Instead of being tired after the run, I couldn't wait to get into the darkroom to try to make something poetic and beautiful.
Perhaps one of the reasons I have been running medium long distances lately is because the time spent in solitude - surrounded by narrow roads and wide, empty fields, an occasional grouping of crows departing a row of harvested corn, or a cloud shadow descending upon my own lanky shadow - allows my spirit to become integrated with the quiet of nature. It silences my own mind, and the visions which saturate my eyes remain with me as I enter the darkroom.
Today I decided to revisit a negative I printed a few days ago, "Railyard, Winter Study". The LD20 developer created a unique atmosphere for that version, so I wanted to try Dektol developer to see how it would differ. I have more control with Dektol, so I could pretty much visualize what the print was going to look like beforehand. I planned to darken the top of the sky, which would give a different impression than the light, wide open sky made with the LD20.
The printing scheme went smoothly enough, and the Foma paper was flawless. What a relief to not have to battle defective paper - it would be comparable to running in Kmart athletic shoes, not only is the experience unpleasant, but injury is just a mile up the road.
Although it was getting late I wanted to print another negative, so I chose one which I found by accident as I was skimming through my negative books. I had exposed/developed it earlier this summer, a road study in Champaign County. It is a simple composition, a single tree on the horizon with a road bisecting the foreground, and a sky filled with delicate, lyrical clouds. The neg was a bit flat, but I still managed to make the print look ok.
I did not have time to tone, so that awaits me tomorrow.
The Tree and Road Study print I toned yesterday is now dry and it looks interesting enough. The sky is peculiar, but overall I like how I interpreted the scene. Looking at the neg I initially did not see the print in this way.
The Railyard, Autumn StudyPrinted 2008
Today as I was running on the South Farms Road my iPod shuffle played this song :
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