Re: FYI:Mold Pictures (fwd)
j.r.anderson ( j.r.anderson@mds.qmw.ac.uk)
Thu, 09 January 1997 10:37 AM
>I posted this message to the PhotoART list, becuase I found it amusing in
>a way. There is no a direct connection with the regular postings, maybe
>there is an indirect one..:-)..
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------(somewhat shortened)
>Subject: FYI:Mold Pictures
>
>FYI: Today I obtained the new catalog of the firm "Promega" ( biological
>research products, I work in a biochemical lab). On the front cover is a
>color photograph, difficult to discribe, lots of purple/red colors, some
>fingerprints, quite abstract, vaguely reminding me of my biology classes.
>Same kind of images appeared throughout the catalog. There was a little
>article about the photgrapher, Andre Farrella, which explained the images.
>It appeared that this Farrella stored his colour slides and prints in a
>wet basement, fungus started to grow on them an transformed the negs and
>photographs and negs (these fungus/molds lived on o.a. on gelatine). Six
>years of images down the drain, until he got interested and started to
>print these "mold" negs, and liked them a lot, and so did the company
>
I presume he had already checked that none of the fungi was a species that
can ruin lenses, cameras, enlargers, etc? I wouldn't play this game unless
I was sure that nothing could spread to and hance dammage my equipment, or
contaminate any prints I wished to make in the future! It would not be fun
to see a platinum print go mouldy months/years later after being infected
with fungal spores which had been distributed all over the darkroom...
But then, the British always are a tad pessimistic ;-)
Jonathan Anderson
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