In May, 2021, Phil and
I dusted off our film cameras and loaded them with decades-old B&W film. With a giddiness belying our age we embarked on a weeklong photo fest along the back roads of central New Mexico. In the
evenings we developed the film, then printed the negatives in my resurrected darkroom. We revelled in the chemicals' sweet and pungent odors while trying to suss out hidden details from the enlarged negatives. We toasted the frustrations and joys of the darkroom every night as we prepared for the next day's photography. It was glorious. I now have a stack of
photographic prints, a companion collection of scanned negatives, and a satchel full of joy from the adventure.
Postscript. Without remorse, a year later I donated my darkroom to the University of New Mexico's Photography Department.
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Mother Road, 9-mile Hill |
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Moquino |
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Frank |
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"This is not a Lonely" |
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Frank's trailer, Seboyeta |
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Los Portales Shrine |
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Our Lady of Sorrow, Seboyeta |
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Whiting Bros, McCartys |
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Baby Geese at the Live Bait Shop, South Valley |
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"No Parkino" Route 66 |
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Children's Cemetery, Albuquerque |
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Standing Tall in Madrid |