I found it!
I've been working hard the last few weeks with my team creating a new Valentine's mini session portrait set. After a few too many cappuccinos, I suddenly remembered a Valentine’s Day gift I had made.
A handmade Valentine's platinum print portrait from 30 years ago!
It took an hour of digging through boxes in the Claremont studio's loft, but I found it! It's such a cool story whether you are into photography, art, or love, I wanted to share it with you.
It’s a platinum print on watercolor paper, which I made decades ago at a workshop. I wanted to make a special Valentine's card for my girlfriend Janet. The little girl holding the heart is my friend Tom's daughter, Shelby. We took this portrait in his garage in Rancho Cucamonga.
For those who care about the technical details, I used a Sinar 4x5 camera with Polaroid Type 55 film, which provides a black and white print and negative. If this stuff sounds like Greek to you, it's one of those cameras that Ansel Adams used, you know, the kind where the photographer throws a cloth over their head. Large-format cameras are very challenging to use for portraits; everything is upside down when you compose the shot. It takes time just to focus and expose one piece of film. It's a painstakingly slow process, but it allows creative freedom, such as blurring the image in select areas with camera movements. I tilted the lens to create the blur near her feet; so the heart and her cute face would stand out. My goal was a dreamy image that said, "you have my heart and love." Shelby was such a good model, and I think we got it in just a few frames.
The print that we scanned to share with you is a platinum print on watercolor paper. What's a platinum print? Well, usually, when you want to make a black and white print, you buy photo paper and use an enlarger to project your negative on the paper to expose it, and you develop it. To make a platinum print, you have to coat a piece of paper with light-sensitive platinum. So you're essentially making light-sensitive photographic paper that's platinum instead of silver-based. Platinum prints have a unique warm tone to them, expanded mid-tones, and they're one of the most durable photographic prints available. If you ever see old photographs in a gallery, look at the description to see if they're platinum. The platinum process requires that you place the negative directly on the paper and expose it to the sun for about 30 minutes, depending on the weather. The best part of the workshop was drinking coffee in the back yard, chatting with other artists while our prints were exposing.
Why did I go through such an elaborate process for a Valentine's day card? I was very young and in love! First, off girls, many of us guys are scared to death over Valentine's day. Scared to screw it up, which explains why we procrastinate, overdo it, or do nothing. I wanted something she would love, and knowing she was a photographer herself, I was nervous about creating art for her. The final Valentine's day card was handmade too. I made a folding card by hand, tearing watercolor paper and mounting a print of Shelby on the cover, with translucent handmade paper over the image; it was gorgeous!
Even after all my effort, I was still unsure of myself and the final art, typical young artist. I remember showing my friend Stormie, a food stylist at Myron Beck's studio in Los Angeles, the card to see if it was any good. She was amazed and told me that my girl would love it. Being young, I was still nervous and unsure. I still remember giving Janet the card at her front door on a cold Valentine's day evening; I think it was raining. The look on her face was priceless; I made her day!
The insecurities I faced as a young artist helped me become the portrait photographer I am today. Learning to create expressive art has been one of the best achievements of my life. I love making emotional portraits for my clients, helping them share and express their love for each other.