Contact Printers Guild Newsletter
April 2006
John Wimberley has made these observations about his experience in the act of photographing: “More and more often, craft and insight would merge. As time passed, other boundaries fell. Often I couldn’t tell whether I was photographing a stone or making a self-portrait. Or was the stone photographing me? Nature became not a storehouse to be plundered of pictures, but rather a context for remembering who and what I am.” His words take on special meaning with this issue’s IN FOCUS feature of Joe Freeman’s stunning work. There really is something more than pretty pictures.
This month, be sure to read the upcoming issue of B&W Magazine for its article about Ray Bidegain. The feature offers an insight into this hardworking photographer’s images. Whether in the studio or in the field, Ray is the consummate photographer. To see his work first-hand is a real treat.
The Large Format Journal continues its support of the Guild with feature articles on John Wimberley and Joe Freeman in the Spring issue. It is due for publication at the end of April. Finally, besides our listings of Guild members’ shows and workshops, we are adding a section on “Photographers’ Outings.” This month we have stories of field excursions by three of our Guild members. Gerhard and Ray were on an outing along the Oregon Coast. Patrick was on trip to California desert areas. And Ray and Patrick had a day photographing together in the Columbia Gorge. We hope you’ll enjoy reading of our adventures.
Please take a moment to check out the Contact Printers Guild's online store, where you will find nearly 350 fine prints for sale. The store is a secure site that allows you to purchase using your credit card or PayPal account. This makes it easy to start or add to your collection via the Internet.
Be sure to bookmark our store, as we are adding new work each week and there will always be something new to see.
Joe Freeman's and George Provost's images continue to show at the Paul Paletti Gallery through the beginning of June. The address of the gallery is 713 East Market Street, Louisville, KY.
Susan Huber has also been honored with a grant from the British Columbia Arts Council to photograph the rural churches in two Canadian provinces over the coming year. The contact prints, made from an 8x10 Polaroid camera, will be displayed in galleries and community halls and may also be compiled into a book.
John Wimberley's work is featured on-line at Soulcatcherstudio.com during April and May. The show will emphasize new work and older photos not seen on his web site. You can also view his images in Soulcatcher's print ad in B&W Magazine.
John Wimberley is also introducing a new line of prints entitled "Wimberley Special Editions." There are 12 images in the series at present, including many of his most successful pictures. The prints are approximately 6"x8" in size, mounted on 11"x14" mat board and are initialed on the front instead of signed. They also have a special stamp on the back and are numbered. They will retail (depending on image) for $225 - $300 and are currently available only from Levin Gallery in Monterey, CA, and from John. The concept is modeled on the Ansel Adams Special Edition Yosemite Series, except that in this case, the printing is also done by the photographer. Check John’s web site soon for more details on these prints. They would make wonderful gifts and are printed to the same standards as his larger fine prints.
A portfolio by Christian Nze will be featured in the next issue of EMULSION Magazine. This new publication is, in their words, “devoted to photographers of all abilities who love working in the traditional film-based, wet darkroom processes of photography.”
Gerhard Bock’s collage Desert Road Fantasy is touring with the Texas Photographic Society's 21st Annual Members Only Show. The show is part of Houston’s FotoFest 2006. In Houston, the Beautique Day Spa & Salon will display the image until April 23.
Patrick Kolb’s Azo prints are the subject of an exhibit at Portland’s Camerawork Gallery, scheduled from July 22 to August 18. The gallery is located at 2255 NW Northrup Street in Portland, OR. An opening reception is set for Sunday, July 23 from 1 to 4 PM.
Ray Bidegain
Ray Bidegain is teaching two workshops in conjunction with the Portland Photographers Forum. The first is entitled "The Fine Art of Platinum Printing with Ray Bidegain" and will take place from May 19-21, 2006. To sign up for one of the few open spots, please contact Ray at the link below as soon as possible.
Ray’s second class this year, to be held September 15-17, 2006, is called “The Portrait and Figure Workshop.” It will explore the portrait and figure in a wonderful setting in the Columbia Gorge near Portland.
Click here for more information or to sign up for these classes.
John Wimberley
“Sight and Insight—A Workshop on Seeing in Photography,” is being offered by John Wimberley October 6-8, 2006. This workshop, also under the aegis of Portland Photographers Forum, is open to all photographers, regardless of format and whether film or digital. Tuition is $250 and the class is limited to 10 students. To sign up, please contact Robert Brummitt at (503) 614-0161, or e-mail robert8x10@hotmail.com.
This image, Dunes, Death Valley, is part of my more advanced work that deals with space in a way that’s not experienced in our three-dimensional world, where elements of the photograph sometimes appear to lift off the two-dimensional surface of the paper, or move behind it.
The following links contain short movies I found on the Internet that may aid in viewing how some of my photographs can appear to ‘move through four-dimensional space.’ They aren’t exact diagrams of what’s happening in my pictures, but they help illustrate what I’m talking about if you’re not already loosely familiar with 4D movement. (I don’t suppose there could be an exact diagram, as my work isn’t made from the calculation of numbers. On top of that, I don’t know exactly what is happening in my work, fourth dimensionally anyway, in the first place!)
1. Klein Bottle
Dunes, Death Valley is one of my more obvious photographs that exemplify this quality. At the loss of romanticism, I’ll do my best to explain the visual elements that aid in allowing one to perceive its ‘extra dimensional movement.’
The absence of detail in the central black shadow allows the brain to believe a gulf has been created between the land on the left and right sides of it. It's not like a gulf formed from continental drift, as in a continent splitting and moving apart along a two-dimensional surface (granted, the surface of the earth isn’t 2D; work with me here), where the gulf is filled with water, but more like there’s been a tear in space-time, where the gulf simply isn’t filled.
