This is how it works. You start playing. There is no audience. Only you. What time do you have? What resources? There is no right and wrong; there is only your imagination. Consider these sketches. Informal pieces that unlock other informal pieces, until something happens that might unlock something more. Or not. I’ve been back from Patagonia for about a week. I’ve given two lectures, done one long interview, am about to do a live event for Blurb, and am about to start a four-week online class. And yes, there is one more lecture on the books for early next month. The point is, a lot is going on, so my personal photography, bookmaking, and creative time are limited. I do what I can with what I have.
Enter the thermal accordian.
My original plan was to make a clear film zine, but I ran out of clear film and didn’t have time to order more. Sitting beside me are three printers. No, wait, five printers. Each delivering a unique little “thing.” I chose the thermal. Simple, fast, lo-fi. What should I have done differently? Easy. I should have kept the zine as one long piece of paper. I tore off each photograph because that is what I typically do with my journals. Habit. I need to break that habit.
Blurb is doing a DIY Book Contest. Our social team is a young couple who are all in on bookmaking. She is an incredible artist, and they both make handmade books to die for. Washi paper, hand-cut lettering, a wide range of artwork, and photography. These are the kind of people who make working for Blurb so much fun. They encouraged me to make something. Boom. Fun. Done.
The thermal printer has almost no dynamic range. In other words, the printing kinda sucks, but this DOES NOT MATTER. If I had a dollar for every dork asking about DPI and color management needed to get “perfect” color, I’d have enough saved to buy a mid-level Toyota Camry. None of this stuff matters when it comes to projects like this. There are times when these things DO matter, but most of the time they do not. How does it feel? That’s what matters. And what did you learn? I learned a bit about what I have and don’t have photographically. I learned that I did use the long lens more than I thought, but that it’s not mandatory in a place like Patagonia, depending on what you choose to photograph.
This entire thing took half an hour. Phone to printer to washi tape to done. It’s folded up now and will be mailed out to someone else. It did what it needed to do. And now I will refine, change my tactics, and move on. And eventually, there will be Blurb sample books, as always. Patagonia is haunting me. It’s a difficult place to shake. It might not be for everyone, but it’s tailor-made for me. Space, time, distance, solitude. I have ideas for the future. Things I’m beginning to work on now. Things that might change the playing field. If you haven’t toyed with something like this, now is the time. Use whatever you have because that’s all you need.
Comments 10
A couple of months ago I used a cheap kids thermal printing camera and made a series of photos of sections of abstract cyanotypes I made years ago. Used the thermal prints as cels for a short animation film, added some music. Why? Because I had a crazy idea and wanted to see what would happen. Uploaded it to youtube, not for likes or views but simply to share my naive joy of playing.
Author
YES! Playtime! It’s what leads to most of the best work.
Totally. I’m currently working through a book on my trip to New Brunswick last fall. There’s lots of photos to choose from, but I’m picking the ones that bring me a memory, or have a story attached to them. It was surprisingly easy to get from almost 800 edited trip photos to about 90 possibles for the book. The finished book might add more, or maybe I’ll decide there should be fewer. After the Zoe show yesterday, I’m thinking more about how much text there is, where it should go, and what it looks like. Seeing the photos in Bookwright in chronological order to start, then sparks thoughts of what photos go with what, and how the layout works. Some big, some smaller, a few tall and skinny, a few wide and short. It’s fun, shuffling them around. Considering photos that go together, even though they were taken at different times and places, gives a new layer of memory to the experience.
Author
Yes, you get it. This is how it works. Making sense of the world and the work. Another interesting twist is leaving the work for a year or two. It’s crazy what happens when you see it for the second time.
Gonna be snowed in, perfect time for some peace and creating. Recently got an A4 thermal printer and it’s been such a joy. Printing, pasting, and writing brings me so much happiness. It’s the little things, truly.
Author
One page at a time. I look at the journal and think in those terms. No pattern. No limits put on by an imaginary audience. Just me and my random thoughts.
Here’s something learned the stupid, hard way. Don’t laminate thermal prints. I ran the laminator at my old job, and someone popped by with her daughter’s baby ultrasound photo prints, wanting them laminated. I put them on the spare space outside the work I was laminating, and the heat of the laminator turned the ultrasound photo black. Because I am fond of admiring my own work, I watched the first one come out the back of the laminator, and was able to stop it before they all turned black. I was not familiar with thermal prints. In my defense, the person who asked the favour used to run the laminator themselves, and was familiar with its heat level.
Happy creating!
Author
That’s kinda funny. I know it’s not supposed to be, but anyone who prints and experiments has done something similar. Live and learn Lisa!
Excellent. I’ve got three printers around me now, and I print to Awagami washi paper a few times a week. It’s all awesome.
My daughter also has one of those ridiculously cheap kids’ cameras that has a mini thermal printer inside and prints to receipt paper.
And it’s bright pink. Double awesome.
Author
Yes, anything pink is winning. I use washi tape a lot too. Adds a bit of color and design.