A truly creative person need not ever worry that someone might copy their style, emulate their work, or steal their ideas. A creative force lies within that will never run out of fresh ideas. It is important to study and have appreciation for other artist. To add your interpretation is not to copy but to appreciate and increase the medium or aesthetic . It's my aspiration to roll the stone a little bit further.
Although not well known, one photographer can be seen as a beacon of light found in the deep, dark belly of the fine-art photography underworld. The photography of Matthew Ford aka "Fordograph" is the missing link in the chain of fine-art photography leading full circle back to it’s inception. Ford shows a range in his photography that puts him on a level all to himself.
As a photographer Ford is unique in his commitment to photographic process, making all his prints in his own laboratory unlimited by any one particular size or color rendition. He spends hours tweaking contrast and co lour balance until the right look is achieved. Although Ford has begun to incorporate some digital photography, his excellent technical background comes from 10 years of shooting professional color transparency film and hours in his darkroom.
Although a lot of what Ford knows photographically has been self-taught he has had some world-renown photographers and professional lab owners as teachers. Greats like Linda Connor, Jack Fulton, Victor Landweber, and Henry Wessel.
Says Ford, "For me, doing things photo-mechanically often leads to trial and error which can in turn lead to great results in experimentation and seeing what the limits are. Photo-mechanical mistakes are often beautiful and if you make note of what you did wrong you can often get some repeatability in a very unique, uncontrolled creative effect."
This can be seen in Ford’s tiny universe series, where Ford broke from the tradition of making photograms on black and white paper and instead shot the photograms using 4" x 5" ortho-litho film, giving him the option of enlargement. He then pushed the process further by contact printing these film positive negative back and forth until the desired effect was achieved, experimenting with many different developers and concentrates.
Although Ford is an extremely proficient technical large format photographer, his ability to let go and play in the process makes for some incredibly abstract imagery. The best example of this is in the images themselves.
Born: Louisville Kentucky, September 19, 1969
1986 First started doing photography working as a 20"x24" large format camera operator and plate maker at Fetter Printing Company, a family owned offset printing company in Kentucky.
1992 Took my first official photography class at a small liberal arts college in Vermont.
1996 Next moved to San Francisco to study commercial photography at The Academy of Art College for two years.
1998 Transfered to San Francisco Art Institute and graduating with honors and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography in 2001.
2000 Started my own custom color lab/ Ford Photographic, making color prints for other photographers.
Shows:
1996-2001 Group shows and competitions at the The Academy of Art College and San Francisco Art Institute.
2000 The 6th Street photography workshop. San Francisco, CA.
2004 Gerald Peters and The Heart Gallery Santa Fe, NM.
2006 Xyclo an Art Space, Santa Fe, NM.
2008 Gallery Meow Wolf Santa Fe, NM.