Lately, I have been unable to work on any documentary projects. Yes, life has gotten in the way, However, I have access to a darkroom and have been spending my time Lith printing.
With the birth of my son and the new responsibilities, I have been unable to work on my cultural geography work. But it’s also been important time to contemplate the cycles of life and the nature of time. For the first time in my life I feel deeply that my time as a living entity is limited. In watching my son grow I’m also confronted with the fact that I’m getting older.
Photography at its core is as much about light as it is about time. And in this latest work, I’m exploring the ways of showing this. I’m the first to admit that photographing shadows is cliched, but it’s shadows that remind me of how specific moments are intertwined with time. Shadows, as moments, are fleeting. Photographing them has been cathartic on how it has forced me to be present.
The Lith process also lends itself to this idea. Besides it’s beautiful sensibility and aesthetic qualities, it is and infectious development process. While developing the printer must pay careful attention to shadows details and stop the development process at the exact moment before the infectious process over develops the image. The chemistry used in this process is also capricious. The slightest temperature changes, oxidation and use all alter the development. Consequently, each print is unique and effigy to the moment.