Scott McMahon & Ahmed Salvador - Firefly Letters
This project represents a collaboration between myself and Scott McMahon and the majority of submissions are from our letters series. On a dark and moonless night, we would capture fireflies, temporarily, and place them on photographic sheet film. The fireflies would then expose themselves onto the film.This was done without a camera or lens; they are essentially photograms.
Because Scott and I live in different cities, we correspond by mailing pieces of photographic film and paper to each other. The film exposes naturally in the process of travelling from city to city. Once the parcel is received, it is opened, developed and posted back to the sender.
We often make alterations to the packaging of the images in order to affect the development and exposure of the film. We deliberately damage the film and its packaging with crudely drilled holes and cut marks, subjugating the image to bursts of light. In a way, these perverse techniques push these factory-made films and papers to the end of their silver tether, and extracts the true nature of 'writing with light'. The response of the image has been obtained, to an extent, through force.
The result carries the trace of 150 years of traditional photography; yet the formal innovation and rupture produces a new relevance.