Multiple Sarah

20 X 24 inch silver gelatin print.

Crabtree 1996

There is a belief out there that either purist photographers are such because they have no imagination, or that their beliefs won't let them experiment with different techniques. In other words we know the zone system by heart, use the same film and processing everytime and never venture beyond what we can see in the viewfinder at the instant of releasing the shutter.

I have never seen purism as being that restricted. To me it just means I don't crop - the art is in making it work at that instant and if it isn't right I shoot it again. But whatever a purist may say we all dodge and burn, we all fiddle with contrast and many of us use toners. We also play with lighting, especially with flash effects - of which multiple exposures are but one example.

The downside is it is hard to predict what you are ultimately going to get and I wasted a few rolls. But Sarah and I loved this one and I think you can see how much she enjoyed the idea.