Usually I rescue unprocessed film but these images, and the circumstances surrounding them make them remarkable.
I received an email asking about processing some Verichrome Pan and of course I replied that I could do that. I was somewhat disappointed when a package of negatives arrived until I was told that the positives were lost.
The negatives are part of the inheritance of a granddaughter from her grandmother and she’d never seen the positives. Those positives are lost. The photographs were taken in Minnesota and the sender’s email had a .edu extension.
I’ve been a photographer for decades. I’ve looked at countless photographs and I think this one is remarkable. I could tell you why I feel that way but if you’re here, you likely already know why.
This photo and many of the ones that follow were done on medium format negatives measuring about 2.75″x 4.50″.
There is so much about this photograph that makes it striking. The large format is wonderful and perfect for the subject matter. I can feel the wind blow across the land and the generations. I hope you have a big monitor.
We all have families and our families are similar. Our loved ones are what we live for but the experience is a fleeting one, three generations at the very best. After that, we’re photographs in a family album. Images of people that had some relation to us but we’re unsure of what that relationship was.
Diane Arbus inspired me to get behind a camera and these photographs could have been done by her. They are stark in their realism. Beautiful and non judgmental. Time has stopped yet we feel a profound sense of its never ending march into the future. I wish I could talk to the photographer.
From Landscape to Portrait in the wink of an eye.
The photographer’s shadow.
