Back from Summer Walkabout

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has had a great summer and will be able to set aside a little winter darkroom time. I love summer, and on the Oregon Coast every warm(ish) and sunny day is to be savored, but there really isn't anything better than listening to the winter rain and wind from inside a warm, cozy darkroom.

I've had a very good summer of recipe development and testing — actual shooting in the field! DIY silver gelatin is out of the lab and into the world. It's doable and great fun. I regularly go back and look at Chris Patton's and Kevin Klein's work to help me remember that there is a world of photography beyond my studio door! Thanks, guys.

I've reached a personal goal I set for myself five years ago when I started down this rabbit hole — making portfolio-quality materials. By now, I had assumed I'd be spending more time on my own art and sharing recipe development and materials with many like-minded people. I didn't imagine that the launch of a 'new' medium was going to be so slow. Or, that at times the fight for the facts would be so hard. But, I'll continue to post here, mixing new stuff with reports and pics from 'out there'.

I've got a lot of material stacked up to publish here, and I've had writer's block trying to decide the best order forward. Can't seem to do it, so I'm going to start at the top of my stack and work down in no particular order, with one addition — reports from much more time spent behind a camera — in my opinion, the real reason for it all.

I hope others will discover the joys of 'slow photography' and contribute their experiences here.