While I was at the Steichen/Garber exhibit at the Michener I also took in a small but very interesting show of Diane Levell’s Bucks County landscape photographs. They were made using a digital infrared camera and digitally printed on Japanese rice paper. And I have to say that they were as tastefully done as any digital work I have seen. Quite enchanting but certainly different from analog work – even analog photographs made with infrared film (see my description of Sandy Sorlien’s wonderful little book Fifty Houses: Images From the American Road).
The point of the series was to transform the familiar (in this case intimate landscapes) into the magical. I think she succeeded and I will admit that I liked many of her images. But don’t jump to any hasty conclusion here and think I’ve gone over to the dark side … I most certainly have not!
Look, I also like paintings made using oil, watercolor and egg temper. What is used to create the painting creates different results – they’re different mediums. So I think it’s all right for me to also like digital prints if they are good pictures tastefully executed (I saw a few more good ones while participating in a photo retreat this weekend … more on that to come). They just are not the same as film-based silver gelatin (or platinum, etc.) prints and in most cases they don’t do it for me. To me it’s a different form of art. Ok, that’s my opinion and it won’t be a surprise to those who regularly visit this site. Digital is just not the same I am not sure the technology will ever be capable re-creating what I see and experience from all-analog produced images
So here are some questions. Am I glad I went to see the exhibit? Yes. Was the work good? Yes. Do I like digital photography in general? No. Do I think you should see the exhibit if you’re nearby? Also yes. Is Dianne Levell a talented photographer? Absolutely! After doing a little research, I learned she uses film and alternative processes, depending on her objective. It turns also out that we are both members of the Red Filter Gallery and she lives here in Doylestown … perhaps we will meet someday!
The exhibit runs through July 28th.