Open any photography magazine and you’re bombarded by ads for the most
modern technology to help you get a great shot. Editing programs, lenses, GPS
and astronomy to help you find the exact location Ansel Adams stood in to shoot his famous
mountain views. When it comes to art, sometimes technology has it’s limits. Cameras
don’t take pictures, photographers do. The right equipment makes your work
easier and results come in less time, but it won't guarantee a powerful shot.
Take for example local photographer Francesco Mastalia and his recent exhibit
Organic. Mastalia’s almost forgotten
method of photography is called wet plate collodion. Also known as “The Black Art,”
it dates back to 1851 and involves a large wooden camera, an 1870s brass lens,
and portable darkroom. Glass plates are coated with light-sensitive salts and
after a complex process, produce specacular and striking images. The method is
time consuming and done without the gadgets and light meters many of today’s photographers
can’t live without. I saw the exhibit at SUNY Orange in Middletown and it was
also featured at BAU Gallery in Beacon, the Moviehouse Studio Gallery in
Millerton, and Westchester Community College.
Mastalia’s Organic showcases Hudson
Valley farmers and chefs whose common mission is healthy food and responsible stewardship
to preserve land for future generations. The project includes quotes from
Mastalia’s subjects on their view of the country’s obsession with all things “organic,”
a word that supposedly simpllifies our modern lives, but turns out to be
multi-layered. Our food, like Mastalia’s work in this old medium, need not be easy,
fast or convenient.
Francesco Mastalia: www.franciescomastalia.com
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