11/03/2021
Back in the late 1970's and up to around 1982 we experienced a change in the culture which we called the "New Wave," or better known as Punk. Music had changed from long winded 15 minute long narratives to 2-3 minute angry loud musical statements. The clothing the musicians wore changed drastically too to high contrast, rather clashing colors. Purples with greens, and orange and bright pink, to big spiked hair. I was hired to create photos of some of the local musicial groups but I wasn't comfortable doing color...yet. So, I went out on a limb and purchased a high contrast medical type film called Technical Pan. It had almost no grays but had rich blacks and harsh whites. I have to admit it was a little out of control to work with and didn't always have the affects I wanted. So much contrast in fact, one musician exclaimed, "I want my nose back...please!" The contrasts plus the harsh hot lights sometimes made things disappear. Which was actually perfect for that era. One professional photographer was stern with me saying, "You can't do that!" But in my youth...and way too much testocerone driven arrogance, I replied, "Watch me!" I had short turn -arounds a lot back then, one night driving home from a show in Seymour, and printing all night in the darkroom for photos due in the morning. Exhausting and fun.... and nowhere near the money it should have been. Looking back now, I see all kinds of mistakes in this sampling but I think a good documentary for the era. Good memories.
