I just got back from a trip to Los Angeles. We spent some time seeing friends and shopping (my 18 year old daughter was with us), taking pictures (I shot 6 rolls each with my Zero 2000 pinhole camera and my Diana+), but also managed to see some art.
In theory alternative photography is “low tech,” although one thing I like about it is the fluidity between high and low. I might shoot on film with a plastic camera, then scan the negative so I can create an enlarged digital negative, then print in gum over cyanotype. Whatever works…
Nancy Breslin spent a day this week visiting photo exhibits in Chelsea (NYC).
Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day was about 2 weeks ago, and Nancy Breslin contributed to the gallery, she was the 3002nd person to do so, and more followed.
Pinhole photography may or may not fit into the general category of “alternative photography,” depending on how the latter is defined, but for me pinhole shares the creativity, uniqueness, and unpredictable nature of many alt processes.
Recently the New York Times ran an article titled “For Photographers, the Image of a Shrinking Path” In a nutshell, the writer said that the combination of smarter, less expensive digital cameras, photosharing sites such as flickr, and fewer magazine pages have resulted in a very tough market for commercial photographers.
About a year and a half ago some Polaroid fans leased a closed instant film plant in Enschede (Netherlands), after Polaroid had first announced bankruptcy and then stopped making their much loved products. Named “The Impossible Project,” this group had the seemingly quixotic goal of reformulating and manufacturing instant film.
Nancy Breslin is inspired by the Stieglitz’s photographer Gertrude Kasebier.
From: Newark, Delaware, USA
Shows: Cyanotypes, Gum over cyanotype and Pinholes
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Nancy Breslin reports from the annual Society for Photographic Education conference in Philadelphia.
