is already feeling the impact of the Covid-19 virus that is sweeping across the globe and everything has come to a hault. I work within the manufacturing industry with many of my customers producing food products for the UK and global marketplace. I employ 4 people as well as myself. Ensuring their jobs are safe and that I can pay thier wages is obviously a priority for me. I am nervous about what the future will bring but I maintain a positive attitude.

At the time of writing this on the 28th March 2020 we are in lock down. We have been asked to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel. When we have to leave the house for shopping or to work we are to practice social distancing. If you are reading this from outside of the UK you may be experiencing a similar situation and if you are not, it may only be a matter of time before you do.

It is easy to develop a negative mindset at times like this, but at the moment I am lucky that my friends and family are all safe and well and so for the time being I’m staying positive and utilising the time that I have available to me to produce prints in my darkroom.

I am dividing my time between home schooling my two young children James (7) and Logan (9), keeping on top of housework, cooking meals and making sure that my wife has space and peace and quiet to work, from home when required. Any spare time that I have, usually in the early to late evening, I am spending in my darkroom.

I produce traditional silver gelatine prints from my digital files. Ever since visiting an exhibition of Don McCullin’s work I have been seduced by the beauty of traditional darkroom prints. The inkjet prints produced by my home printer, currently an Epson P800 are of a very high quality. Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta they are prints that I can be very proud of.

The process of producing handmade prints using the traditional, although somewhat modified method and the added beauty that these prints hold means that they have a higher personal value to me and every single print, although very similar is unique. Even if I make 10 prints in the same evening, using techniques such as dodging and burning mean that although subtle, there will be differences between each print. I think that this makes each print special and anybody purchasing one has the knowledge that they will own something that is one of a kind.

Over the next week or so I will be printing, mounting and framing the images shown in this blog. They are a couple of my favourite prints made with the Leica M10 Monochrom while in Scotland. These will then be offered for sale through my website. Each fibre-based print will be mounted and framed using conservation materials and an aluminium frame with ultra-clear acrylic to ensure they maintain their beauty for many decades to come.

In the coming weeks I will be printing more images. If anybody would like to place and order for any image within my galleries, please feel free to contact me to discuss size and price options.

I will also be writing a blog that details the personal methods I have developed to produce traditional prints from digital files. A hybrid method that allows for greater control over the final print than is usually available when printing from a film negative. Some traditionalists may argue that producing prints using this method isn’t a traditional method of printing and doesn’t hold the romance of producing prints from film negatives.

Although I agree that there is a well-earned appreciation for the skill involved when printing from analog negatives, I want to be able to produce the finest prints that I can using any and all methods that are available to me. I have been using 35mm, Medium format and Large format film but have found that the best prints I produce are from mixing the latest digital technology with the traditional chemical processes that have been used since the late 1800’s.

Because my best prints are produced in this way, I have made the recent decision to sell many of my analog cameras and invest the money in a Leica M10 Monochrom as soon as the world returns to some sort of normality. This purchase will also be helped with any print sales that I can make in the near future.

Any prints that I make will form part of a ‘Lockdown’ special edition. There will be 10 of each print offered for sale as well as 3 for my personal archives that will be used for future exhibitions.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish anybody who is reading this my best wishes at this time. I hope that you, your family and friends stay safe and that your lives return to normal as soon as is possible.

If you have any interest in purchasing one of the prints that I will be offering for sale prior to their release, please feel free to contact me. If you have any questions regarding my methods for printing or my thoughts on photography in general, I am always happy to talk.

Matt.