Re: problem
I remember Sam Wang telling me in grad school that someone said maybe it'd be a great thing if all the images from the past were lost in a flood and the slate were wiped clean. I was horrified at the loss of art history but you know--there's a point in there. Why I like gum printing is the making of the image is much more enjoyable than the taking. I get excited to get into the darkroom but right now my house is the PITS with trays of water all over and negatives strewn about. And I much prefer gum PRINTING than writing about gum :) And I don't get any time left over to plant eggplants and clementines...tho they would freeze out in this 12 degree weather. Chris ----- Original Message Follows ----- From: Diana Bloomfield <dhbloomfield@bellsouth.net> To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca Subject: Re: problem Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:18:26 -0500 >Hi Sandy, > >Well, I sometimes wonder that, too-- if to "simply burn it >all and start from scratch" might be best. When I'm not >home, but in town, and I hear fire alarms in the area, I >always worry that it's my house that's burning to the >ground while I'm out buying eggplant or clementines. >It's like this big dark cloud that hovers over me, until >I finally get home and see that all is well. Still . . . I >often wonder what I would do if all my negatives, prints, >and digital files were destroyed in this imaginary house >fire, or what I'll do if that big satellite that's gonna >fall from the sky next month or whenever, will drop right >on my house. I have to admit, if I lost all my negatives >, etc, I'd be really upset for a while; on the other hand, >I think it sure would provide a nice clean fresh start. >Maybe we (I) wouldn't feel so restricted in what and how >I chose to photograph and print if the slate were wiped >totally clean. That's what I wonder, anyway. > >On the other hand, I like that I have so many negatives >that I never have to go out and photograph anymore if I >don't want to. Like you, I think I could just sit here >and print the rest of my life, and that would be fine. >When I think about doing that, though, I get worn out. I >think I've realized that the part I like best about >photography is the actual photographing. Deep down, I >don't think I ever really liked to print. If I had an >amazing space in which to work, then maybe I'd like it >better. Then again, that would just put more pressure on >me to print, because I have this great space. > >The hard drive on my 1 year old laptop crashed last week, >and I lost everything on it. I had a new hard drive put >in, and I found it really liberating to start fresh. The >person who replaced the hard drive gave me a card for one >of these companies that will try to reclaim your files >for you. I kept the card but decided not to do anything >about it. After a week, I can't even remember what I had >on it, so I figured that was similar to keeping old >clothes that you never wear, just hanging around in your >closet taking up space. If you haven't worn them in over >a year, you ought to just bite the bullet and get rid of >them. > >So, yeah, I have similar problems. My main problem is that >I could sit around and think about this stuff all day and >never get anything done. It's quite a dilemma, for sure. > >Good luck with your storage system, or lack of, Sandy. :) > > >> >> >> Diana, >> >> Not sure why others are not posting but in my case it is >> not because of happy printing. I am in something of a >> major funk regarding the dismal lack of organization in >> my system of negative storage. I have been going >> through hundreds of negatives that were not well >organized and filed over a period of many years and trying >> to put them into some kind of category or date system. >> The task is quite overwhelming and makes me realize >> that even I never make another negative I already have >> so many that I would be lucky to print even 1/10 of >them. And after several days of doing this I still have >> not located the lost or misplaced negatives that set >>all of this off. >> The whole experience has made me quite depressed and I am >> starting to wonder if it would not be best to simply >> burn all of them and start from scratch. Is anyone else >> having similar problems, or is this just a side effect >>of my bi-polar tendencies? >> Sandy >> >> >> >> >> >> > Assistant Professor of Photography Photography Option Coordinator Montana State University College of Arts and Architecture Department of Media and Theatre Arts, Room 220 P.O. Box 173350 Bozeman, MT 59717-3350 Tel (406) 994 6219 CZAphotography.com |