Is love really sweeter the second time around?

In the past few weeks I’ve gone back to my one true love after a seductive fling.

I’ve again been spending long hours in the darkroom, a favorite activity that I, and I am sure many others, have put in the back burner to give in to the digital photography seduction.

What made me go back to the darkroom after a long cool off period? Because I can, courtesy of my Brazilian friend Fernanda whose guest room I sequestered for art's sake. Back home, I’ve always had difficulty looking for the materials and resources (paper, film, chemicals, books, hardware, space and CASH) that I wanted and always settled for what was available. If, they were available. Now I have access to everything, leaving me with no excuse to put it off.

I haven’t given up the affair with digital yet, choosing to have something convenient and predictable at hand during lazy or hectic days. But for those romantic moments when time is of no essence, slow hands in the dark never fail to give total satisfaction.

The photography world has labeled darkroom enthusiasts as ‘dinosaurs,’ representing everything that was ‘primitive’ in the field of image making. These dinosaurs, including myself, have actually taken to the label. Dinosaurs, of the reptilian variety anyway, were mighty , romantic and in an odd sense beautiful.
I also take issue with the ‘primitive’ perception, especially by those who haven’t actually gotten even one of their fingers wet in the creative process. The traditional darkroom can be as simple or as sophisticated as you want it to be.(Please click 'read more" below)