In a Swamp | Precarious habitat Intensive investigation Precipice of extinction |
T
he positive power of negative thinking. One pleasure that has been lost in the digital revolution is an intimate involvement with the photographic negative. Many traditional photographic processes create negative images as the emulsions react when exposed to actinic radiation. During developing these exposed chemicals are retained and become opaque while the unexposed chemicals are washed away. I always enjoyed placing a set of newly processed black and white film strips on a light table and carefully examining each frame with a magnifying loupe. Sometimes an image viewed in this context was complete and fully realized, requiring no further manipulation for conclusion. In such circumstances, I would occasionally cut-out these individual frames, put them into slide mounts, and project them for direct viewing.
“And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” - Nietzsche
