Matteo's Wasps' Nest

I’m just back from a printing session in the AS220 Paul Krot Darkroom. I’m just back from four hours of fun.

I stink now. I stink of chemicals. I stink of light.

My last time in the darkroom was I don’t even know how far in the past, around 18 months probably. My technique is rusty. It has never been shiny anyway, but I did a lot of mistakes this time: no worries, there’s room for improvement. A lot of room for improvement.

But I’m happy of my approach. It’s the beginning of something new, of a more confident approach, of a more I-(think)-I-know-what-I-want approach. Of a more educated approach too: in the past week or so I read David Vestal’s The Craft of Photography again, just to refresh my memory about what materials I needed for printing, and what steps are involved in the process. Now it’s the turn of Ansel Adams’ The Print, which I got as a present for my birthday in 2010, but never really read with the necessary attention. Both books are pretty out-of-date as far as the discussed materials are concerned, but what I’m trying to get this time is the approach, the mentality, the philosophy if you wish (I don’t) of printing.

I started keeping a darkroom notebook, to keep a record of what I’m doing and how. This already proved to be very useful since this first printing session, and I know that some details were missing. It’s a work in progress. It’s a process. Like printing. Like learning. Like learning to print.

I’m going back next Tuesday. I’m actually going back tomorrow, to get my dried prints. Will I be able to sleep or will I dream of dark and light making love in a pool of developer?

Posted from Providence, Rhode Island, United States.