Exploring 21st Century Photography

F295: 21st Century Photography
Hosted by The Camera Club of New York
January 16-20, 2009 | New York, New York
Opening Reception: January 17, 7:00-9:00pm

F295 is pleased to announce that the Camera Club of New York will be hosting an exhibition entitled F295: 21st Century Photography from January 16 - 20, 2009. This show coincides with the F295 Seminar at BandH Photo on January 18 and features work from a selection of artists who have been or are scheduled to be involved with various F295 events.

Presently confirmed artists include:

Jo Babcock
Craig Barber
Michelle Bates
Gabriel Biderman
Laura Blacklow
David George Brommer
Martha Casanave
Jill Enfield
Dan Estabrook
Jesseca Ferguson
Alida Fish
Joy Goldkind
Robert Hirsch
Kerik Kouklis
Scott McMahon
France Scully Osterman
Mark Osterman
Tom Persinger
Jerry Spagnoli
Keith Taylor

These are some of the most well known artists working in the field today! Don’t miss your chance to attend this short lived but very important exhibition.

More information about the Camera Club of New York:
http://www.cameraclubny.org/

*Bromoil image by Joy Goldkind, Adagio #32,

Many of you have noticed that the 2009 Symposium is called the ‘f295 Symposium on 21st Century Photography’ and we changed the name of the f295 forum to f295: Exploring 21st Century Photography. But what is it? This section offers thoughts on this 21st Century photographic phenomenon.

Empowerment
The 21st Century Photographer remains open to the exploration and use of a variety of processes, techniques, and technologies so long as the chosen method(s) most concisely articulate their creative vision. A net result of this paradigm shift is not only complete artistic freedom but also a palpable sense of empowerment. Historically photography has marched down the long path of process obsolescence - one in which new techniques replace old in a continual cycle of progress. In a 21st Century approach, however, control is wrestled from profit driven agencies -corporations, advertisers, and the marketplace all promoting a consumptive photographic model- and given to the artist/photographer. By virtue of taking the responsibility of control, photographers allow themselves to use a pastiche of tools and materials to make pictures. It is this freedom -which is new for many- that empowers and fuels the 21st Century Photographer.

This concise and reliable handbook provides professional and advanced photography students with practical pathways of utilizing diverse photographic methods to produce engaging, expressive pictures from an informed aesthetic and conceptual position.

F295 Subscribing Members recently received a coupon code for 20% off this book (& free shipping) at the Focal Press store. If you’re a member and didn’t receive the code let us know.

See the book here >>

Given the parameters of light, time, and apparatus, I suppose time is the most overlooked component here. One speaks of the “decisive moment,” but this implies one is dealing with equipment and film-sensitivities that allow instantaneous photographic representations to be extracted from the continuous flux of human perception.

Making my own paper-negatives and cameras and lenses has obliged me to use large amounts of available UV light coupled with small apertures, and this has resulted in exposure times of ten to fifteen minutes. From here, I have been led to analyze particular confluences of time, light, and place to a point where there only were ten to fifteen minutes in a given time of day or season where a photograph could turn out as intended. As a result, my awareness of the transient quality of light has increased, with apparatus being characterized by the limitations it places upon me.

Don’t forget to check out Greene’s informative technical manual:

Primitive Photography: A Guide to Making Cameras, Lenses, and Calotypes

Alan Greene is based in Cambridge, MA. He’ll be leading a workshop at the 2009 F295 Symposium entitled Lens Building and Optical Effects.

We were recently contacted by John Zokowski of Butler-Dearden Paper about a paper they’re relaunching to the historic process community.

Weston Diploma Parchment Plat-Pal, a proprietary paper product sold exclusively by Butler-Dearden Paper for historic process photo printing. Its smooth finish combined with its warm eye-pleasing shade and easy clearing make the Weston Plat-Pal the ideal medium for either the professional, amateur or student PT/PD practitioner.

Technical information:
Weight: 177GSM/47#
Thickness: 10 MILS
Color: Warm White
pH: 6.5 Average
Surface: Velvety Smooth
Edge: Plain
Fiber: 100% RAG
Sizing: Rosin-Alum sized

Free Samples are available for F295 Subscribing Members!
Email with your name and shipping address to receive a sample pack of this paper. To receive a free sample you must reply by December 15, 2008!

