Chernobyl Legacy: Paul Fusco

1:34 AM

This Morning.

I awake and suddenly have the need to see this short documentary about Chernobyl. I have no idea why, but the need to see it, again, is overwhelming.

Phone in hand, scrolling to You Tube, typing in F-U-S-C-O...

Up it comes. I've seen it, heard it, watched it, many, many times before, but I need to see it again.

The photographs are powerful, as powerful perhaps as any I have ever seen, and the subject matter is horrific. The phone fades to black and I find myself alone, in the dark, wondering why this happened.

2:30 AM Still awake.

3:30 AM Still awake.

There is something bubbling inside of me, and frankly I find it somewhat disturbing. I feel like getting up, getting out, into the world and unleashing this bubbling need. But the problem is I don't know where, or how, or why.

I think anyone who works as a documentary photographer has an overwhelming need to record the world around them, and I'm no exception. I think all of us want to help, to show, to illustrate, illuminate and also leave OUR personal mark on the world.

For me, Fusco's piece is so powerful, not just because of the images, but also due to his narrative. His anger, his passion is palpable, and you cannot deny that this project was, "just another story" for him. He has a personal stake in this place and these people.

Recently I was in New York, working on a series of portrait shoots, and ended up a photo event. As I walked through the crowd, which was tight, he walked past me. I'm not sure I even saw him. Suddenly I was in a bubble and I was looking at his photographs in my mind. That is the power of great photography.

Fusco has done many other projects, and if you haven't seen his work, or his projects you should check them out.

Paul Fusco Link

Location Photos

Okay, just printed these four yesterday for a Palm Springs location. Warm-tone, as they requested, and rather large. The squares were 20x20 and the 35mm were 16x20 prints. I used a polished rag paper, which if you are looking for paper that "resembles" traditional silver paper, then this could be a great place to start.
Look, EVERYONE making paper is trying to find something to match silver. And let's not forget, they have been for a long, long while, and they are getting closer, but to me, they should just relax and make a good paper. There is no sense in trying to "match" anything because the reality is they never will.
You might technically match the look, and if they do, great, but they are missing the point. The prints, silver and digital, are MADE differently.
Why do collectors favor darkroom prints? Because the printer MADE the print, and no matter how hard they try, they can't produce two identical prints. Consequently, when the collector buys a silver print they are a buying a unique object.
Now the digital crowd can't stand this reality, and have many ways of trying to wiggle into this conversation, but the reality is they are just different items. Is one better than the other? No, not at all, and in fact I make probably ten digital prints for every silver print I make. Time, convenience, and certain films, I think, look better printed digitally then traditionally.
But I do understand the collector point of view.
Is this changing? Of course. Is it changing for the better? Not really, more because the paper is going away. It is really nice to spend time in the dark making prints, just as it is making them with the latest gadgets.
The most important part is making the images in the first place.

Photo Project: Homework

Wanderlust.

How many of us photographers are saddled with this burden? The grass is always greener. Passport stamps. Yep, you know what I’m talking about. As my mother says, “Some of us in the family are born with wheels for feet.”
Well, this is all fine and dandy, but for me, there are plenty of times when I have the wanderlust but can’t really do anything about it.
Responsibilities, finances, etc, etc, there are as many reasons not to travel as there are to travel.
So, when you are stuck with this reality you find ways to satisfy your needs. I realized after many years of going wherever I could whenever I could that there was another unknown land right under my nose.
My home.
All these images, and many more like them, were all made in or around my house. These are just the tip of the iceberg and this body of work will continue to grow whenever I find myself “stuck” here.
I’m starting to like being stuck.