These images were taken with a handmade 16”X20” camera. I use darkroom paper for negatives and make contact prints. I didn’t understand before I built the camera how the organically formed, haphazardly nail-gunned together, wooden box was going to steer the process of actually taking pictures; it can't go on a tripod - it needs a table - and it can't be used outside - or with any ambient light for that matter - not only because of tremendous light-leaks, but I use an old copy-lens which lacks a shutter.
The fact that the camera can only be used in the dark and that it lacks a shutter forces me and the sitter into a very specific environment. It means when the picture is being made it must be completely dark with the use of strobes. Since I use darkroom paper the low ISO requires a great deal of light - as much as I can get - and very close to the sitter - as close as I can get. The next part of the process is what ultimately gives shape to the energy in the room and the pictures - I give the sitter the trigger for the strobes and let them fire when ready.
It took some time to finally arrive at the point where I handed the control over to the sitter; I have built this camera and created this environment which is quite intense, so inviting them to participate in the process beyond just a sitter helps to balance the room.
