Ghost Story - 1997
 

Okay, this one requires a bit of explanation, so bear with me.  First, the quality of the photo is not the best. Shooting paintings and avoiding glare requires some rather elaborate combinations of polarizing filters, and unfortunately, my polarizers did not survive the last move.  I do hope to get a better representation up here soon.   Now, on to the subject matter:

: Back in 1993 I was in the process of starting up my consulting business, and was designing a logo for my letterhead. Essentially, I would design a graphic on the computer, print it out in very large scale on my dot matrix printer, photograph the result using high-contrast techniques, and then reduce it in the darkroom. I had used this technique before, and the shrinking process essentially eliminated all of the dot-matrix jaggies.

I was in the process of making the final prints.   I was using poly-contrast paper & the highest contrast filters, in order to reduce the image to pure blacks and whites. I started the timer and my enlarger flashed and then the bulb went dead. I left the darkroom, undoubtedly fogging the paper, though the outside room was in semi darkness, drove to the photo store, purchased a new bulb & returned. When I got back I replaced the bulb (under the safe light, which was still on), and put another sheet of paper into the easel. Only when I dropped the paper into the developer did I notice that I had left the original sheet easel, and saw that the damaged image was rapidly turning black. I slipped both sheets into the fix, washed them & hung them both up to dry. (I had noticed some figuring on the 'black' print, and figured it might inspire an abstract painting at some point.)

Later, when examining the dry image, I noticed the semblance of a face on it that sent a chill down my spine. At the time, my wife was out of town on business, and I don't mind confessing that I was extremely loathe to be alone in the house until she returned. When she got back, late that night, she immediately sensed that something was wrong. Reluctantly, I showed her the picture. She immediately recognized a vaguely human countenance, however, as we discussed it, we both realized that she was seeing a totally different 'face,' and was even more disturbed when I pointed out the one that I had seen. Later, as we showed it to others, the scenario was repeated. Ultimately, we 'identified' seven different faces, though some require a bit more stretch of the imagination than others.

Oh yes . . . My first inclination was to assume that, due to my usual sloppy darkroom habits, I had allowed one or more stray negatives to get caught up in the enlarger somewhere. However, after ripping it down to every last piece, I had to abandon that particular theory. Next, I figured that it might have been the result of some stray reflections (especially in light of the area in the upper right that appears to be some kind of screen.) Once again, a careful inspection of the darkroom suggested no possibilities.

I wove this incident into my first novel, Survival Skills. Our parish priest (who thereafter refused to set foot in our house) suggested the quotation cited above after seeing the photo. There's more to this story, but that's a tale for another time.   For now, here is The Ghost Photo.

(SOLD)