For Something, but not completely different.

It is eighteen months since I last posted on this blog, or on any blog, or anywhere in fact.

I have been getting ready to do something I wanted to do when we first moved to France over a quarter of a century ago. – To work on my photography ideas. Simple it sounds, but I have found many many excuses to put off the day when I can get back into my darkrooms.

Actually not having a darkroom for most of the time is a fair excuse, but I had planned to start some basic photo courses here in VillaRoquette early in 2013 so I have been working on darkrooms and photo-labs and stuff.

But I got sidetracked – I looked at platinum printing and collodion techniques – it  seduced me and I have been learning new skills and building new equipment for the last year, setting aside my plans for silver-gelatine film and papers (for a while).

No excuse now – I am starting with this first posting to get the ball rolling for the services we offer in VillaRoquette for photographers. The darkrooms are open now and I have a good selection of classic cameras and lenses, in many formats, from 1860 to 1960 you can come and use. I have a good selection of chemistry, all collodion materials (OK, you can’t use my KCn, yet) and lots of odd stuff which should be in museums, but I love to work with it.

So where are all the pictures you ask – rightly so – they are coming, but voyages starting with steps and all that – this is the first step, to make the statement, now to add the poetry and images.

Come and join in.