After I watched a documentary about Paul Strand, and seeing the work he did in the later years of his life, I had a thought; I don’t want to stop shooting, I don’t want to have any regrets about shots I didn’t take. When my life is waning rather than waxing, I don’t want to look back and think ‘I wish I had taken that picture’, or ‘I wish I had waited around to get that shot’. I want to get all of the shots I want to get, I want to keep pressing the shutter release.

Ever since I got into photography, all of six months ago, I’ve been looking back on my life. When I was in college, with an amazing troupe of friends, one of whom is one of the most amazing looking women I’ve ever seen, I think ‘I didn’t get any pictures’, and that’s upsetting, woefully upsetting. There are so many moments I could have captured, so many once in a lifetime opportunities for pictures that I didn’t take. I don’t want that to happen, ever again.

Lately, I’ve been seeing the world around me with different eyes. I view things in terms of geometrics, lines, and light. Though that’s not what made me comfortable with calling myself a photographer. Recently I was talking about why I shoot, and I couldn’t answer it. I don’t know why I shoot, I’m not even sure I’m looking for an answer, I just shoot, and I don’t want to stop. That, I think, is more indicative of me being a photographer than anything else. I have no reason to shoot, but I do, and I’m not going to stop. I’m never going to stop.

I don’t know where photography is going. Right now, I shoot film, and if during my lifetime Ilford and Efke keep making film, paper, and chemicals, I’ll keep shooting on film, and developing my own negatives and prints. Wherever it goes, wherever technology ends up, I’ll be taking pictures. Whether I’m shooting on ancient Minolta’s in my sixties, or I’m shooting on Canon’s newest gigapixel censor, I know I’ll still be shooting, and that’s what makes me a photographer. That’s what makes me comfortable with saying ‘I’m a photographer’.

If you see me with a Minolta, or a Yashica around my neck and ask me ‘are you a photographer?’, I’ll say ‘Yes. Yes I am’.

It has two layers of cardboard with a moving blanket over the door on either side.

It’s very high tech.

Enlarger;

It’s a Beseler 67c.

Chems, very fancy bottles.

It has a sink, which is a nice bonus.

The shelves are nice for storing crap.

Test prints. Bad scanner and outdated chems.