I was fortunate. I first picked up a camera, with intention, in 1987. At that time if you wanted to make a print you really had to want to make a print, especially if you were working with black and white negatives. Most often, printing required a darkroom. And it was grand. Making photographs, and subsequently editing them, was like working with plutonium. You had to be careful. You had to take your time and you had to really apply critical thought.
But the benefits of working this way have stayed with me all these years later. I’m in the process of moving and my new studio is FILLED with prints of every size and shape imaginable. I can’t imagine it being any other way. Each time I say to myself, “I should toss these,” and then I open the boxes and realize….I can’t.
I still do a lot of printing but I now add photobooks, magazines, Zines, Trade Books, postcards and anything else I can to my arsenal. I truly love printing. And I make art prints as well, just for fun. Each camera system I use creates a unique style file. This means I need to make test books or magazines to make sure I know how to best prepare the files.
