Did moving to a new home change your photography?

[Flashcam]

Moving to a new place or new town changes who and what you live with. What has it changed with your photography? Like no running water or drainage for a darkroom, or not enough electricity, or space, like you had before, completely different people, lifestyles, and landscape around you? Do you take your "bag of tricks" with you? Or make into your "new backyard"?
If it happened to you, how did you adapt?

 

[mshchem]

I had to rebuild my entire darkroom. It all worked out but it was a lot of effort.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

My photography improved considerably as then (1992) I got a larger and better space to build an entirely new darkroom, which allowed me to work much more efficient, and I could add the necessary infrastructure for a colour developing machine.
And I learned a lot about construction techniques too, as I did the building my self (woodwork, water, electricity and gas)...

Life didn't as it all costed so much that I was under te pressure to work more/harder to earn it all back as I was freelancer then.

But in general, the quality of my work, technically as well as substantively (and somewhat aesthetically), improved a lot!
And as my work improved, I had more interesting (demanding-) assignments , so it was worth the 'strain'...

 

[Flashcam]

Philippe-Georges! My own leaf rustled yesterday as a tree fell in the backyard very close to the house! Ah, life in the woods! No real damage and we're cleaned up again. Good to hear from you!

 

[koraks]

What has it changed with your photography?

The way I look at and interact with my surroundings has changed. And yes, technical changes, too, which helped me to be more structured and tidy. But the differences in seeing and reflecting I find more relevant.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Philippe-Georges! My own leaf rustled yesterday as a tree fell in the backyard very close to the house! Ah, life in the woods! No real damage and we're cleaned up again. Good to hear from you!

Good heavens Flashcam, a tree falling right next to your house, you really got lucky, no damage which is reassuring to hear!
And indeed that's life in the woods.

There is a very busy rail road line, with lots of fright trains connecting the harbour, which passes at 100m behind my place.
Right there is a train bridge which had a smallish prolapse that caused a lot of very disturbing vibrations when a train crossed, infecting the sharpness in my darkroom and studio!
It took about half a year to convince the railroad company that there was a problem, and then it took moths for them to solve it.
Yes, that's life in the city...

 

[Chan Tran]

When I moved in 2011 I no longer had a darkroom.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

When I moved in 2011 I no longer had a darkroom.

How did you survive?

 

[Chan Tran]

How did you survive?

Well you don't die suicide is a sin you know. When I moved into the new house which is newer and slightly larger yet my wife would not let me set up the darkroom. I sold my entire color darkroom for $200. I really missed that Beseler CB-7 and the dichro DG color head with 2 200W bulb.
Without the darkroom I switched to color slides but that gets to be too expensive.

 

[TomR55]

I had two events concur: I retired and relocated, which makes it difficult to say which, if any, of these events may have changed “my photography.”

Moving from Washington, DC to SouthWest Florida has obviously changed what I can easily put in front of the lens. Transitioning from working full-time to retirement has given me some time to catch-up on what’s been going on since the postmodern thing happened— so, I’ve had more time to work on projects that question some fundamental assumptions about the meaning and implications of photography—which I find quite challenging and liberating.

From a more practical standpoint, I no longer have a “full” darkroom. I am able to process films but have not figured out how (or if) I will return to wet printing. It would have been nice had I moved someplace that had nearby darkroom space that I could rent, but that’s not the case here—I’ve checked. I’m tempted to semi-retire and offer to teach at the nearby University assuming they would have a working darkroom. The problem with that is teaching one is not much different from teaching two (which is a full load), and that would eat into my remaining personal time.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

One can always shoot film, develop it in the kitchen and then scan the negatives.
In B&W, analogue shooting and scanning is remarkably different than shooting d***l and converting it into B&W even with these (in) famous film profiles.
I tried and compared it, so different, don't ask me why, see below:

PS: Don't let the image color fool you...

Hasselblad 500C/M S-Planar 120mm, on Tri-X, scanned on EPSON V750

Fuji X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 50mmF2, set at 400ASA, processed in LrC with DXO film profile plugin added.

Asclepius Onion, both shot at full open aperture to blur the background, at the same place the same moment.

 

[Chan Tran]

One can always shoot film, develop it in the kitchen and then scan the negatives.

Yes if I shoot B&W which I don't. Processing C41 always cost me more than the lab (I do not reuse the chemical for consitency) and yet I can't do better than a good lab as far as developing C41 film. So I only do RA-4 color printing in my darkroom. So when I don't have the darkroom I shoot color slides. I project the slides (I do not scan them).

