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Photography Retrospective: Blast From The Past

In 1983 I was about to complete my Master of Photography Degree at Brooklyn College. My thesis took me to a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. My mother had grown up in the area and I was curious to know where she came from. While I was there, I met Joe, a single parent father and his two children. I ended up visiting the area several more times over the next few years photographing their life.

Photography Retrospective: Blast From The Past

I was struck by the Joe’s attention and devotion towards his young children. They lived with him and saw little of their mother. He dressed them, fed them, took them shopping for clothes, made homemade ice cream, played softball and more.

Photography Retrospective: Blast From The Past

Eventually this collection of photographs was exhibited at several galleries across the country. It won awards at the Everson Biennial, Syracuse 1984 and the Women Photographers in America, Los Angeles 1985 Exhibition and Competition.

 
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Deborah Kalas Photography is a home based business. Thursday, it was completely overrun by two chefs given the task of making 95 cakes of all sizes in less than 24 hours. The kitchen remained off limits to all house inhabitants including Deborah Kalas, Mike Blount, her new assistant, and the nineteen year old cat, Pumpkin Pie. The thirteen year old Welsh Corgi, Buttercup was the occasional floor sweeper who failed to report her delicious findings to the rest of us. The scents of cakes wafted through the house all night and day making sleep and work a delicious task. Noon on Friday the coconut crème layer cake and upside down blueberry cake [ a semi ridiculous idea since when you turn the cake upside down the blueberries fall out] were packed up to ship out. I was reminded several times these were recipes that their employer had provided them with. Not their own!

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Cakes of all sizes

Both chefs are graduates of The French Culinary Institute in New York City. I had no doubt that they would complete their task on time. With powdered sugar all over one and a day’s worth of beard growth on the other it’s a good thing they created these masterpieces privately.

Cakes of all sizes

Cakes of all sizes

 

When I think back to where this obsession with cakes and baking may have begun, I am reminded of an early photograph I made at my mother’s house twenty-one years ago. The occasion was my birthday. My mother was making the most delicious carrot cake. This particular day she had two helpers in the kitchen, her grandson’s Kristofer at eight months and Jan who was two and a half. Perhaps tasting the cream cheese icing, there was a chef in the making captured forever in the moment of a photograph.

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Watch for more upcoming food blogs. It looks like chefs Kristofer and Gabriela will be spending the summer in the Hamptons cooking for a variety of restaurants and private clients.

 
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ARCHIVAL AND ORGANIC PHOTOGRAPHS

In today’s world, everyone hears about organic foods and archival products. In a way, they are similar. As a portrait photographer, organic and archival are very important concepts for me and my portrait photography studio.

I have been eating fresh and organic foods all my life. I either grow or seek out what’s local and in season and what is grown without harmful chemicals. The same goes for the products I produce for my photography clients. I start with a high resolution file that has been meticulously retouched for a natural appearance. The inks I use are fresh, the paper and mats are acid free. Just as a fruit or vegetable is harvested at the appropriate time, my prints are made with pigment-based inks , cured and archival with a lightfast rating of up to 108 years. The grandmother test is that a print should be unnoticeably changed for three generations. Refrigerating your produce helps some last longer after harvesting. Photographic prints generally last longer when they are kept out of direct sunlight, extreme heat and humidity. Take a look at the photographs below.

Archival And Organic Photographs

PAPER FOR PORTRAIT PRINTS: These family portraits were all made over a hundred years ago. Each has varying stages of aging. The print from 1870 shows the most signs of deterioration with uniform lightening of the tonalities. The image was printed on albumen paper made with egg whites. The photographs from 1900 and 1911 were printed on a fiber based paper and show almost no signs of fading, just a shift to warmer toned blacks. At my portrait studio, the inks are pigment based and the paper is acid-free. I also offer photographs made on an artist’s acid free watercolor paper which has a slight texture. It is museum grade and produces prints rich in tonality.

COFFEE TABLE ALBUMS, BOUND LIBRARY BOOKS:

The company I work with has a tradition of fine bookbinding procedures since 1942. The original founders and owners were trained in old world Italy from a fifth generation custom bookbinder and use the finest quality materials. Album styles range from very traditional through contemporary to avant-garde. They welcome photographer’s ideas and will customize the books to meet our client’s needs.

Archival and Organic Photographs

CLOTH DESK FOLIOS: I have a company that uses Japanese bookbinding fabrics, acid-free mats and their loving hands make the most exquisite desk folios. They produce their products as heirlooms to last for generation after generation. This is a concept I fully embrace. What I also love is that they will create custom folios to meet my client’s needs.

Archival And Organic Photographs

At my portrait studio, archival and organic is a way of life. Photographs made with pigment based inks, on acid-free paper, and mounted in products like books and desk folios will last many generations. If you have any questions about growing vegetables organically or eating organic food, please contact me as well. I am well versed on both topics!!