Ammunition Bag

This piece is a 10”x8” silver gelatin print mounted on a 14”x11” board. It depicts a Revolutionary War ammunition satchel hanging from the top of a wooden post, with several more posts receding into the right background. This arrangement was constructed at Colonial Williamsburg restored village in Virginia. While we love to explore the pageantry and pomp of our colonial past, this bag, containing powder and ball, reminds us that not all was as we would like to remember, but much suffering attended our nation's founding.

I work exclusively in the traditional medium of film photography and silver gelatin darkroom printing. I prefer a fairly literal representation of reality when printing the negative, and tend to eschew overt dramatization. I feel that the viewer should get a sense of place; a grounding in the here and present. Reality should be brought out to view, not needlessly embellished. I want to make the things that are real to me real to the viewer.