THE
RESILIENCE OF ANALOG #ANALOGPHOTOGRAPHY
SPRING/SUMMER 2019
#FILMISNOTDEAD
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STEPHEN BROOKBANK BEHIND THE SHOT: “ I am interested in looking at the everyday urban and suburban landscape with a sense of awe and respect, coloured with the mixed-up nighttime lighting situations from available light. This work is intended as a document of our time.”
IN THIS ISSUE: 11 RESOURCES WE LOVE 13 5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A USED CAMERA 14 BURKE PATERSON’S OBJECTS + RITUAL PHOTOGRAMS
28 KALI SPITZER: A PORTRAIT OF RESILIENCE
48 A.T. KINGSMITH’S BERLIN:
34 SEITIES: A PLATFORM FOR ANALOG PHOTOGRAPHY
by Briar Chaput
40 STEPHEN BROOKBANK’S THE MAKING OF A PLACE by Joshua Cameron
19 SARA FLEISZIG: SOAKED IN BODILY FLUIDS
44 WES BELL’S SNAG
22 SALLY AYRE, CYANOTYPES by Cece M. Scott
by Briar Chaput
46 FOUND FILM, FOUND MOMENTS
A FRACTAL CITY 50 CHEMIGRAMS by Laura Walker 52 SK8ER BOI - JAKE BORCHENKO by Nicola Irvin 56 READERS GALLERY Submissions by our readers
EDITOR’S NOTE
photo by Ryan Parker
SLOW DOWN AND SEE WHAT DEVELOPS SERENDIPITY, SKILL, AND CHEMISTRY ARE THE BASIS BY WHICH PHOTOGRAPHY HAS EVOLVED. As advanced as imaging tech has
“We all start in this medium because of the magic and the challenge is to keep it going.” — John Sexton
become, providing us an infinite number of tools to craft images with, sometimes the best thing to do to keep creativity flowing is to stop and go backwards. Unlike digital photography, analog methods require a methodical approach. More planning and less automation can get you results that you may never anticipate, but that’s the beauty of it. I love that Instagram is loaded with analog photography practitioners sharing their film shoots, darkroom experiments, and instant snaps. It takes research, experimentation, creativity, and passion to hone analog skills and I think finding a traditional process to spend a bit of time with is worth the effort on so many levels. I was so inspired by Edmonton photographer Ryan Parker’s self-portrait project
PHOTOED E IS 10 0% MAGAZIN NADA! CA MADE IN U FO R Y K THAN O PPORT! YOUR SU
where he emulates famous photographers work using himself as the model, I asked him to help me create my own (very loose) interpretation of a re-creation. My editor’s pic is inspired by an analog-based photo hero of mine, if you can figure out who my muse was I will send you a prize! (I’m not just saying that.) This fall we’ll be showcasing documentary work. Whether it’s a story found inside your own home or on an amazing international adventure, documents of daily lives and special events are just one way photographic storytelling connects us and helps us find empathy, compassion, and connection.
Rita Godlevskis rita@photoed.ca
WWW.PHOTOED.CA
MAGAZINE
@photoedmagazine SPRING/ SUMMER 2019 ISSUE #55 ISSN 1708-282X
@PhotoEdCANADA @photoedmagazine
PhotoED Magazine is published 3x/year, SPRING, FALL, & WINTER See www.photoed.ca for subscription/advertising information. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40634032 PhotoED Magazine 2100 Bloor St. West, Suite 6218 Toronto ON M6S 5A5
This issue was made possible with the assistance of The Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.
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EDITOR/PUBLISHER
ART DIRECTOR
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
COPY EDITOR
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
DIGITAL CONTENT ASSISTANT
Rita Godlevskis / rita@photoed.ca Ruth Alves Joshua Cameron Briar Chaput Nicola Irvin Cece Scott Deborah Cooper-Bullock Joshua Cameron Nicola Irvin
COVER IMAGE Tintype from the Resilience series
by Kali Spitzer
WHEN NIGHT ARRIVES A N D L I G H T R E T R E AT S
M I R R O R L E S S R E I N V E N T E D Capture stunning details in any light with the full-frame mirrorless Z 7. The Z 7 is a testament to Nikon’s renowned excellence in optics and intuitive design, redefining what's possible from a camera this compact. Reinvented in every way to expand your creativity, the Z 7 features a revolutionary new mount that enables a new range of cutting-edge NIKKOR Z lenses and possibilities. The Z 7 also boasts 4K UHD video, in-camera 5 axis VR and phase detection AF. Capture it all with the Nikon Z 7 today. 4 5 . 7 M P | I S O 6 4 -2 5 6 0 0 | 49 3 A F P O I N T S | U P TO 9 F P S
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GET INSPIRED:
AT AN ANALOG PACE If you’re a newbie or have just been away for a while, analog photography can be a truly unique experience for everyone.