No detail in the shadow means no reference can be made to how steep or gradual the contour of the slope is. Without contour, it’s visually possible to believe the land on the right is separate from the land on the left. Yes, there is a continuance in detail along the bottom edge of the picture, but it’s necessary in order to give the scene some connection to reality; otherwise the photograph could easily be written off as a montage. The contour at the base acts as the forearm does in connecting but also separating the wrist and elbow.
The penumbra on the right side of the shadow condenses as it leads from the bottom to the top of the picture, and because the ridge of the dune also gains definition as the penumbra does, the sand appears to have morphed and taken on a thickness (evident between the penumbra and the ridge), removing it from reality as part of a single- surfaced dune field and placing it somewhere else in space. Additionally, being tonally brighter than the rest of the image (separating itself even more from the context of the photograph), it appears closer to a light source, making it easier to accept that it’s on a plane above the surface of the paper.
All the while, note how the bushes on the left, losing definition and diminishing in size, give a natural feeling of depth. This emphasizes the effect above by creating an illusionary surface. Imagine ripping a sheet of paper from the middle of the top edge to the midpoint of the sheet, then bending the right side up a little.
Besides creating depth, the section of land in the bottom left quadrant also looks as though it’s sinking into the shadow underneath the land on the right, because of the way the penumbra envelops its diagonal line. And with the land on the right looking as though it’s moving up and over the shadow, the photograph is energized with a movement similar to an ocean wave. For example: Take the piece of paper you ripped. Now, bend the right side (the part that is arched up) counterclockwise, over the left side. If this photograph is about something, it’s the black shape in the middle, not as a “shape” as first perceived, but rather the effect it has on perception of the space around it.
I don’t like talking about my photography, or anything for that matter, in this way; something pure and intuitive is lost in all the technical jargon. But if it helps someone enjoy my work on more than a single level, this article is meant as a sort of map to “get” how I’m conscious of space in many of my photographs.
Gerhard Bock and Ray Bidegain—Oregon Coast
“In early March, Ray Bidegain and I met up for a weekend of photography on the Central Oregon Coast. Together with several other photographers, we rented a house outside Yachats, right on the beach. The weather varied between wind, rain, hail and even snow. Two mornings in a row, the lawn that extended from the rental house to the beach was covered with a thick layer of frost. These conditions are not very common for spring on the Oregon Coast. They made using a large-format camera challenging, but Ray and I sure tried hard! We each made about 15 8x10" negatives and will soon be offering prints of the best images in our online store.
“When conditions got too adverse for the 8x10 camera, I pulled out my plastic Holga camera to photograph the ever-changing interplay of sky and ocean. The decidedly low-tech look of the Holga turned out to be well suited for these seascapes, resulting in images that look as if they had been taken by some long-forgotten photographer and then languished in somebody's attic for many years. I'm planning to make enlarged negatives from a few of these images and then print them in platinum. Above is a sample called Devil's Elbow, Study 1.” — Gerhard Bock
Patrick Kolb—Death Valley & Joshua Tree
“It was only the beginning of February, and already 42 of the past 45 days it had rained in Portland. We headed south in search of sunshine, armed with helpful suggestions from Joe Freeman’s recent trip and a superb book of maps and descriptive data from Gerhard Bock, to explore the spectacular Southern California desert environments of Death Valley and Joshua Tree. The amazing three-million-acre terrain of Death Valley encompasses geologic phenomena from sedimentary to volcanic to metamorphic rocks, from fault lines and plate-tectonic shifts to alkaline crystallization. To the right is a view of Zabriskie Point, an example of the ongoing power of nature in shaping this landscape. In Joshua Tree National Park, we were struck by the beauty of exposed granite forming rugged mountains of twisted rock and splendid jointed monoliths. Everywhere we turned, there seemed to be a unique image waiting to be recorded.
“Back home I had a chance to process the negatives, using minimal agitation for the first time with real negatives. The results were prints that have very fine detail and, to my surprise, a smoothness that is just perfect for Azo. All but two negatives were printed on grade 2 with three minutes' development in Amidol. To see more of my images from this trip, please click here.” — Patrick Kolb
Ray Bidegain and Patrick Kolb—Columbia Gorge
“On a slightly overcast Saturday in March, I was able to spend the day out photographing with Patrick Kolb. We decided to head east from Portland along the Columbia Gorge to a spot called Catherine Creek. Although I had been to the area before, I had not been down the particular trail Patrick had in mind, and I was happy to find a varied and interesting landscape to work in. The creek itself is on the small side, but when it came time to cross it later, it looked much bigger and more hazardous as we navigated a small row of river rocks using our tripods for balance. Wild oaks and a rugged rock wall with several interesting outcroppings mark the area. We spent several hours exploring and trying our best to make some good photographs. I was working in 4x5 on this outing and Patrick had brought his 8x10. For me it was nice to have a smaller camera along, making it easier to get around on the rocky terrain, especially during the creek crossing.
“After processing and printing my photographs from the day I was able to add the photograph (above left) of this rock outcrop to my catalog of landscapes.” — Ray Bidegain
Special-Offer Prints by Guild Members
Please have a look at this issue's special-offer prints on our website
Ray Bidegain is offering two platinum palladium prints on special offer to subscribers of the Contact Printers Guild newsletter. These are 8x10 prints presented in 4-ply window mats and are priced at $ 95.00 each. This is a perfect way to start or add to your collection. To see this month’s special-offer prints by Ray Bidegain, click here.