I see that beautiful spirit
Floating there with the darkness
Unique in all the Universe
Not appeared accidentally
Not created deliberately
It… simply… just… happened
I made this picture in 1994 as a student at OIP&T (The Ohio Institute of Photography & Technology) in Dayton, OH. It was my first attempt at using a view camera, 4x5. This was before the digital revolution really took hold. I was 18 years old, full of ambition, optimism and eager to learn photography very well. Finally getting my hands on a view camera really did fill me with joy. I sort of knew what I was doing but not from experience, only from reading about large format photography on my own and ruminating on the principles. This image wasn't even the product of an assignment. The moment I was granted lab privileges, I marched my little ass into that studio and made this image.
I still love this picture so much. I didn't consider myself an animist at the time, that word hadn't even entered my purview. But I was an animist. I still am. Seeing light. Working with darkness. Photographing Spirit. I didn't know it in 1994 but this image would become my own personal emblem for my worldview.
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