Last Class and Final Project

Tonight is our last class. I am really going to miss it. It was almost like a meditative experience in the darkroom on Sunday mornings when hardly anyone was there. Just hanging out over the chemical trays walking through the process....many, many times. There was a direct correlation between the size of the test strips I used and the amount of unused photo paper I had left. As the count went down, so did the size of the test strip. It became a challenge placing the test strip in just the right spot to get the reading needed for the final print.

I wanted to go home after the work I did in the darkroom on Sunday to do the spotting...so I ran over to the Camera Company in Norwood and bought a bottle for $4. It was worth it to sit at home and touch the prints up....once I figured out what I was doing! While I was at the store a young woman from Adam's class was buying more paper and another student from Bridgewater College was buying supplies for her final project!! That time of year. I was also able to buy some black wooden frames at the Dollar Store in Brockton for $1 each. Touched up with a black marker they work quite nicely.

I have more than the 10 prints that were required....I tried to leave some behind but it seemed to put a hole in my story...and I really, really enjoyed doing this project. It is so completely outside of anything I've ever attempted or even thought about. I would love to do more like it.....

Anyway, looking forward to seeing everyone's projects tonight. I have sugar and chocolate chip cookies in the car (not homemade although I wanted to).

Dreams of Breaking Out of my Cube

I'm sitting at work right now..been here since 6:30am...and yes, it's a Saturday when I should be home dusting or vacuuming or running errands. Yuk! I'll be leaving within the next hour and am anxiously looking forward to having my two teenage models show up for the photo shoot. They couldn't make it Thursday and they couldn't make it last night but will definitely be there tonight. I hope the weather holds up. I have some ideas on the shots I want to take. Hopefully I can get the rolls shot and then developed tomorrow to begin working on some additional prints. I don't know the sequencing yet or how it will play out but I think that will be some of the fun part at the end...once I've got sufficient prints made. Anyway, I thought I would take a break from the stress of this job and daydream a little about being outside of my cube in the real world doing something that is 300% more interesting and fun!!! Until next time....

Girl on Park Bench-Emmanuel's Print

Print Analysis

I have Emmanuel’s portrait of the girl on the park bench. A few things stand out from the photo right away. The girl is situated slightly off center and her head is turned to the right, she is not looking at her photographer. Her hands are inside her jacket pocket and she is sitting very erect. She doesn’t look relaxed. Instead she appears to have something on her mind.

Also noteworthy is that to her right is just enough bench space for another person. She is not in the center of the bench, there’s a great deal of room to her left. But to her right, the space is more limited, more intimate. Someone is missing from the photo that should be sitting on the bench to her right. Did that person just walk away and she is looking at their departure? Is this person on the way to meet her and she is looking in the direction from which they should be arriving? Based on the controlled emotion showing in the girl’s face, I would have to say the person is one she if very close to, in a relationship with, such as a boyfriend. And the relationship is in a turbulent state. She is now not sure what to do or where to go….so she just sits and stares at nothing, seeking control. Maybe the argument happened days ago and they are meeting for reconciliation….and she is trying to keep her emotions stable.

This photo could be the beginning of a relationship or the end of one…or one of the many low points that accompany most long-term ones. Her lack of eye contact with the photographer is very telling. She chooses not to engage, has effectively locked out anyone from seeing inside her head, knowing what she is thinking. The photo is very low key, the only bright spot is her slacks and sneakers, her legs and feet, that can stay immobile, paralyzed by her emotions. Or they can enable her, free her to move on.

At first glance Emmanuel’s photo is a very nicely crafted print of a young girl sitting on a bench. Upon further reflection, I see a deeply emotional and telling photograph of young woman at an emotional crossroad.