The Studio

A Studio has its reality not only in a physical place, but also in the idea which sustains it. When I visited Van Gogh's final Studio in Northern France, I found a tiny attic room in a small hotel. It was illuminated by not only the lone window, but also by his will to make pictures. For Van Gogh, the Studio was wherever he planted his easel.

704 Studio was created in 2002 when the darkroom in the basement of my home was built. But its seeds were sown in the autumn of 1991, when I decided to pursue the art of photography. I had no home of my own, no darkroom, not even a camera, yet the desire to make photographs filled me with energy and hope. I did not know if I would ever be in possession of a Studio space, so I used what I had, and tried to make progress.

I now own a darkroom and home, a Hasselblad camera and a Pentax Spotmeter. I still feel like a beginner, taking baby steps upon a long road. As each new photograph passes from camera to film to paper, the dream of the Studio becomes more real.