In the beginning of the 70s when my Rosemary, our two daughters and I were living in Arboledas, Estado de México, our female boxer Lady died. We were heartbroken and even then we believed that the quickest way to absorb such a loss was to get a new dog. We went to the Mexico City dog pound and in a large cage many dogs vied for our attention. One was not. She was quiet in a corner. We chose her and because she was an ugly dark gray we called her Mouche
When I look at contact sheets or examine my digital photographs from a session there are many like those dogs of yore that cry for attention. As a photographer working in my darkroom (until four years ago) I tended to pick the negatives that would give me good prints without any effort. The “silent ones” I left without much notice.
In these long days of a pandemic I have the time and inclination to notice those forlorn exposures.
Here you have a strip of three pictures taken with Kodak B+W Infrared Film of my friend Colleen Hughes. It is obvious that I may have not checked focus or my exposure.
But unlike our Mouche, long gone, these negatives have come back to life and I have been rewarded with something lacking in this 21st century. Everything has to be perfect, sharp and well exposed. It reminds me of having been privy to a session where my friend the violinist Corey Cerovsek listened to young violinists and diplomatically gave them advice when I well knew what he was thinking. They had excellent technique but they played with no soul.