 

[Sirius Glass]

When my children moved out, I was able to turn one bedroom into a dry darkroom with the enlarger and print dryer. Then I started switching the master bathroom temporarily into the wet darkroom.

 

[ant!]

For me, I'd say it changed when getting kids (they are still young, 6 and 3.5 years). Before it was mostly travel photography, now much portrait. Of course, without moving to the same continent and city as my partner, the kids wouldn't be there, so indirectly this is a result of the move as well, even though a few years were in between those events...

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

It changed for the better when I moved from the black plastic wrap kitchen corner, to the spare bedroom, in Japan. I think the passage of time though has more of an effect on our photography.

 

[grahamp]

I retired at the end of 2019, we moved at the start of 2020, and COVID happened. I lost my dedicated darkroom space in the move, and I have been getting by with a temporary space for the past 5 years. All being well a new dedicated space will arise next year.

It is hard to say if moving changed things, or some of the life events over that period of time.

 

[mshchem]

I love building darkrooms, plumbing, electrical, structural. I remodeled a couple years ago to accommodate another large stainless steel sink. I've never regretted the time and money.

Doesn't make sense (or cents) but when I decide to act everything is ready to go.

 

[Flashcam]

I had two events concur: I retired and relocated, which makes it difficult to say which, if any, of these events may have changed “my photography.”

Moving from Washington, DC to SouthWest Florida has obviously changed what I can easily put in front of the lens. Transitioning from working full-time to retirement has given me some time to catch-up on what’s been going on since the postmodern thing happened— so, I’ve had more time to work on projects that question some fundamental assumptions about the meaning and implications of photography—which I find quite challenging and liberating.

From a more practical standpoint, I no longer have a “full” darkroom. I am able to process films but have not figured out how (or if) I will return to wet printing. It would have been nice had I moved someplace that had nearby darkroom space that I could rent, but that’s not the case here—I’ve checked. I’m tempted to semi-retire and offer to teach at the nearby University assuming they would have a working darkroom. The problem with that is teaching one is not much different from teaching two (which is a full load), and that would eat into my remaining personal time.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Covid boredom got me to invest in a 4x5 system after mainly shooting medium format Mamiya RB67. I think I unnecessarily over-complicated my life.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Covid boredom got me to invest in a 4x5 system after mainly shooting medium format Mamiya RB67. I think I unnecessarily over-complicated my life.

That is why I left 4"x5" and switched to 6x9, roll film is much more convenient, cheaper and easier to find.

 

[snusmumriken]

It took about half a year to convince the railroad company that there was a problem, and then it took moths for them to solve it.

I like that. “Shall it be the moths, then? The problem is resolved by Friday, or I unleash them.”

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

That is why I left 4"x5" and switched to 6x9, roll film is much more convenient, cheaper and easier to find.

Unfortunately, my favorite color Velvia 50 was discontinued in 4x5.

 

[awty]

All going right I will be moving next year for the first time in over 30 years,, from the urban sprawl to a small country town, will let you know.

 

[rcphoto]

I’ve been in southern kentucky for almost 10 years and still struggle to get out and make images. I prefer to take pictures of people but the locals are far more unfriendly than what I’m used to in Chicago.

I find landscape boring although it sometimes will scratch the itch.

I do have a better opportunity to have my darkroom running. Although, i am limited to printing in fall and winter due to no ac in that part of the house.

 

[Dan Daniel]

I’ve been in southern kentucky for almost 10 years and still struggle to get out and make images. I prefer to take pictures of people but the locals are far more unfriendly than what I’m used to in Chicago.

All going right I will be moving next year for the first time in over 30 years,, from the urban sprawl to a small country town, will let you know.

Moved from a West Coast city to Vermont's biggest 'city' - 40,000 person cow town is what it is- and now outside Plattsburgh New York across the lake where towns are 3000 or less and corn and trees are more common. And yep, big changes that I am still not making sense of. The suspicion and outright anger of people is a big one. I had noticed in San Francisco the diminishing of street life for a while, but dang, out here in small towns, walking on a street or along a road means you have a giant target on your back. Be prepared to be aggressively confronted and interrogated over what you are doing, camera or not.

So in terms of darkroom setups, no difference- I can develop in a motel room and scan in the back side of my car if need be. But going from being among interesting sites where no one cares what you are up to, to needing to drive for any change of scenery and being certain to remember to stay in the public rightaway along a road so you don't trespass, to angry people hurling all sorts of accusations and insults and then them being surprised that you are not just rolling over in the face of their stupidity... well, it still throws me off. In a city, you give and you expect to get. Around here, people give but can't take a thing in response.

I am slowly getting footing on what to photograph, but it's taking time.