jeromemartin.ca

Visit My Darkroom

I've been working in my darkroom, printing, dry-mounting contact prints and scanning prints for a book project.
The first photograph shows my working area next to my darkroom. It includes cabinets and drying screens for prints (far right, below the press and trimmer).
The second and third photos show my darkroom and the door opening into the working area.

Most people expect to see darkrooms with black interiors, with photos scattered about. Some photographers who have left film photography for digital work say that they could never go back to the smell of chemicals and darkroom work in general, but I love darkroom work, provided that I am in a darkroom that is well-planned, bright, well-ventilated and well equipped.
Darkrooms must be built carefully so that no light comes in at critical times. Once one accomplishes that one can paint the interior white or any other colour.
These photos were taken – with the only digital camera I own – when the darkroom and working area were in work mode. They are the only photos I've made of this darkroom in the 35 years since it was built. And, yes, digital and film photography each have advantages. Without a digital camera I may never have made these photos or posted them.
Thanks for stopping by.

SXSW Podcasts

Guy Clark starts his song Dublin Blues with the lines 'I wish I was in Austin. At the Chili Parlour Bar drinkin' Mad Dog Margaritas and not carin' where you are.'
After listening to several podcasts from SXSW Interactive Festival today I wish I had been in Austin earlier this month for SXSW (that's south by southwest) activities, including the film and music components. The site provides access to video clips and podcasts, although I accessed the podcasts through iTunes.
Most of us never get to all the conferences we would like to attend. Podcasting allows us to listen to the main presentations from wherever we are – but we miss the coffee breaks and the conversations with new and old friends.
Thanks, SXSW. Perhaps I'll get there next year.

p-books and e-books

Rob Preece suggests that paper books are for decoration and e- books are for reading. Most of us who love paper books – and read them – may disagree, but it's an interesting idea.

Storytelling

Garr Reynolds writes a great blog, Presentation Zen, which I recommend highly. In his most recent posting, Ira Glass: Tips on Storytelling, Garr summarizes the points made by Ira Glass, famous for This American Life on NPR, on a recent video.
Don't miss this one. Ira Glass is one of the best broadcasters and storytellers I've heard.
Podcasts of This American Life are available on iTunes.

Newspapers Online

I've been reading my local newspaper, The Edmonton Journal, online today even though I have a paper copy of it. I'm a Journal subscriber: someone brings the paper version to my home every morning, about 6:00 AM. I've subscribed to this paper for several decades and will continue to do so: but now I also receive the Journal online and, because I am a subscriber, I also have access to the electronic versions of eight other newspapers from across Canada.
I also receive the headlines and associated stories from the New York Times every morning at no cost. I could, of course, subscribe to the NY Times and other papers and receive full electronic versions daily.
When I bought a computer in 2005 I received a one year subscription to MacWorld; I opted for the electronic version rather than the paper publication and was pleased that I did. I could scan the magazine quickly and focus on the articles and ads which were of interest to me.
E-versions of current publications are usually digitized, not born digital: they are essentially screen copies of the paper products. Nevertheless, they are useful and convenient. I can scan e-versions far faster than I can turn pages. I can even have articles read to me (although the computer voice reading today's version of the Regina Leader-Post pronounced the name of the city as 'Rejeena').
We can expect that fewer and fewer people will subscribe to paper versions of daily papers, and that those of us who continue to do so may expect to pay higher rates for the pleasure of reading a paper at the breakfast table.