I was visiting a friend when I made this image Oyster Plant Silver Leaf Detail in their backyard.
It was early morning and there had been a light sprinkling of rain overnight. I was intrigued by this plant’s leaves, their smooth tonality and firmness in structure.
Taking out my 4×5 camera, I wondered if I could make a pleasing composition of the Oyster Plant’s leafy shapes and tones. With a standard focal length lens on my camera and good bellows extension, I was able to achieve a very satisfying composition on the ground glass.
Using the shift movement on the front standard allowed me to fine-tune my composition, without the need to shift the position of my camera. Plus, with a viewfinder that is 4×5 inches, composing such intricate forms is a pleasure.
When I pulled this negative out of the developer, I knew I would have fun printing it. Holding the negative over the light table you can see a beautiful range of tones and forms.
Dry Mounting Prints for Exhibition
This print was exhibited in the 2023 Beverley Art Prize. I like to dry mount all of my exhibition prints onto 100% cotton museum board.
Oyster Plant Silver Leaf Detail, 28 x 35cm gelatin silver print personally hand printed by Alex Bond, freight included.
150mm lens, Wista field camera, Tmax 400 4×5 film. 11×14 inch fibre-based silver gelatin print on Fomabrom 111.
- Limited Edition: Print 2 of Edition of 10
- Signed, numbered, with handwritten darkroom printing notes, all on verso in chinagraph
- Size 28x35cm: photographic paper with a 5mm white border around all sides of the image.
- Material: Silver gelatin baryta fibre base photographic paper, personally hand-printed by Alex Bond, using current archival processes.
- Worldwide Shipping: Prints are carefully rolled and packed in sturdy tube mailers.
