Study photography. Find story. Make work.

Drive to darkroom. Load film. Developer. Stop. Fix. Wash. Dry. Wait. Load image in enlarger. Expose. Developer. Stop. Fix. Second fix. Wash. Brightener. Hypo. Squeegee. Wait. Flatten print.

It’s that simple.

What you are left with is a real print. Silver. Permanent. Meaningful, and yes, in today’s world confrontational. You can’t swipe this away. You can’t turn it off. You can’t listen to it unless you watch it long enough.

I realize now I made a tragic decision all those years ago. I didn’t learn photography. I learned to BE a photographer. Big difference, and one that makes perfect sense when the image emerges from the nothingness of the developer tray.

You can’t hide from the print, or the negatives for that matter. They are the great equalizer. Evidence. Proof, or lack thereof.

Who would want it any other way?