I am a photographer. I think I must have inherited a photography
gene. I have been addicted to photography since I was 17 years old,
that's about thirty years or more of being a photographer.
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| Frolicking with the Silver Fairies |
It
started innocently enough. I has in high school,and took a black and
white darkroom photography class. I inherited my grandfather's old 1944
Argus 35mm film camera at that time, as my father saw I was excited
about the art of photography and bequeathed it to me. This was the
beginning of the end for me. The end of a bland, art-less existence. I
became obsessed: with photography, with the darkroom process, with
riding around on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon just clicking pictures.
I was in love; truly, madly, deeply, as the saying goes. In love with the art of photography.
And,
my grandfather was obsessed, too. He had a darkroom in his house in
Maine, and spent a lot of time in there. I also inherited some of his
lovely black and white photographs.
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| My Grandfather, Jack Leavitt, with my father, Jack Jr. circa 1924 |
Addicted to Photography?
I
went back to college in my 40's, and of course, signed up for all the
photo classes, seeking a degree in Art with an emphasis in photography.
I learned photoshop and entered the digital age. I still had to take a
basic class in chemical darkroom photography (this was in
2004). I loved the darkroom. I became the goddess of the darkroom. I
became a darkroom supervisor, and spent hours and hours there after
classes. I could be there all night if I wanted, being a supervisor,
with the keys. And often I was there until well after midnight. It was
always ..... just one more print..... then I'll close up and go home. It
got to the point where my husband would say to me as I returned at
1:30 am, "Where you kidnapped by the Silver Fairies again?" Yes, I
was. The Silver Fairies in this case being the Silver Gel process of
developing film and black and white prints. Yes, I love the Silver
Fairies, and I've been enslaved by them for years.
As a photographer for about thirty years, I've
accumulated a lot of negatives, slides, darkroom equipment, filters,
cameras, and yes, massive files of digital photos.
And
so, what do we do with them as artists? They sit in our closet. We try to sell
some, we try to publish. And then, with the advent of the
internet......and blogging.....and websites.....yes, we can share our
closet files with the world.
This blog will be part imagery
and on my adventures as an artist and a photographer. I'll share my experiences with the changing landscape and the exciting new
trends in the photographic world.
As fellow artists and photographers, or just plain art lovers, I hope you will join me on this journey.
Keep clicking that shutter button.
Lily Silver, Artist, Photographer, Author and Historian
