Actor
“It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”
– Martha Graham
Shot on 35mm Ilford Delta Pro 400 with Nikon FE + AIS lens (50mm?), processed with Foma chemistry, scanned with Canon 6D and Nikon 105mm f2.8 ais lens on a PN11 extension tube; post-processing with Darktable on Ubuntu Linux.
This photograph was taken on IIlford Delta 400 film with a Nikon FE camera and Nikon 50mm f1.2 ais lens; processed with Foma chemicals; scanned with a Canon 6D and Nikon 105mm f2.8 ais lens on a PN11 extension tube; processed using Darktable on Ubuntu Linux.
It’s quite a process, from pushing the button to seeing the image, but deeply satisfying.
Pointed my camera at this intriguing pair of characters while out and about with Jo at Box Hill in Surrey, England – I love the surreal and dream-like quality of this photograph. It keeps reminding me of a short story, Leaf by Niggle, I came across on Jo’s bookshelf in a yellow-paged collection of work by J.R.R. Tolkien.
From wiki: ‘…the story is an allegory of Tolkien’s own creative process, and, to an extent, of his own life…It also expresses his philosophy of divine creation and human sub-creation.’
Leaf by Niggle is well worth a read, not only for Tolkien’s superb story telling, but also his probing ideas of creative purpose and value. I wonder what he would make of the renown his work has acquired since he put these ideas to paper in 1939 – I imagine the Mountains would ring with laughter.
As for my photos, I’m enjoying the slower, more considered tempo of the film process and the images I’m managing to capture. I recently returned from a short break in North Norfolk with a roll of Ilford Ortho Plus put through a Minolta Autocord. Unfortunately my film developing chemicals have expired, so as soon as I get a new supply I should have some fresh images to share.
Until then, onwards, ever further and further towards the Mountains, always uphill.
Jeffrey Mundell 