Artist Statement — Weathered Souls
8×20 Calotypes and Salt Prints of Historic Barns, Mills, and Covered Bridges in the Ozarks
In Weathered Souls, I document the quiet resilience of the Ozarks through handmade 8×20 calotype paper negatives—a 19th-century photographic process revived with care, patience, and intention.
The subjects—historic barns, old mills, and covered bridges—are more than structures. They are physical remnants of a working rural life now disappearing. Weathered by time but not forgotten, they stand as silent witnesses to a world once grounded in craft, necessity, and place.
Each photograph is made outdoors in natural light, one per day, using chemistry I prepare by hand. The panoramic 8×20 format allows these subjects to breathe across the frame, emphasizing space, rhythm, and the passage of time.
To my knowledge, I am the only artist in the world making 8×20 calotype paper negatives. The process is slow, difficult, and deeply physical—yet it’s this very slowness that allows me to connect with my subjects on a deeper level. Each exposure is a solitary act of presence, a gesture of respect toward what endures.
The finished prints are made using the historic salt print process, completing the fully handmade 19th-century workflow. The final image exists only through touch, light, and time, etched into paper by hand, just as the structures themselves were once built.
Weathered Souls is not about nostalgia. It is about connection. These structures are not ruins. They are witnesses. They are weathered souls—etched into the landscape, and now, into paper.
More Than a Process—A Philosophy
I stand in quiet rebellion against the mass-produced and digitally perfected. I believe there is beauty in fragility, meaning in imperfection, and magic in things that can’t be easily replicated.
Photography, for me, is a ritual. A way of connecting the past to the present. A way of honoring the handmade. A way of reminding us that art is, at its best, a mirror of the soul.
The Why Behind the Work
My creative path is grounded in a deep commitment to the handmade calotype—a process born in the 1830s by William Henry Fox Talbot and nearly forgotten today. I don’t just use this process because it’s historic. I use it because it embodies everything I believe in as an artist. It’s slow, imperfect, and requires full presence—both physically and emotionally. There is no shortcut. Every sheet of paper must be iodized, sensitized, exposed, and developed entirely by hand using 19th-century chemistry.
At the heart of my work is a Creative Framework built on three enduring pillars: Resilience, Transformation, and Connection. These are not abstract ideas; they are lived experiences. I find them in the broken edges of a wilted flower, in the silent strength of a weathered tree, and in the delicate imperfections of each calotype negative I create.
Resilience is evident in the labor of the process itself—how the fragile paper withstands light and chemistry to carry an image. Transformation reveals itself in the way a scene, when filtered through hand-coated paper and 19th-century lenses, becomes something more than a record—it becomes an emotional truth. And Connection emerges when the viewer feels something personal and human in an image that has no sharp edges, no pixel-perfect rendering—only the gentle trace of light and time.
In an era defined by speed, disposability, and algorithmic perfection, my work stands in quiet defiance. I offer an alternative: Slowness. Intention. Presence. Permanence.
Calotypes are not about capturing what something looks like. They are about expressing what something means. The paper itself becomes a mirror of memory, emotion, fragility, and strength. Each calotype I make is a conversation between the subject, the materials, and me.
I am especially drawn to the panoramic 8×20-inch format—an ultra-large canvas that slows me down even further and demands complete commitment. To my knowledge, I am the only artist in the world creating long-term bodies of work using handmade calotypes in this format. It’s not a title I wear for prestige, but one that reflects my devotion to doing meaningful work that few others, if anyone, are willing or able to pursue.
This is not photography for the masses. It’s not built for likes or algorithms. It’s built for those who still believe that art can be handmade, that slowness has value, and that something imperfect can be more powerful than perfection.
Alignment with My Creative Framework
Explore my Creative Framework to gain deeper insight into the principles and processes that guide the creation of my artwork.
- Pillar: Resilience
Metaphor: Steadfastness
The forgotten and abandoned places in Weathered Souls symbolize Steadfastness, standing firm despite the wear of time and nature. These structures have endured years of abandonment and neglect, yet they remain—weathered but still present. The calotype process lends these images a soft, ethereal quality, emphasizing the quiet strength that resides in their persistence despite their physical decline. - Pillar: Transformation
Metaphor: Passage of Time
These forgotten and abandoned spaces illustrate the Passage of Time, where places that once thrived now stand in various stages of decay. This transformation from vitality to decline reflects the inevitable changes that occur in both physical structures and societies. The soft focus of the calotype process enhances this sense of transformation, blurring the lines between the past and present and highlighting the impermanence that defines both life and architecture. - Pillar: Connection
Metaphor: Echoes of the Past
Each abandoned and forgotten place is an Echo of the Past, a reminder of the lives once lived within these walls and the communities that flourished around them. These structures, though empty, hold a connection to the past that is deeply personal and universal. Through the calotype process, I capture this connection, presenting these places as though they are suspended between eras, still holding onto the memories of those who built, lived, and worked within them.
Art Collector Resources
- Collector and Student Testimonials [read]
- Collector’s Guide [read]
- Why Analog Photography is Essential to Fine Art Creation [read]
- Why I Create [read]
- Aura – What is it, and why does it matter? [read]
- Why Analog Photography Is a Smart Investment [read]
- Analog photography in the Digital Age: Examining transformation, alienation and authenticity in modern photographic practice. https://doi.org/10.55927/ijads.v2i3.11019
