For the last couple months I’ve been working as a darkroom mural printer at a photo lab in Brooklyn. This metal vacuum board is my canvas; It’s the surface that film gets projected onto from a horizontal 8×10” enlarger. I use magnets to hold up test strips and fully custom sized papers. I’m an art laborer here, getting paid to quietly perform a craft that most often has little to do with the artist’s concept; still I am endlessly fascinated by the aesthetic traces of the many small utilitarian decisions I make. Here’s an example of what I mean 🤷🏼‍♂️🤓, these strips of paper cover various sections of the projected image as a way to conserve paper while testing exposure, contrast, dodging, and burning. I made this piece on my own time however, with a few extra slices of paper off the end of a 50” roll. Turning on lights to photograph the composition rendered the paper useless for photographic enlargement thereafter. Kind of the way intimate moments are ruined when someone puts a camera in front their face to “capture” the moment. Oh jeeze, you’re making it through all this technical jargon?!! When will pictures be enough without all the explanation 🙄😣🤔 I’m @sammargevicius sharing thoughts and images about the dark and esoteric art of #analog #photography for @baxterstccny #cameraclubofnewyork 🌻

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