Several years ago, I featured Christine Caldwell’s Illuminated Negatives of flowers on Lenscratch. She has a new body of work using the same approach, Ocean, that is on exhibition in Los Angeles in two locations. Her unique and unusual approach to image making, all done without a camera in the darkroom, allows for spectacular results.

Christine was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. In the years since obtaining her degree, Christine mastered color and black & white darkroom techniques, which have made her
a highly sought after darkroom professional–in fact, she manages on of the best darkrooms in Los Angeles, Translight Photography Center. Her work will be on display at Translight this weekend for the Brewery 2011 Fall ArtWalk. This work is also on exhibition at the G2 Gallery in Venice, CA through November 6th, 2011. The G2 Gallery supports art and the environment and believes in the union between environmental causes and the power of photographic art to change the world.

Christine has expanded the potential of the photogram—the process of creating an image using light and photo sensitive paper, minus the camera and film—by pioneering the use of the color enlarger and color paper to manipulate the look of the final product. The process of creating a photogram is inherently experimental and demands many tries before producing satisfactory results, which Christine describes it as, “an endorphin rush” for its unpredictability. When testing out new materials for her Ocean series, Christine says that in general, “small, transluscent type materials work the best.” In working with nature’s smaller creations, Christine hopes that her series will spark “a greater appreciation for their intricate beauty.”

Images from Ocean