What is a Pyrometagraph™? It is a unique kind of photograph, the combined product of talent and disaster. It is an unmodified image, at least in the ordinary sense. I was a fine art photographer in Laguna Beach, California, for a number of years. My film of choice was Kodachrome 25, 35mm slide film; I kept my best images in a fire safe. In October of 1993, a huge firestorm raged through Laguna Beach. Several hundred homes were destroyed, among them, the house I lived in. I lost virtually everything. I did, however, manage to salvage the safe.
As it happens, few safes can withstand the heat generated by this kind of fire. This one did its job, but imperfectly, effectively baking its contents over an extended period: the result is the pyrometagraph. The slides were not destroyed, but the pictures they held were greatly modified. Depending on the slide, the visible effect can range from subtle to bold. You may note color-shifting, random or orderly dots and splotches, or striated patterns. Some also show the effect of the actual bonding of the slide emulsion to the inner glass surface of the protective slide mount. Regardless of the image, the pyrometagraph is something you have never seen before. Finally, after nearly fifteen years, I am making them available as limited edition fine art prints.
Photographic prints from these slides are produced by ordinary means. The first step is the creation of a high-grade digital scan of the slide, which is preserved as a TIFF. It is then corrected on the computer, and the print finally made from that finished file. In no case are image-manipulation or special effects performed. Any image-editing serves only one pu
rpose, to produce a print true to the original slide. Apart from normal spotting, nothing in the image has been added or removed. It should also be noted that, from scan to finished print, I do all the work myself.
Prints are made to last. They are produced on high-grade photo paper with archival inks. Framing, if applicable, is done to museum standards. These photographs, if displayed under UV glass and out of direct sunlight, will continue to please for generations. Nearly one hundred total images make up the pyrometagraph collection. They are available only as signed, limited-edition prints. Each print, whether loose, matted, or fully framed, comes with a certificate denoting its authenticity and edition status. In time, the entire collection will also be available as a book. See the first of three pyrometagraph galleries here; or, go directly to Buy Photos.
