Sally Mann is a wonderful human being, a great artist, and a powerful intellect. If you haven’t seen her video called, “Vinculum”? Do yourself a favor and watch it.
She inspires me. She makes me think. I am motivated when I read her writings, watch her films, and look at her work. I owe a lot to her. In “Vinculum” she ties the process she’s working in, the type of film and printing, to the concepts and ideas she’s interested in exploring. I think this is the most important thing an artist can do. If work is missing this, I don’t think it can be very successful. It can be pretty, it can be cool, it can be technical, and it can even be sophisticated. But it can’t be a story. Sally ties these ideas and concepts together so well that you can almost feel the ideas. And that is what vinculum means, “a unifying bond”.
My goal has always been to tie a strong narrative to my work. I’m not talking about photojournalism, but personal concerns, questions, ideas, etcetera. I’m trying to make work with this project that does what Sally talks about in her video. I want to bind the people today (us) to the people of the past and present. And I want to do that through the land and making landscape pictures that feel a certain way. I feel like I’m getting a handle on what I want to do, but it will take some time.
Lately, I’ve tried to limit the technical support and social media stuff, so I can concentrate and give this work what it needs to be successful. I like sharing what I’m doing, but I don’t want to wear the badge of “technical support” much anymore. It’s time-consuming and mind-consuming. I do support people who support me. That will never change.
I wanted to share another image I’m working on in the Rawlins Oil Printing process as well as a “new” lens I’m going to be taking out for a test drive soon. Once again, I apologize for the less-than-quality iPhone snaps, but you can get the idea.
Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, Colorado - Rawlins Oil print (1903) from a collodion dry plate negative.
Trying to she the relief - Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, Colorado - Rawlins Oil print (1903) from a collodion dry plate negative.
Trying to she the relief - Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, Colorado - Rawlins Oil print (1903) from a collodion dry plate negative.
We built a 4’ x 6’ work table for the studio. It’s very nice to do oil prints on!
A “new” lens that I’m taking out next time to make some negatives with. It was made on February 24, 1903, at the height of Pictorialism. It’s a Bausch & Lomb Tessar lens. It covers 12 x 10 at a distance and has an aperture range of f/4.5 to f/32.
I use gaffer’s tape to cover any “joints” or connections on old lenses. I’m always conscious of light leaks, especially outdoors up here!