At the dawn of photography, in the early 19th Century, French pioneer, Louis Daguerre, presented his 'Daguerreotype' images with the joyous announcement 'I have seized the light - I have arrested its flight!' Every time we press the shutter release on our cameras we do just the same. The digital image gives us instant confirmation of the image we have captured. The film image may take a little longer to process and review... But few of us - in fact, very few indeed - experience the joy of 'seizing the light' and then processing the image with our bare hands - and in the very camera we used to capture the image! Chris Gries has devoted himself to this craft; using an 'Afghan Camera' - once a common sight on the streets of Kabul but now under threat not just from the digital revolution but also from the Taliban.
There is something utterly spellbinding about the images produced by these cameras. The large format and exquisite colours that Chris has discovered are quite wonderful to behold. And as unique as any work of art.
We got to know of Chris through his frequent purchases of some of the more esoteric offerings we have had at The Latent Image. We became very intrigued - especially when Chris bought a massive Gitzo tripod from us - an item that we had thought would take forever to sell... But of course, it was ideal for Chris to use with his mighty Afghan Camera! We are delighted to offer Chris our venue to present his work - and encourage all who to choose to join him on June 24th to explore the mysteries of his wonderful picture-making machine. This is your chance to seize the light and arrest its flight! You will take home a unique image from what promises to be a very special experience. Don't miss it!
Free for members of the TLI club - £20 for non-members. Refreshments provided.