Contact Sheet

The developer solution for this contact sheet may have been too cold or too weak, resulting in a wavy pattern all over the sheet. I find that they make this print interesting in a way it would not otherwise have been, though. Please click on it to see a larger version - it is hard to appreciate the small thumbnail on this page.

There is a line of thinking in photography that looks down on this kind of results, because they are unpredictable, unintentional, and not repeatable. There is also an alternative view that considers them more artistic, because they require an ability to see the interesting quality of things as they are, rather than as we want them to be.

For me, I find it is a good exercise to let go of my vision of the end result, and accept the occasional lucky accident. In fact, part of the fascination with old cameras and obsolete processes comes from the lucky accidents they produce.



Contact sheet of a roll of 6x6 photographs

September 2012