Out Of Reach

Like many young photographers in the pre-digital age, I toyed around with various darkroom techniques for getting high-impact photos. Back then, there was no Internet, so most darkroom “secret recipes” were truly secret. The only way I could get a recipe was create my own, often through fumbling trial and error. I had a lot of failures. This photograph is one of my successes…sort of. It’s of a girl I had a crush on in college. Unfortunately she was my buddy’s girlfriend. I have no idea why she agreed to be my model; but I wanted to try out a new film stock, and she said she’d do it. I probably shot four rolls over that afternoon, trying out various exposures. This is the one image that got the high-impact look I wanted. It also captures an expression on her face that is evocative yet distant. Which is appropriate because while I had uncovered a “secret recipe” I desired; the object of my true affection remained out of reach.