My Editing Process

preview new works in progress

My work is constantly circulating through my mind - the first impression of a print, the composition, the conversation it holds with the other images, and the deeper alignment of my edit.

On my plane ride to Boston last thursday, and repeatedly throughout the weekend, I revisited my new prints and negatives from The Vacant Apartment. Perhaps to your surprise, I arrived at a completely new sequence. Only one print from the original session remained. (below)

I find the editing process is not unlike life. At first, we gravitate toward what is familiar, what fits the past, what we intended for a given moment. Then I have to ask myself, is this the most honest version of that moment? It is a process of grief to realize that what you desire, and what you have been, no longer exists.

I ask myself difficult questions while editing. What prints make me uncomfortable? Can I sit with what they bring to the surface? Which images leave me with an unquestionable sense that they are true and complete?

This process constantly disappoints and surprises me. The frames I wanted so badly to turn out, are just not quite right, even if there is great poetry or personal meaning. It is the nature of clinging to ideas, to the past, of attaching ourselves to an outcome, that causes great suffering.

I return to the negatives and let go of expectations. I try to set aside my ego, especially in self-portraiture, and allow the images to reveal themselves over time. This process is slow for me, sometimes it takes years, sometimes it’s rather quick, and sometimes it evolves over the years.

My time between fairs is limited, so for now I’m sharing these digital contact previews, photographed quickly on my phone, but clear enough to offer a glimpse into the new sequence. I look forward to returning to the darkroom and bringing them fully to life soon.

Wishing you all a week of alignment, expansion and life, Onward we travel to Toronto!

Brittany