John Higbie has had a lifelong interest in analog photographic technologies. He worked in the motion picture picture industry for 25 years, specializing in engineering robotic camera systems for live-action, visual effects, and stop-motion animation. He began his career in the analog era of film and was an occasional accomplice in its transition to digital. He recently brought his robotics and pho
tographic skills together on a project to create a laser-based printer for exposing platinum-palladium prints directly from the digital file without the need for a negative. The prints you see here were all exposed on that machine. His own photographs often explore the never-ending conflict between human will and entropy. His camera thrives amid the barely-controlled chaos of urban decay, neglected spaces or ancient cities. These environments, rich in textures and shadow domains, are revealed afresh in the long tonal curve of the platinum-palladium prints. In this way, the print medium exerts its own will upon the images, but the results do not necessarily go according to human plan- there are good and bad surprises. Ultimately therefore, Higbie's work mirrors his subjects. For while the photographer has his own tools-weapons, every day in the darkroom reminds him that he is but a humble negotiator. Jan Avonds is an alter-ego of John Higbie. He explores interior bugs, glitches and anomalies that John avoids. Jan also prints in platinum-palladium, but his content is computer-generated imagery.
