winter solstice sun prints

When there was no time to actually finish anything, things started to come together. A sunny clear skied Christmas eve, clear sky no clouds, thought what the hell I would use the remaining Cranes cover stock to make some platinotypes.

They were perfect, no grain in the exposures spot on, even the dust seemed to cooperate by staying away pushed my luck and printed some that were giving me trouble and even they were successful. Made a dozen that could be used either for the book for Martin and Gabrielle for allowing me the use of Sullivan’s loop again or for any mishaps of prints for the show at the end of the month.

It seems that the basement had just the right amount of TB engendering dampness to humidify the paper perfectly.

The neighbours already know of the eccentricities. The people behind me have had to mow around my printing frames and have stopped to brush off the clippings that have fallen on the frame. Gave him a print. The people across the way are used to watching me chase the sun around the front garden in the morning and my bafflement in the afternoon as to where to place the frame – back garden worrying about the shadows the branches will throw – or closer and closer to the road where I am afraid someone might like the curiosity.

So I have come to the conclusion that I cannot get cocky. In fostering a psyche of slow photography I cannot approach it as if it were an assembly line, calculating how many I can make during the sunlight hours and ploughing through. If I choose to use something as iffy as the Northern winter solstice light I cannot expect to churn out prints. I'll remember this until the next time caffeine courses through my veins.