Meet a Subject: Eric B Ricks

Hey there - I would like to introduce fellow readers to a number of my favorite and notable portrait subjects from over the past year. Everyone featured in this series has been either chosen because of their interesting story or background, impact on me or my photographic endeavors, or any imaginable combination of the above. This will basically be a collective shout out to a number of people that bestow upon me the honor of taking their picture, and most of them have done so on a number of occasions.

Eric B Ricks, Collaborator in Creative Mayhem

First up is DC artist Eric B Ricks; muralist, painter, mixed media sculptor and general collaborator in creative mayhem. I first met Eric under some chance circumstances back in August of 2014. Eric had been working as an apprentice under local photography legend George de Vincent, who had recently passed away after a life of seemingly endless adventure, and Eric was in the process of moving out of de Vincent's house and studio located a couple blocks away from my apartment.

Check Your Math: Happy Accidents with Kodak HC110 Developer

This is when I utilize my blog as a sort of confessional. A coming clean to the society of photographic study. "Our father, who art in heaven, Ansel Adams be thy name..." 

Confessions like "I have been inadvertently developing all of my Tri-X with an accidental 2 stop push since sometime in 2012." Luckily, this error has remained a happy accident and the idiot-proof nature of film may have lead to the growth of a unique personal style along the way. 

In short, it's a good thing Tri-X looks damn good when pushed to ISO1600 and souped in HC110. 

Read on to see how I discovered this error in my ways, how I might have gotten there and some lessons newcomers to B&W home developing might appreciate. 

#Warning# This post is going to get deep into the weeds!