2025/06/19 16:40
For all hand made print lovers,
Even now, when I think back on it, it was a series of unpleasant days. I think Japan has taken a brave stance in taking measures against the virus compared to Europe and the US, but it still makes me depressed to see people walking down the street in the scorching heat wearing masks, and to see people being required to wear masks in hospitals...
During that time, I pursued still life photography. I photographed the same motif over and over again under various natural lights. It was usually a glass vessel or a flower placed on a small table measuring 50 cm square. Around 2020, I was still working on the platinum photography technique. So I set up a large analog LF equipment and shot. The film development process was also extensive, and sometimes I failed. But I think that shooting like that sharpened my "perspective". Then the price of precious metals like platinum skyrocketed, and I was forced to take up silver halide photography again, something I hadn't done since I was in my twenties. Needless to say, the prints were sharper and cheaper than alternative processes like platinum prints, but I rarely felt satisfied with the results.
Then Ray told me about the printing technique called Photogravure. Do you use a press? Do you apply ink? Is it possible to express intermediate tones? When I first heard it on Zoom, I didn't understand what he was talking about. One day, when I opened a package that arrived from Oregon and saw the Photogravure prints for the first time, I felt a strong positive motivation to try this technique! Although I have now switched to digital photography equipment, I still feel that the few photogravures I created from data taken with analog equipment around 2020 have a unique atmosphere among my works. It's unique to shoot with 4x5 equipment and have a unique atmosphere. It's probably impossible to shoot the same way again, but it's also an irreplaceable series for me. Even now, with the heavy memories of the pandemic era, those works shine like a distant planet.
Yoshio Press
