Category: Footling About

#1346 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, art, Footling About, Hybrid Printmaking, learning, Meddled Photography X Watercolour, Medical imaging, Serendipity1 Comment

Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why?

As a lifelong image maker the outdated technology I miss the most is the magic and alchemy of a photographic or radiographic darkroom. The basic skills of wet processing and later automated processing, that are enhanced by the knowledge and experience of knowing how to manipulate negative and positive images to create the best possible outcome. 

So many mental filing cabinets of know how have been stored in my brain gathering dust since the dawn of digital imaging. Until a February in Penzance when I had a lightbulb moment and decided to start using some of my old analogue knowledge alongside the digital knowledge of contemporary image making.

I am a time-hopping digital immigrant. Using skills taught to me by people called Sheila and Ron in the 70’s ,an era when a dark room technician could turn a disaster into an acceptable picture by clever thinking and the use of tricks and accuracy to make an image better.

This is the first successfully manipulated image created by overlaying three separate digital photographs to create one picture.

The feet below are my most recent  meddled image.

The others are just some of the picture journey. The acceptable part of the journey. Not the many many images that have ended up in the digital bin

#1239 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Footling About, Procrastination1 Comment
Figs in Space.

There has been some footling about this week.

In my hierarchy of work needs there are 3 stages. Procrastination, diligent effort and footling about.

Procrastination delays essential diligence and footling fills the gaps when the diligence cannot be undertaken.

Figs in Space is the product of footling at the end of the day. I had had a really busy day of admin and meetings. I also need to get ready for an exhibition which starts next week. My diligence in framing and mounting artwork had come to a stop because,unusually for this modern era the mounting kits I had ordered had been delayed in the delivery chain.

I was footling about with many pictures of figs.

The title Figs in Space came to me because my three-year-old son used to shout or use those words constantly after watching the Muppets. Figs in Space was a war cry, the equivalent of adult swearing and sometimes just used as words of exasperation when his three-year-old world was not going in the direction he needed.

Pigs in Space https://g.co/kgs/wM6iY3x

In truth I was using the last of my creative energy on figs because the admin tasks of the day had drained me. Although the meeting was very positive and possibly the cause of my late spike of diligence which had finished me off.

The parcel of mounts arrived just as the sun set. It remains on the floor unopened. Figs in Space was my last work of the day. Even if it was just footling about.