Zero Gravity
I see that beautiful spirit
Floating there with the darkness
Unique in all the Universe
Not appeared accidentally
Not created deliberately
It… simply… just… happened
I made this picture in 1994 as a student at OIP&T (The Ohio Institute of Photography & Technology) in Dayton, OH. It was my first attempt at using a view camera, 4x5. This was before the digital revolution really took hold. I was 18 years old, full of ambition, optimism and eager to learn photography very well. Finally getting my hands on a view camera really did fill me with joy. I sort of knew what I was doing but not from experience, only from reading about large format photography and ruminating on the principles. This image wasn't even the product of an assignment. The moment I was granted lab privileges, I marched into that studio and made this image.
I still love this picture so much. I didn't consider myself an animist at the time, that word hadn't even entered my purview. But I was an animist. I still am. Seeing light. Working with darkness. Photographing Spirit. I didn't know it in 1994 but this image would become my own personal emblem for my worldview.