magic bullets ? conventional?

back in the olde days a magic bullet was made by melting down religious icons.  the silver was used to kill werewolves.  in photographic terms, a magic bullet is a cure all, a combination of materials ( paper, chemistry and film, and technique ) used to make perfect photographs.  its almost like something a photographer can do to make their photographs better, without trying.  for a long time magic bullets were sold by kodak tri x and d-76, kodabromide and dektol come to mind.  these days a magic bullet might be a vintage lens, large format camera using film or a digital camera.  if you boil it down to its essence, a magic bullet is what makes the person comfortable behind the camera, the darkroom, infront of their computer.

merriam webster describes conventional as something that has been around a long time ( paraphrasing ), something that is considered “traditional”

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conventional/

i guess all photography is conventional …  seeing no matter what is done with camera, someone has probably done it before, i suppose it might be nearly impossible “unconventional” …. unless one weaves modern technology into and creates hybrid images.

Author: jnanian

I am a Freelance Photographer in Rhode Island. I make photographs using a variety of methods with and without a camera, and I teach photography online and in person. I make photo emulsions from scratch, I coat my own photo paper and make cyanotypes too. I am a huge fan of Caffenol ( I helped write the Caffenol Cookbook ) and instead of instant coffee, I roast my own Sumatra Robusta beans. I sell them so you can make your own long lasting, film and print developer called Sumatranol. I also sell silver recovery products.