Marketing Toning

I came across a comment on someone else’s post where a person wrote there are many photographers promoting their photography on Facebook. I took it as a somewhat negative comment. This made me reflect on it, and I want to push back on that statement. I don’t consider what I do as promoting my work; I’m not directing anyone to a website to buy my art. I don’t actively promote myself, and I don’t even have a website anymore. Most of my followers are friends or colleagues I’ve worked with, and I see it as sharing life stories and experiences that others might enjoy. While some sell their work, my focus is on sharing rather than selling. My photography isn’t typically “pretty”; it’s my interpretation of the world. I don’t shoot to sell; it’s more about expressing how I see things. When I was a photojournalist, I often heard that inner voice saying, “they’ll never use it,” and the same self-doubt sometimes lingers in my head now as no one gives a shit so why bother but I keep going and doing. Enough about that. So here we go again a bit about this photo and its process.

Watson Lake, on black and white film. I made a small print in the dark room and toned it with a toner called Thiourea. It’s a bleaching sepia toner that is beautiful. It gives the print a golden chocolate brown tone that transforms the print into something else. For me it’s a calm, soothing, peaceful warm experience when looking at the print.