A couple of weeks ago I wrote about not getting stressed out over not getting into my darkroom over the winter holidays as planned. Well I finally found some time where it wasn’t expected and made some prints that I am happy with. My printing procedure is composed of two steps.  First, I make my prints, stop (using a water bath), fix with a non-hardening formula, then wash and dry on screens. Next, when I have enough prints they’re selenium toned, washed and dried again on screens.

So I worked on 5 images and the next morning came downstairs to take them off the screens and see how they came out.  I immediately noticed one appeared a little dark overall.  I even showed it to my wife for a sanity check and she agreed. This doesn’t happen too often but when it does that’s what the wastebasket is for.  Certainly not the end of the world! Better to admit your mistake earlier rather latter in the process when more time has been invested in a bad outcome.

I planned on getting back into the darkroom with a different printing strategy and went back into the darkroom on Saturday morning expecting to be finished by noon. Usually I can make a print that I’m satisfied in an hour or two. So far so good … or so I thought.  This turned out to be one of the most difficult printing sessions I’ve ever had.  I won’t bore you with the details but I came upstairs six hours and a lot of paper later.  It wasn’t that the negative required heroic measures to salvage a usable print, but rather that I wasn’t getting what I wanted.  Here’s the thing, if I can’t produce something I’m proud of then what’s the point?  The point is not to settle!  There’s so much in our lives that is disappointing; the empty popular culture, our mostly second-rate elected officials and boring breakfast cereal.  One thing we should be able to do is make a damn print we’re proud of and willing to append our signature to!  Not something that’s almost good enough!

Ok, maybe I should have taken a short break to grab some chow, but I was determined. As frustrating as things got, the more unwilling to give up I became. I even thought of a split contrast idea I hadn’t tried before. Why not … it worked!  Sometimes it’s almost like willing yourself to succeed. I/we must be as creative as possible, for as much as I love what I do, all things considered I’d be foolish not to admit that the tools at our disposal are pretty crude.

I finished up a little hungry but happy in my work.  The prints got washed and dried overnight.  I didn’t settle … unlike many of the things that disappoint me I have control over what I create in my darkroom.  Sunday morning I came downstairs again, shut my mind to all nonsense, looked at the prints … and all was well again.

Great! You now have made some photographs and need to develop your film. Some people can’t wait to develop their film and look at their negatives.  So they do it as soon as they can.  Then there are others like me who wait until they have a certain number of rolls.  Then I set aside a couple of hours and get it done.  There’s a reason for that. I really don’t enjoy developing film very much.  It’s pretty mechanical and not a very creative process compared to other parts of my photographic life. That having been said, it is absolutely essential and has to be done. I’ll bet there are a bunch of photographers out there that never get around to developing their film (as well as those that never print their negatives).  A striking example was the discovery after Gary Winogrand’s death that more than 2,500 roles of his exposed film were not developed. To repeat … develop your film. There just might be some keepers lurking about!

A critical prerequisite is the establishment of your personal film speed and development time. As I have mentioned before, I’m not a prolific tester.  But it’s essential to establish the proper film speed for each of the films you use and the correct development times for those films with your developer(s) of choice (see a previous discussion of this in My Photographic Process – Step 1 and 2 – Film Speed and Development Time Testing).

I’m not going to get into a discussion here on how to develop film, what types of tanks and reels (or trays for large format negatives) to use, or manual verses automated processing (OK, I have used a Jobo processor for over twenty years and I would not be without it!).  I am hoping you know how to do that and if you don’t there are many fine books that can describe the step by step process, and if you prefer to watch things there are may how to demonstrations available on YouTube.

So now you have developed your film. Congratulations! A critical step accomplished!  What next?  Well, it is essential that you store them in an archival and protective manner, and in a way that you can easily and quickly access them for printing.  Again, there are a number of approaches to this. One thing you don’t want to do is shove them into some paper envelopes that are then stuffed into an empty VC paper box!  Here’s what I do and it works for me. I use clear Print File pages for all my film sizes. They’re archival, protective and keep dust away from my negatives. They are also pretty inexpensive and can be easily found.  What’s more, they also have holes on the left side of the pages so they can fit nicely into loose leaf notebooks, or better yet into Vue All archival binder containers that seal shut to provide further protection for your precious negatives.  They too are inexpensive and easily obtained.  I don’t know how else to say it, but protect your negatives or you’re bozo!

