Picking Up Where I Left Off
Recently, I’ve returned to wet plate collodion, making time to reconnect with the process and explore where it might take my work next. There is something grounding about working this way: preparing each plate, paying close attention, and accepting that the result may not match what I imagined.
As I finish my last semester teaching, I’ve been thinking about what comes next after 11 years in higher education. Making plates in the community has given me space to process that change and spend more time with my own work. The conversations and time spent with people have mattered as much as the photographs.
What I enjoy most about wet plate is the time I spend with the person in front of the camera. There’s conversation, waiting, and a shared effort in making each portrait.
Returning to this process has meant more to me than making new photographs. It’s also been a quiet reminder of my mom and the confidence she always had in my work. I don’t have a clear plan for where it’s going yet, and I’m comfortable with that. For now, making the work feels like enough.