i've spent a lot of time traveling and photographing in india.

on one trip my friend april joined me in jaipur.

it was the first time i had a portrait done by the third generation street photographer in jaipur. i had seen him many times, but finally had a good reason to commission him. he and his father and grandfather all made their livings with one ancient purpose-made camera, using a chair and drape as their studio and producing prints inside the body of the camera as the darkroom while clients waited for the prints at the sidewalk studio.

the process used to photograph and make the prints in the camera inspired me to design and make my own box camera.

these photographs are the result of my attempt to build a box camera like the one built by the ancestors of the photographer who made the portrait of april and me in india.

i have made these still lives in my kitchen to practice and master the “new” camera and process. they are black and white gelatin silver prints trimmed, exposed and processed inside the dark box camera on my tripod.