Years ago, I knew that Jeanne and I would be living in a secluded place, far from the noise and problems of the cities and suburbs.
I didn’t know we would be living in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but we couldn’t have picked a better place. It all made sense to us as we evaluated and examined our goal almost daily. Keep in mind, this had been going on for almost two decades. In reality, we could’ve picked almost anywhere to live, within reason. We considered climate, privacy, freedom (laws), and a lot of other practical considerations. Colorado won hands down. We’ve lived in other places, even lived abroad for five years. We are very confident that for us, there is no place in the United States that we’d be happier than here.
Along with the questions of where and how we wanted to live, we also considered what I would do with my work (photography). Things have changed so much over the past few years for everyone, including us. COVID alone has had a major impact on how people live and what they do, or don’t do. We moved from the city to the mountains when COVID was in full swing. Everyone was locked-down or limiting their social activities to shopping and getting basic supplies. I taught my last photographic workshop in February 2020. That was the first consideration I had to make. Was I going to teach workshops anymore? We had half of 2020 to decide what we were moving to the mountain and what we were going to sell, donate or throw away. I made a decision to get rid of all my ancillary photography gear. The Ultra Large Format cameras, lenses, lights, all kinds of gear. I did that because I felt like my teaching days (at least formally) were over. It was at that time I decided that I would devote the rest of my time to my personal work. And that I would work full-time in service of making my work, not teaching, not working a J.O.B., but fully and solely dedicated to my work.
We never know how much time we have or how much longer we will live. I think about what gives my life meaning. I think about it every day. I “examine” my life and myself on a regular basis. Socrates would be proud. It’s a great exercise to do. You don’t have to obsess about it, you can take days or weeks off, but it is important to always return to the question: What gives my life meaning?
The most important person in my life is my wife, Jeanne. For over 30 years, she’s supported my work and my endeavors. She’s worked hard and has sacrificed a lot. To me, the definition of love is sacrifice. It’s very difficult to do; that’s why most people don’t do it or have a hard time doing it. You should always remember and be grateful for the people that sacrifice for you or in service of your pursuits, goals, or ambitions. Don’t lose sight of that - make sure they know you love them and are very grateful for them. And do whatever you can to reciprocate that support and love. No one makes it alone. No one.
This is going to be my first year free of working (J.O.B.), building, moving, or having a long list of projects and contractors to deal with. I’m excited about that alone! To be honest, I’m burned out on the building and moving and projects that way. I’m very grateful for all that we’ve done and accomplished, but I need a break and to move on. That’s what 2022 is offering me. I do have small things to finish, and the regular “life” stuff, cutting wood, taking care of the land, making small adjustments here and there, but the “heavy lifting” is completed.
Right now, I don’t see myself teaching any more workshops. Between COVID and all that entails staying up here, it’s too much. So, for at least this year and next, I will not be teaching in-person photography workshops. I will share, casually, (YouTube and this blog) the work I’m making, the processes I’m using, etc. But no formal courses.
I’ve decided on a very narrow path for my work this year and next. I will be working in the Whole Plate format (6.5” x 8.5”) and making wet and dry collodion/albumen-based negatives. These will be in service to two printing processes. The first is Platinum Palladium. More than likely I will end up making most of the work in the Malde-Ware POP Platinum process. I will still do some traditional DOP Platinum Palladium but most of it will be POP. That may also include a “gum over palladium” with one color. We’ll see. Secondly, I’ll be making Rawlins Oil prints. Both on glass and paper. This too will include a color. All of the prints will be made from glass negatives, with no digital processes or digital negatives. The bottom line is that I will be making Wet/Dry Collodion/Albumen Negatives making POP Palladium prints with a gum over palladium and adding a subtle red color. With those same negatives, I’ll be making Rawlins Oil prints on glass and paper and will use a subtle red color for one of the “ink-ups”. These will be my main technical goals and I’ll work on them until they are second nature to me.
Why so detailed? The reason is focus! I need to concentrate on limited, manageable processes while still serving the project and what it needs. These two processes, actually three processes with making the negatives, give me the tools to make a powerful, beautiful body of work that is both unique and interesting. There is no doubt in my mind that I’ll make work that is both my “signature” and still supports the narrative of the project.
What is the project? I will keep this brief, or try to at least. We live on land that belongs to the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The entire state of Colorado, most of Utah, and the northern part of New Mexico was their land. Their origin story starts at Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs) and the evidence of their life is still visible here. My goal is twofold; to make beautiful landscape and still life images of places and things that the Ute considered sacred or special. And secondly, to tell their story, or history in small ways. In other words to remember that they were here. While talking about the 500-mile journey they go on in Wyoming every year, Black Crow Sr., a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe, said, “Every place we stop is a rock,” Black Crow says. “Those rocks represent grandfathers..." This is a very common belief here. Rocks, trees (culturally modified trees), plants, etc. all played a role in their life here. I want to show some of those places and things in this body of work. They also called this land, “red mother earth”. Because of the granite (red), a lot of the rock and land have a “red” color to them. Even the Spanish called it “colorado” or “ruddy red”.
In closing, I want to say how much I appreciate the support so many of you that are reading this have given me. I’m very grateful for that - thank you. My journey in the historic photographic processes has been amazing (20+ years). I wouldn’t trade it for the world. There is a big part of me that believes everything I’ve done up to this point has been in service of what I’m about to do. I hope this isn’t my last body of work (you never know) but I want to work it like it is. I’m not even 60 years old yet. I hope my best work is still to come. I feel very strongly about this one. I hope you’ll join me on my journey. I’ll document everything I do here on this blog. Just check in once in a while to see what’s happening. Thank you for reading this, now let’s get 2022 going!!!