• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Michael Kenna in the darkroom

Cool as Ice

A
Cool as Ice

  • 0
  • 0
  • 22
Pond

H
Pond

  • 2
  • 0
  • 47

Recent Classifieds

Forum statistics

Threads
202,701
Messages
2,844,450
Members
101,478
Latest member
The Count
Recent bookmarks
0

Pieter12

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Aug 20, 2017
Messages
8,402
Location
Magrathean's computer
Format
Super8
I came across this quote from Michael Kenna. It expresses a lot of how I work, too.

"Printing in the darkroom, spending hours interpreting and exploring the potential of negatives, is an essential and magical ingredient of my creative path. When photographing, I give little consideration to how a final print will turn out. I am not interested in pre-visualization, and have found it more important to follow the muse, rather than have any dogmatic approach to the printing process. In the case of this image, now titled “Nine Birds", I started with printing the whole frame of the negative which consisted of a temple rooftop with many more birds. I was not satisfied with the result and began to focus on a certain part of the negative. I raised the enlarger and printed a small section. Once again, I was not wholly satisfied, so I raised the enlarger even higher and concentrated on just a few of the birds. After some hours of fine tuning, and even more severe cropping, I ended up with this grainy image of a minute part of the negative with few details. The finished print looks almost like a wood block. I often find photographs inside photographs."

~ Michael Kenna
 
1742939825952.png
 
I am not interested in pre-visualization, and have found it more important to follow the muse, rather than have any dogmatic approach to the printing process.

Pre-visualization is only as dogmatic as you make it. In general, it can be as simple as "how should I best attempt to frame and expose this scene?" Making reference to following a "muse" is easily as much bs.
 
OK, lessons learned:
* Whatever it takes. Doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get where you want.
* Recognizing a good composition is key, and this can happen at any point in the process.
 
  • Don_ih
  • Don_ih
  • Deleted
  • Reason: Salty
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here.

PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:



Ilford ADOX Freestyle Photographic Stearman Press Weldon Color Lab Blue Moon Camera & Machine
Top Bottom