Zoran Ratkovic

“As we grow in life, so we grow in Art, each of us in his unique way” - Edward Weston photographer

Photography has a long history. Before digital there was the gelatine silver process film, invented nearly a century-and-a-half ago. Before that was the wet-plate collodion process, invented in 1851, which replaced the illustrious Daguerreotype.

For me, photography is a journey through time.

With a century-old 8x10-inch Large Format camera (which I restored myself), I join Ansel Adams on the roof of his precarious station wagon overlooking Yosemite. The process of developing film further throws me back to the times of The American Civil War to a portable darkroom inside a horse-drawn wagon, with makeshift equipment and bottles of experimental chemicals.

I begin to understand the uncertainty and serendipity of photography.

As I experiment with the VanDyke Brown, Platinum/Palladium and Kallitype, notorious for their difficulty and individuality, I begin to appreciate how the imperfections bring additional beauty and mystique and the gold coating further enhances their uniqueness.

I begin to share the joy of the image of the early masters.