Photography
made by hand
I started photography as a teenager. I was lucky enough to go to a school with a darkroom, and a teacher who was passionate about it and passed on his printing skills. Watching a print appear in the developing tray still amazes me — darkroom technique was the original Photoshop.
I work almost entirely in black & white film, and I develop and print every photograph myself. Because each one is made by hand at the enlarger, every print is unique and archival — not a file, but an object.
Today I photograph the people, landscapes and quiet corners of Cómpeta and the wider Axarquía. Prints are available to buy, and I take on portrait commissions.
Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society (LRPS)
The Darkroom Process
01
Setup
A film negative is placed in an enlarger — a device that projects light through the negative onto light-sensitive paper below.
02
Exposure
The intensity and duration of the light are adjusted by hand to control the brightness, contrast and character of the image.
03
Developing
Under red safelight, the paper passes through developer, stop bath and fixer — the image slowly emerging in the tray.
04
Washing & finishing
The print is washed thoroughly and dried. Some prints are then hand-toned or hand-painted, colour applied directly onto the print.
