Haystack Rock, Seaweed Developer. This photograph was made with film developer made from seaweed, foraged from the iconic Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon.
With GREEN SILVER my experimental new project, I return to an analog photography practice for the first time in a decade and transform it into a botanically-based, sustainable practice. I forage natural materials such as rain water, sea water, snow, mint leaves, seaweed, hydrangea flowers, and add kitchen ingredients such as baking soda and salt to create film developers and fixers that replace their chemical counterparts. In harmony with planetary and human health, this return to “slow photography” produces unique photographs that harken back to the medium’s earliest days. Green Silver promotes organic processes, the use of natural materials, re-purposing existing resources, and replaces harmful methods while building awareness of the elegant, circular relationships in nature.
Heatwave Hydrangea. This photograph was made with film developer made from the blossoms pictured in the photograph.
Known for its misty, temperate climate, in the summer of 2021 Portland, Oregon experienced a record-breaking heatwave reaching 118F. The city was not prepared and many people died. My hydrangea, with full purple-blue blossoms one day was singed to a colorless crisp the next. Grieving the blossoms and the many losses of our current climate, I photographed and collected the dead heads. From these I created a home-made photographic developer which I then used to process the roll of film that contained the last images of the hydrangea.