The River is killing me. Almost literally. I was there, committing art, when a passing car got a bit too close and I stepped off the road and tumbled over river rocks the size of kneecaps and boulders the size of a 1974 Beetle. I still have the bruises. That was January 16. I digress…
The River is causing me some consternation. I am just not seeing when I am there. Well, not since my dog Kiwi died in my caress nearly a month ago. So, I’m taking a break. Breaks are good. Breaks are fantastic.
These two photographs were made at The Lower Falls, MA. On the River Charles in Boston. I can recall the day. Hot. Humid. Rats the size of tugboats.
I went there with my friend, Bruce Herman, one of America’s greatest painters, oils and canvas and brushes with a lot of genius. Bruce was painting Plein Air and I was photographing Plein Light.
I saw these busted water valves, pipes, whatever. I propped the tripod, put my chin where the camera would be clamped, moved the tripod a bit to the right and bingo. I was in. I attached the 4×5 camera and got under the dark cloth. Bruce was painting a few yards from me and he came over to see what I was seeing. I returned the slide to its holder, took it out of the camera, flipped it around and asked Bruce to straddle the two beams between the valves. Pulled the slide and bam… I committed art. Twice.
These images will not stop the world from spinning. But finding these negatives has given me hope that I just might have a few more photographs left in my tank. And maybe I might find myself at The River next week.
TekTok
Zone VI 4×5 Field Camera, 210mm Schneider, Tri-X (personal film speed of 800), HC-110, dilution B, 68 degrees for 6:15, tray processed, continuous agitation, glacial stop, Kodak Rapid Fix, washed in a Zone VI 11×14 archival print washer with the negatives in a Zone VI Washing Machine basket, hang dried (1995) and scanned on Epson V850 at 600 dpi.
I leave you with “Bruce,” and “Without Bruce.”
