Back in the Darkroom

Back in the lab making platinum/palladium prints yesterday and today after a few months of enforced layoff. Here are some in-progress snaps from this morning.

Exposed sheet of Hahnemühle Platinum Rag, coated with a Pt/Pd mix containing 10% traditional platinum solution. 11" wide image area on 11x15. The ghost print-out image looks just about right for this paper, with very pale border areas.

After developer pour-on. Something unusual about HPR paper is that if you do a bunch of printing on it, without any other papers used in the meantime, the developer turns a light greenish color, almost clear compared to the dark brown it turns with all other papers I've used.

Same print in the second clearing bath.

Next two prints clearing. The first two were from digital captures, the last from an 8x10" negative scan.

Hanging to drain before transfer to drying screens.

Two Doorways

Derby, Connecticut

Over the Top

Waterbury, Connecticut

Act for America, which staged rallies across the country this past Saturday, is cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. But they seem to be working on their image. Signs and speeches during their Waterbury event emphasized the way Sharia law (as they misinterpret it) is vicious to women and gays. It was almost as though they were trying to be politically correct, at least part way. They also were prepared to put this into action.

After making the paranoid announcement that at the end of the rally nobody should leave alone, but only in groups for safety (!?!) a speaker also said that if anyone showed up with signs or speech advocating violence they should be immediately surrounded by people with "not with us" placards. There were so few people in the large courtyard that surrounding anyone seemed problematic.

Then a guy showed up wearing farmer-johns, an American flag cape, hat, huge false beard, yelling "where's Sharia? Let's get 'im!" Attendees immediately confronted him (I overheard "get that shit outta here you asshole") while others ran to alert the cops, who were for the most part staying on the street side of the crowd barriers. The guy was carrying a plastic trident and a noose, weirdly made from narrow-gauge red and white plastic rope. From what I could gather, by the time the police confronted him one of the demonstrators had complained that he had bumped or shoved her. Whether it was that or just the noose, something was enough for the cops to take him away in cuffs.

Purple Bike

Derby, Connecticut

The duct tape saddle covering is a nice touch.

Bumper

Naugatuck, Connecticut

Demonstrations, Part Two

Waterbury, Connecticut

From the "Act for America" rally.

From the counter demonstration next door.

Demonstration and Counter Demonstration

Waterbury, Connecticut

Today, June 10, an organization calling itself Act For America held rallies and demonstrations in at least thirty cities across the United States. One rally was in Waterbury, in front of the municipal building across from the county court buildings. Grand street was closed to vehicle traffic with a heavy police presence, crowd control fences, and ACLU legal watchers in blue vests. For an hour and a half or so there were 50-70 people in the crowd, not counting the speakers, organizers and "security" provided by Oath Keepers. The speeches were about the threat of Sharia law to American values. Mostly they conflated ISIS/ISIL-style extremism with mainstream Islam, though I only heard bits and pieces of the different presentations.

Meanwhile, next door on the grounds of the library, with similar police presence and crowd control fences, a counter demonstration with 2-3 times as many participants was taking place.

Speakers set up next to the statue of Ben Franklin, spoke of unity and love and brotherhood and cultivating action for social change. There were many signs, some printed by organizations but most home-made.

I'll have more tomorrow when I've had a chance to look closer at the whole take. Several interesting things happened, and there were a lot of signs to read.

Im boldk.

Derby, Connecticut

Blessing

Derby, Connecticut

Red Bricks and Weed

Ansonia, Connecticut