Viewpoint Tracy Calder
Should we print our own work? With over 200 of Don McCullin’s own prints to be on display soon, let’s look at both sides of the argument
‘Only McCullin knows how he felt when he released the shutter’
Legendary photojournalist Don McCullin spends a lot of time in the dark listening to Bach, and making black & white prints. McCullin has a darkroom at his home in Somerset, and when the weather is sunny he disappears into this safe, familiar space to work on fresh interpretations of the thousands of negatives he has created during his 60-year career. (When the weather is miserable he can often be found in the countryside, creating views of the landscape that are beautiful, but far from idyllic.) While McCullin is happy to leave the printing of his colour work to professional labs, he oversees the output of his black & white negatives. His level of perfectionism is admirable, and his desire to leave the very best prints behind him is clear to see.
Next week sees the opening of a comprehensive retrospective of McCullin’s work at Tate Britain and, incredibly, nearly all of the 250 or so prints on display were made by McCullin in his home darkroom - thankfully the summer of 2018 was one of the hottest on record in the UK, which provided an excellent excuse for extended periods in the dark! Having mentioned McCullin’s achievements to a friend, I was taken aback by his response. ‘If these pictures are to be his legacy, is he the best person to print them?’ He asked, ‘Are photographers always good printers too?’ My initial reaction was to shout ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ in a rather affronted manner, but then I got thinking. The truth is some photographers (myself included) are not good printers, and some don’t enjoy this part of the process at all. Luckily there still are some very talented professional printers around, so those who don’t have the skill, time or inclination to print their own work are well catered for.
But McCullin is an excellent printer and, more to the point, his emotional state can be seen in his work. In an interview for The Economist in 2010, he admitted that he has a tendency to print his negatives darker and darker as time goes by, which suggests that the prints are as much a reflection of his state of mind as his technical skills. Understandably for a man who has witnessed outrageous atrocities, McCullin has some dark days, and the brooding skies and mournful landscapes he captures on film have often been likened to battlefields.
So, having given my friend’s comment some thought, I decided that the best response was ‘yes’ and ‘no’. If a professional printer was to print McCullin’s negatives without any prior knowledge of him, the result would probably be a technically superb print – but only McCullin knows how he felt when he released the shutter. Thankfully he has the requisite darkroom skills to translate these feelings into powerful (and intentionally dark) prints. By controlling every aspect of the process, McCullin has ensured that his work reflects his skills as a photographer/ printer, and also his feelings as a human being – a fitting legacy. ‘Don McCullin’ is on show from 5 February to 6 May at Tate Britain, Millbank, London. Visit www.tate.org.uk.