yyt

an upsetting phrase for me is "when you get back". upsetting because it hints that the outing isn't a stay but a trip - which it was in this situation, i admit.

it also hints at the lack of self-sufficiency when on a wander. outside of saying that chores can be put on hold until the return, it states a need for a base to do what is needed. i think this the reason that a minor cbc presenter and me would compete to "upgrade" sullivan's loop with internet access, wi-fi, inkjet printers etc. it was a way of fooling us into thinking that it was an extreme version of cottage country. that the return trip wasn't necessary that this would turn a trip into a stay.

i realised this in gros morne during the residency. it wasn't the time away but how the time could be used away. how what i wanted to do wasn't dependent on heading back to do it. a rhythm was established nothing was put on hold. the trip became a stay.

as i have stated before this is the strange characteristic of photography. traditionally while photography could be done anywhere and quickly, it would have be taken on faith with others that the photographer was competent - i think this is one reason why photographers make so much of their equipment - for to see the work there were specific needs - a dark room, water supply etc. hence the "return" was needed. the trip was on hold until the results were seen.

what made gros morne a stay was the horrendous amount of equipment that was taken with me so that work could be made and not held until the residency was over. i was also eyeing a unused room in the basement of sullivan's for the same use.

as i have also stated this is not the case anymore. lugging about a digital camera an a printer things change. work can be not only made but finished while "away". of course this could be done without the printer as now more and more a hard copy is an option with work showing up on blogs, websites, social media and now actually using tablets as a option for works. the had copy, the print, the artefact is also much easier. 

this is where - for me - the struggle starts. with digital there is the instant verification and gratification, there is the horror of archiving work, how many copies do i make to feel safe, but it does mean prints can be made and shared. 

with this though the idea of memory  and anticipation disappears, the refuge of a specified room where only one thing can be done is gone. there can be more multitasking. there is also the romantic hold of film that now brings on a hush of respect and stories all over the web http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/08/20/film-not-dead-yet.cnn 

in the days of transition when digital and film were pretty much equal in use, there was this option of using colour film, one hour photofinishing having a cd made so that prints would come and blogs have images. it was sort of fun, dropping off the film at the dominion on the way to pouch cove in the evening picking the negs and cd the next day heading into st. john's.

on the wander north of 60 i found once again i was lugging too many cameras, the digital for the blog, another sofobomo book now postcards of the weird. film for the real work. want to stop this as i am anticipating the ambitious long distance ding dong ditch come yanksgiving and don't want to be bogged down with equipment. this was an experiment on working method, on the idea of the stay a point of departure for tweaking before a real stay.

my thinking of an option right now is returning to film one hour photofinishing a scanner and a printer still smaller than the deardorff platinotype outfit of woody point and conche. failing that a leica m9p where i gaffer tape over the rear screen.