THE MOBILE DARKROOM Calgary-based photo duo, Natalia Barberis and Shane Arsenault have been in collaboration since 2016, travelling across Alberta with their handcrafted ultra large format camera and their darkroom on wheels. They share their constructions and adventures step-by-step online, and it’s a fascinating read. www.themobiledarkroom.ca/the-story
FILM-FOCUSED FLICKS One Hour Photo (2002) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Pecker (1998) If you were born into the digital age or are just feeling nostalgic for 35mm film, you’ll love these film-focussed flicks.
PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA Annual membership $35. Since 1974, the PHSC has worked to advance knowledge and interest in anything historically photo—related in Canada. The society, based in Toronto, offers monthly presentations and hosts photographica fairs, trunk sales, image shows, and auctions of vintage, new, and used analog photography equipment. A collector and gear-head’s delight! If you’re not in Toronto, you can still benefit from a $35 annual membership to receive its quarterly journal by mail. Photographic Canadiana reports on cameras, photographers, manufacturers, old processes, images, restoration techniques, books, and more! phsc.ca
THE PHOTOED GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY by Felix Russo, $21.95 Sometimes it’s actually appropriate to toot your own horn. Our GUIDE to Photography is an affordable Canadian—made resource including photo how-to’s for the beginner. There’s a great section on darkroom basics that schools across Canada have used for years. This magazine format textbook makes getting started easy. photoed.ca/the-guide
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5
THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A USED CAMERA BY BRIAR CHAPUT
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Whether you’re garage sailing, surfing online, or exploring the nooks and crannies of vintage shops, here are five important things to look at to quickly assess SLR and rangefinder cameras so that you don’t go home with a dud you can’t shoot with.
SHUTTER: A broken shutter means that the camera won’t be more than a shelf decoration. Click the shutter button a few times to make sure it works well and doesn’t jam.
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The timing of the shutter is also important. To test this, set the shutter speed to 2 seconds, and count for yourself 2 seconds while watching to make sure the shutter opens and closes in that time.
BATTERY COMPARTMENT: Open the battery compartment and make sure there are no signs of damage or corrosion. Blue stains on the metal or acid gunk that has leaked and solidified are bad signs.
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SHUTTER CURTAIN: When you open up the film compartment, you will see a thin black piece of fabric. That’s the shutter curtain. Make sure it lays flat, is clean, and is free of tears, rips, or any other damage. You should be able to click the shutter release button and see it open and close smoothly, returning into place.
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LIGHT METER: The light meter allows you to determine which shutter speed and f-stop should be used for the best exposure of film, based on which film speed you’re using and what the lighting conditions are like.
Some really old cameras won’t even have a light meter, but if you’re looking at an SLR that does, you’ll see a scale to the right or the left of the viewfinder. If the camera doesn’t have working batteries in it when you’re checking it out, you may not be able to verify if it will work. (Quick tip: Throw a couple AAs or a 123 lithium battery in your pocket or bag if you’ve planned a camera hunting mission.) If you do decide to buy a camera without a working light meter (or without one at all), don’t worry! You can still make it work for you. Download a light meter app on your smartphone to get the settings information you need. If the camera does have a light meter, comparing the results between your app and the camera’s light meter is a good way to ensure it’s in working order.
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LENS: This might be common sense, but the glass should be clean and clear of any scratches or nicks. Unless you have the ability to properly clean it yourself (or want to spend the money to have it professionally done), take a close look. You should also take a look around the rim of the lens to look for any dents that may indicate it has been dropped, possibly preventing it from properly focusing.
Watch out for fungus! It’s gross, but yes, older lenses can have something that almost looks like spiderwebs inside the lens. That can indicate fungus, and that can be a serious health and safety issue. A quick online image search will show you what that could look like.
