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02/26/2002 Entry: "My hair ain't that gray"

Learned a valuable lesson this weekend which I attempted to rectify this evening in the darkroom.

Never, ever, show your work prints to a portrait subject.

I thought Junior would enjoy seeing the initial results of a roll I shot of him a few weeks ago.

Nope.

Everybody's a critic, it seems, though few previous critiques of my photography quite matched his reaction... "Shit, man, my hair ain't that gray! You gonna fix that, right?"

It took a bit, finding just the right exposure and contrast, a few doses of burning and some puzzled inquiries from others using the darkroom tonight. "Why are you reprinting that? It looks great."

Apparently, they haven't met Junior.

Things came together eventually. They usually seem to under the soft orange dimness of the safelight, with "Lawyers, Guns and Money" belting out from the CD player. (Patti, you have to get to class early to get first crack at the music.)

I finished up printing, cleaned up the area around my enlarger station and leaned back against the counter while waiting for my last print to wash. I savored the moment, watching the others busy about their own printing, examining negatives, making test strips, doing the slow patient dance down the row of chemical trays, all to bring their vision to a form they could hold in their hand and share.