TJ’s Daily Blog #73

Brownie in Motion: Traveling Picture Show

It will soon be your last chance to see the Brownie In Motion: Traveling Picture Show at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. The show will end on March 19th, so you have to get there this week!

Stephen Takacs has created an amazing collection of photos while traveling the country with his room-sized camera obscura. The Brownie Camera/Darkroom is on display, giving some context to the undertaking of constructing, using and traveling with this humongous contraption. It’s size is strategic and ingenious in one really important way- the camera doubles as a darkroom! The exposure is made on light sensitive paper and then developed from inside the Brownie, without ever exiting the camera itself.

The entrance to the show features photos of the Brownie on the road. These modern photographs serve as not only a document of the Brownie’s travels, but also a bright, saturated counterpoint to the deep-black, monochromatic photographs produced by the camera. The subjects of Stephen’s portraits practice trades not widely found in the modern age. He commemorates them by using of one of the earliest photographic techniques that, today, is practiced only by the curious few. The handmade large-format prints have a timeless feel, with a touch of nostalgia for a time when photography was more tangible and photographers got their hands dirty. The show is  thoughtful, unique and definitely worth the trip. I can’t recommend it enough.

For more information on the show you can check out the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, the Brownie In Motion Facebook page, or Brownie In Motion.org.