No Heaven

"But all the things this van Gogh drew, well, I thought them just trash... laughable. And to tell the honest truth, I was never able to see through him. I was never able to discover what he was really after...The only thing I know is that he avoided the other boys as much as possible; he always wanted to be alone".
Mr. D. Braat, discussing van Gogh's days as a bookseller

Sien at Stove
Vincent van Gogh, 1882

This was one of those days where I just wanted to relax in bed with a book. However, as Pissaro liked to say, a line a day.

I got into the darkroom around 4:30pm, and spent 30 minutes gazing at negatives exposed in 1993. I was struck with feelings of nostalgia, and also respect for how I tried to break through a seemingly impossible wall. I was just starting out, and though I made a lot of mistakes, I also made some interesting experiments, things I would not think to do today.

Some of those negatives have a very high contrast level, and although this does not suit every subject, it made some otherwise normal scenes seem startling.

I chose one of these high contrast negatives, a trash can beside a barn wall. I gave up on it after 2 or 3 tries, however, I just did not have a feel for how it should be printed.

I then printed a negative exposed in Greenville, Maine, a dark row boat floats on a still lake at dusk, with 2 wooden piers near the water. I made 2 acceptable prints, then called it a night.

Print Info Sheet for Greenville, Maine

Champion :