The other thing I like about the Print File system is that there is space on the pages so that you can number them and write a short description of what is contained on the negatives. I think this is essential, and the number on each page corresponds with the one on its associated Staples Clear Sheet Protector that holds my proof sheet (more to come on that when I discuss my next step!).  So easy, and to my way of thinking, so logical!

What matters though is not what I do, but that you develop your film and store it in a safe manner for easy retrieval that works for you.

Now, do it!

Well things didn’t work out as I had planned during my so-called time off between Christmas and New Year’s. I had hoped to print some keepers I had made during the latter part of the year, but work and other issues conspired to keep me from getting into the darkroom.  I could have pushed myself to print a couple of hours here and there between all the chaos and anarchy that was going on but I just could not get the proper motivation, and I think I know why. I simply knew I would be forcing things. I wouldn’t really enjoy what I was trying to accomplish and the results would probably show it; I would also be totally stressed out.

Better to step back and realize it just wasn’t going to happen and move on until I could have the time to work under much more favorable and pleasant conditions.  I know I will get it done. Not because I feel I have to, but because I want to!  I’m not burned out or in a slump; the whole point of this is to be creative and to enjoy yourself. If not, why bother in the first place?

The above having been said, I hadn’t stopped thinking out photography during my so-called time off. Even though I wasn’t doing what I had wanted to, I kept my head in the game and was planning, reading, and yes, even daydreaming about what I love. So it wasn’t really a loss at all, just a delay.

So now what? Hey it’s a new year and just like spring training camp all things are possible. Like a great pennant race or winning the World’s Series.  I know, once the season begins reality isn’t always as we dreamt, but this year your team is full of hard workers that come to play every day wanting to prove themselves. All things are possible!

So things didn’t work out as planned. No sweat. It’s going to be a great photographic year.  I’m going to get my printing done and even get to some older previously unprinted negatives and get them done too. Then I’m going to get out there and make some new images at some favorite places and some spots I’ve never been to.  And I have some other exciting things in the works (more on that to come!). I’ll get everything done. Mind you I don’t have a schedule for any of this.  I don’t need one because I love it all. I’ll do all these things, not because I feel I have to, but because I want to!

A number of years ago I wrote about photography and fishing, and like my fishing experience during my youth, photography has provided an important means to an end for over 50 years. I talked about how fishing was a means to an end. This was my special private world, void of expectations, but full of daydreams, fresh air, old timers to talk to while siting on the dock with my legs hanging over the water, snacks and soda pop, and if I was lucky, sometimes some “keepers”.

I also talked about being in another special world when I photograph, a world I have written about several times. This is my special world of seeing and just taking in life’s moments that are surrounding me as I walk, hike or drive.  It’s wonderful and another means to an end, just like it was when I was fishing, even if I don’t end up ever snapping the shutter or getting any keepers. Seeing the world and taking it all in, on your own terms, in your own time, is really special and an opportunity to be grateful for.

Another aspect of photography that is incredibly important to me is the many friends I have made by in person and through this website.  Interacting with others because of photography, discussing our work and the joy of doing what we do is wonderful, and all part of “my photographic life”. But what are really special are the friendships that come about and grow as a result of these interactions.

Last week I received a beautiful handmade New Year’s card from a new friend of mine. Inside the card was a handwritten message. Attached to the outside of the card was a small black and white abstract image of what appears to be ice forms upon the surface of a stream. Visually beautiful and sensitively captured; I just keep on looking at it!  It turns out that the photograph is a small cropped section of an 8×10 negative that I am sure has been contact printed. What a special gift and one that will always have a special place in my heart! Receiving it provided a perfect bookend to what has been great year in my photographic life and it will serve as a special inspiration as the New Year begins.

We live in strange and challenging times. Along with family, my dog Sparky, and the values and beliefs I hold dear, my photographic life and all the things that are part of it – especially the friends I have made – these are what I matter most to me.

I wish you all the best for a meaningful photographic life in the year to come.