For my series,Vices, I found a perfect marriage of process and subject matter, giving a nod to the turn of the century classroom and chalkboard yet using language and expression that speaks to the current day. That twist of using centuries old processes with contemporary children and humor speaks to my photographic sensibilities and to photography as an art.
As a mother, artist, and observer of familial connections around the globe, I make work that speaks to memory and time passing, but also leaves room for humor and irony. A number of years ago, while still shooting digital imagery for my client work, I returned to creating photographs with historical processes. I use an 8 x 10 camera with lenses made during the Victorian era, then process the imagery as Wet Plate Collodion photographs (also known as Tin Types). The process of working this way requires stillness on the part of the sitter and tremendous focus on the part of the photographer as each image is a unique object, documenting a split second, never to be duplicated. The series Vices took four years to complete and has been exhibited in silver gelatin prints and published around the globe.
Jamie Johnson
