Our evolving perceptions drive constant experimentation with our materials. Each new discovery changes not only how our photographs look, but also how we think. Our early concentration on camera craft has expanded to the cultivation of each photograph from percept to print. The darkroom now dominates our work pattern, with a week in the field typically requiring two weeks in the darkroom to produce final exhibition-quality prints.
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We try to understand first and shoot second, so we often shoot very little film. Recently, our field kit has condensed to just four camera bodies, four single focal length lenses, one tripod and a handful of filters. The choices we make may be apparent in our photographs: a 35 mm slr for its intuitive, manoeuvrable, spontaneous working style; a 6 x 7 cm rangefinder camera for its simple, quiet operation; or a 4 x 5 inch view camera for its unmatched creative control.
New areas of research include large format pinhole cameras, Chinese toy cameras and large format aerial surveillance cameras. It often takes us a couple of years to become comfortable with new equipment, so pictures made with these cameras are still some time away.
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Film and development are crucial choices in creating the particular illusions that define photography. We each have our favourite films, ranging from grainy fifties-era “thick” film, to modern sleek “thin” film, to specialty infrared-sensitive film. We also experiment continuously with film developers and use traditional formulas, albeit in a non-standard way.
We work in a number of different negative fomats, from 35mm to medium format (6x4.5cm, 6x6cm and 6x7cm) to large format (4x5 inch). Photographs made with medium and large format negatives yield amazingly detailed, rich and smooth prints. Images made with these larger formats are clearly identified on that image's web page. We've also created a demonstration web page that illustrates the detail and resolution possible with a 6x7cm (medium format) negative. Of course, a large format negative is capable of rendering even more reolution and detail.
Our prints mark the end of a long road leading from the field through our darkroom to your eyes. Travelling this road may require the passage of several months and the investment of countless sheets of paper and hours of darkroom time. A photograph’s presentation size is carefully chosen to exhibit verve when viewed both close up and from across the room. Final editions are small in number and are ultimately produced in a single darkroom session. Click here for a darkroom tour.
We strive to make each print exhibit the unique strength and beauty that is the hallmark of black and white silver photography. We are also mindful of our collectors’ need for print longevity. With careful processing, fiber-based silver prints are among the longest lived of all photographic display media, far outperforming modern technologies. All of our prints are chemically toned in selenium and/or sepia (sulfide) to further increase their lifespan, and to produce mild and permanent colour tints. Physical durability is enhanced by dry-mounting on acid-free museum board. We expect our prints, if properly cared for, to last hundreds of years. Click here for a demonstration of our silver gelatin print's durability.
Prints are signed in pencil on the front, and a photographer's stamp in acid-free pigment ink, along with negative and print information plus a signature are on the back of the mount. Click here for an example of a photograph's back.
Most of our prints are available only in small, limited editions. A few of our prints are one-of-a-kind, having been created by unique, unrepeatable darkroom processes - click here for a glimpse of this process.
We also offer digital C-prints of each image, available in a range of sizes. The digital files for C-prints are obtained by scanning the original silver gelatin prints, in order to preserve all of the detail and attention to printing in the original print.
For more information, please see our print pricing page.
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The black and white images on this website are scanned from our original silver gelatin prints, and the resulting digital files undergo minimal post-processing - mostly spotting and a tiny amount of sharpening.
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Our processes are constantly evolving - changing in response to our continuously developing visual sense. Please have a look at the Resources section of this website for updates on what's up the pipe!