even more uses for alternative processes
Catherine Rogers (CROGERS@aadmin.mur.csu.edu.au)
Wed, 16 Aug 1995 17:23:32 GMT+1000
Frapie and Woodbury's "Photographic Amusements" is a particular favourite of mine, I always
recommend it to students so that they can see what photography is
REALLY about. And for those moment of photographic
uncertainty it is always a comfort I have found.
Anyway, I have thoroughly enjoyed the discussion regarding posthumously
photographing loved things and ones (thanks Judy and Dan).
So, in the light of their generous contribution, I just thought that I would pass on some really
valuable information to participants of this list.
The following comes to you on different wavelength. I just
thought that you would all like to know that I am claiming
responsibility for breaking a very serious long term drought here in
Albury in south west NSW, Australia, and that my attempts to teach alternative processes at
the university here, using the sun, are clearly entirely responsible
for this. Actually the rainmaking possibilities of alternative
process (well, as taught by me anyway) have been long known to my
students in Sydney over some 15 years. You could always tell it was
Friday (alternative processes day) because it was overcast and it
generally rained. So I built an exposing table there after several years
of frustration. There is no such indoor exposing facility here, however.
My alternative processes course has now finished (its really obvious)
because we have
had nearly two weeks of the most glorious sun after some three months of
unremitting rain, grey sky, cold and gloom. Winters in Australia are generally
reliably bright and sunny (cool) and just excellent for outside photographic activities
For your information, Albury is (get out your
maps, it's about 600kms south south west of Sydney), a small inland city in a
what used to be very good mixed farming country. I arrived here at the end of january this year
and into at least the sixth year of drought. A really bad drought,
farmers going broke, sheep starving and being shot, stock sent north to Queensland (1500kms away) on
agistment, general economic doom and gloom.
In March, and the very day that my class finally gets to coat their sheets of BFK
with cyanotype solution and make their way tentatively outside, it
rained. And it virtually didn't stop all semester. I've thought of
billing all the local farmers, but they are all still broke, but I
would really like
them to know that the fantastic rich green growth everywhere has a photographic[
origin. I've contemplated changing my income source and taking
alternative process on the road, specifically to drought affected
areas, as teaching photography part-time isn't really that lucrative.
Just thought I'd share this with you.
Catherine.