Here’s the full communication from John:
The alt process community was saddened in the spring of 2008 to learn that the mill manufacturing Weston Diploma Parchment was shuttered, and that the closing signaled the demise of Weston Diploma Parchment. There wasn’t anymore to be had. This very popular grade of paper gained almost instant popularity upon our introducing it to the community in 2007, quickly becoming the paper of choice to many users.

Not willing to give up on the wonderful community of alt process practitioners, students, amateurs, educators and commercial print makers, many of whom have become friends, I set in motion a search around the world, seeking a mill, any mill beyond those already known to us all, which might be able to manufacture a new sheet or one to the Weston specifications.

I have good news for you all.

It took a lot of hard work to get to rebirth from demise, but there has been success. I invite you to once again experience the ease with which you can make a high quality PT/PD or other alt process print on Weston Diploma Parchment Plat-Pal. Yes, Weston Diploma Parchment with a wrinkle. It is now called Weston Diploma Parchment Plat-Pal, a proprietary paper product sold exclusively by Butler-Dearden Paper for alternative process photo printing.

All of our testing and evaluation was conducted by master photo printer John Marcy at his Northampton Photographics studio. John Marcy collaborated with me in 2006 when he did the original testing on Weston Diploma Parchment, and he was very eager to offer his services to help me evaluate our 2008 on-machine paper test runs. John’s expertise, along with my commitment to the alt process community, is rewarding us all with the new Weston Diploma Parchment Plat-Pal paper. I am very pleased to introduce the Weston Plat-Pal brand to your studio, classroom or gallery.

Its smooth finish combined with its warm eye-pleasing shade and easy clearing make the Weston Plat-Pal the ideal medium for either the professional, amateur or student PT/PD practitioner.

Thank you all for your support, words of encouragement and commitment to the Weston brand.

We look forward to servicing your order. Email jzokowski@comcast.net or call 800-634-7070 x5100.

Good printing to you all,
John M. Zokowski

*Photo of John Marcy of Northampton Photographics (left) and John Zokowski discussing Weston Diploma Parchment Plat-Pal in Marcy’s studio.

Ansco 130 Recipe
Great warm tone developer with deep blacks and crisp highlights. Ansel Adams preferred a variant on this formula which omitted the Hydroquinine and Potassium Bromide and decreased the Sodium Sulfite to 35grams.

750 ml, Water (125F)
2.2g, Metol
50g, Sodium Sulfite (Anhydrous)
11g, Hydroquinone
78g, Sodium Carbonate (Monohydrate)
5.5, Potassium Bromide
11g, Glycin

Mix ingredients in order given then add H2O to make 1000ml of solution.

Dilute 1:1 or 1:2. Develop for 2-3 minutes.

If you try this please report back in the wet darkroom/lab section of the F295 forum.

21st Century Photography is a phrase meant to describe the type of photography in which many artists are presently engaged. A 21st century photographic approach includes the use of historic methods, alternative processes, and adaptive techniques. The decision regarding which methods to employ in a project is driven by the artistic vision of the photographer rather than the technical limitation or possibility of the equipment. Terms such as alternative, historic, hand-wrought, DIY (do-it-yourself), and antiquarian have been used to describe this type of work and while those terms can be accurate they are mostly not. The use of any one term greatly simplifies the complexities, combinations, and adaptations which are taking place while at the same time weighing the discussion with preconception and bias. Recognizing that photographic technology has become so sophisticated that, for the most part, it is irrelevant and, in an effort to create something new, many artists are freely inventing and combining techniques and processes from the history of photography to create a new 21st Century Photography.

Photography is an art that is often imagined to be quick & easy. In a way, it’s true; images are usually captured in a fraction of a second. But it’s the lifetime of experience that informs all the decisions behind the actions of that fraction of a second. Whether the camera you’re using is the latest digital, a large-format view camera, or an absurdly simple plastic camera, you, the photographer, have total control of the images you create. We often spend most of our time learning the functions of the camera, and depending on them to make decisions. But it’s really our understanding of light, the most basic element of photography, that allows us to create photographs that accurately convey our artistic vision. The simpler the camera, the more obvious this becomes, as we must rely on ourselves, not the camera, to control light that reaches the lens.

And don’t forget to check out her inspiring and informative book:

Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity

Michelle is based in Seattle, WA USA. You can find more information on her website.