On Editing

Robert Adams (b. 1937), Untitled from What We Bought: The New World (Scenes from the Denver Metropolitan Area)
1970-1974, gelatin silver print, Yale University Art Gallery

"... After that came the editing of 5,000 pictures disposed on these sheets, a process that, remarkably, [Robert] Adams has estimated required at least two or three times as many hours as he had spent in the field making the photos. Using L-shaped pieces of file folders to isolate one, and then the next, small picture, he worked slowly, only gradually distilling the body of this work to a kind of still point, where the photographs that survived the process remained strong and clear every time he returned to consider them." -Tod Papageorge, What We Bought, (an essay on Robert Adams & his work What We Bought: The New World)

I estimated, poorly, that it would take me roughly three months to go through and edit my recent project. It has already been about 40 days, and I have barely scratched the surface. To save money, I had planned on scanning the work and outputting digital test prints. But it seems that whenever I touch a scanner or printer it turns to the consistency of dog shit, and then I get mad, and toss it as far across the room as I can, which is not far, which pisses me off even more.

I am planning to hit the darkroom within the next week or so. I'm looking forward to getting dirty and to really explore all the work. I almost lost track of things and began to rush this process.

More on Adams' What We Bought and the full essay by Papageoroge over at Eric Ethridge's blog.