Looking at something else that’s looking cool and old school analog? Our top tip on other types of cameras that you may be tempted to buy because they look really cool… find out what kind of film the camera takes. 35mm and 120mm film are available and in production, and can still be reasonably easy to get developed. Other types of film, such as disc film or APS are difficult to find and have to be developed at specialty labs, which can become expensive. PhotoED • 13
FOUND FILM FOUND MOMENTS BY BRIAR CHAPUT
A FEW YEARS AGO, I WALKED INTO A USED BOOKSTORE on Spadina Avenue in Toronto. It was dusty, cramped, and dark, with barely enough light to read anything if you weren’t directly under an overhead lamp. At the back of the store there was a doorway that led to another maze of overflowing shelves, where I found an old wood cabinet of drawers. I just happened to glance down to spot a yellow piece of paper, with the word “pictures” written in black sharpie, taped to a drawer. The drawer was packed with 4x6inch personal photographs. I spent the next hour digging through them carefully in the dim light, then spent about $15 buying my favourites, and I was hooked on a quest to find more.
Having these photos in my hands, I imagined the lives of the people, not only who were featured in them, but who took them. One photo was of the Louvre, dated 1984. The next was of a rickety bridge in the Caribbean. One appears to be a woman sewing her cat. Suddenly, I had access to all these moments that must have been important enough to someone at some point in time that they felt the need to document a person or place. I visited the store once every couple months for about three years, never leaving without a new stack of photographs. I once asked the owner where she got them all from, she said they were often tucked into books, or she would get boxes of books from estate sales with full photo albums mixed in. About a year after my first bookstore visit, I started checking in photo albums in thrift stores. I’ve now collected over 500 personal photographs – the oldest from the 1930s, the latest from the early 2000s. Around the same time as I discovered the bookstore, I also started shooting my own 35mm film. Armed with a Pentax K1000, I wandered the streets of my new home of Toronto, and soon, had to find somewhere to get all that film developed. Quickly, the excitement of dropping off film, and having to wait for resulting images, was something I grew attached, and really looked forward, to. One day, while out at a thrift store, I opened up a camera bag and found two exposed rolls of film. I had an overwhelming urge to know that was on them, and couldn’t wait to drop them off for developing. I got back about 50 photos of a wedding, discoloured, but with an incredible story to tell. In the last year, I’ve found about 25 rolls of film. Only half of them have been developed with successful results. Although it can become an expensive hobby, the anticipation and the results have been worth it for me. Although some people have found this hobby a bit strange, I often feel responsible in a way for saving these things that may have otherwise been destroyed. Especially with undeveloped film, there are no second copies of those photos, of those moments, and once those moments are gone, they’re gone forever. If I can preserve even one photo, one meaningful moment of someone’s life, that’s worth it to me.
NOTE: If you happened recognize anyone in these photos, please contact us and we will try to connect you with the photos. PhotoED • 45
CHEMIGRAMS ARE CREATED BY FORCING A CHEMICAL REACTION BETWEEN PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPER AND PHOTOGRAPHIC CHEMISTRY.
CHEMIGRAMS
LAURA WALKER
On a sunny Saturday six students from The Mill Arts Centre Trust in Banbury took part in a Chemigram workshop lead by Laura Walker. “In this workshop, we used Ilford Warm Tone Resin Coated Paper, Ilford Pear Resin Coated Paper, Ilford Universal Developer, Ilford Warm Tone Developer and Ilford Rapid Fixer. The beauty of this process is that you don’t need a darkroom to achieve stunning results.
48 • PhotoED
THE B DON’ STUN
BEAUTY OF THIS PROCESS IS THAT YOU ’T NEED A DARKROOM TO ACHIEVE NNING RESULTS.
Students started by learning how to make a positive and negative chemigram using a selection of flowers and shrubbery. We used the Ilford Pearl Resin Coated Paper for this initial activity. Students got to choose between the Warm Tone and Universal developers, thinking about which developer would suit their image best. Students dipped their items (flowers & leaves) into either the developer or fix first. These items were then placed onto a sheet of photographic paper where students could then paint attentional chemistry onto the paper if they wanted to. Once the chemicals had started to react with the paper, the items were removed and the paper was placed into either a tray of developer or fix. After students had practiced making a positive and negative chemigram they started to experiment with different resists. Resists are used to stop the development between the paper and chemistry. In this workshop students experimented with Wax, Nail Polish, Syrup, Vegetable Spray Oil, Paint and Olive Spray Oil. As the weather was good, we were also able to expose the images to the sun (lumen printing process) which added really interesting effects to both the Pearl and Warm Tone Papers.�
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