The western world abandoned texture in the late 50s. For
better or for worse, the modern design concept shares the aesthetic presumptions
of a hospital. Machine-smoothed surfaces and mathematically perfect curves
suggest order, cleanliness, simplicity, and secular ablution. One would not
describe Afghanistan with these words.
Afghanistan remains pre-industrial in terms of both architectural
capability and design concepts. Drop a modern building in Afghanistan. The
Afghans can only comprehend it as a symbol of a symbol (in this case, the West). Their capabilities
cannot yet sustain a culture that may, if it so chooses, nurture the ideas that
give meaning and context to modern architecture.
High ASA black and white film features massive grain and
high-contrast for capturing texture. We hunted for texture and contrast (specifically
in architecture) for this shoot. In retrospect, I probably should have grabbed
some Afghans, but explaining the importance of being exactly still during long-exposure and low-light photography is sometimes
more trouble than it’s worth. The grain effects here are all real-- no post-processing whatsoever. Special thanks to SPC Dailey for helping with
this shoot. I gather he’s interested in taking up medium format film
photography himself. Good for you; it’s a blast.
*Film: Delta Ilford 3200 pushed to 6400
