Susan May Tell: from Appalachia and the Rust Belt, 2012

Susan May Tell was recently interviewed in the “Best of 2013” feature on the ASMP (American Society of Magazine Photographers) online journal. The focus was on her personal project spanning Appalachia. A few excerpts from the interview follow below:

In the summer of 2012, Susan May Tell traveled 4,000 miles through rural Appalachia, a region known to have fallen on hard times. Shooting black & white film in her Leica, she explored deserted downtowns and shuttered steel mills, sleeping in her ’90s rust bucket.

And now for the good part (well, to us, anyway)

ASMP: When and how was your film from this trip processed, printed and scanned. Did you do your own darkroom work?

SMT: Since I no longer have a wet darkroom, I found a lab that simulated the way I used to work, which meant editing from work prints and not contact sheets. At the same time the lab needed to incorporate newer technologies. All the requests were easier said than done, since nowadays digital supersedes analogue. After a bit of research I found LTI Lightside Photographic Services in Manhattan, and they have been nothing short of spectacular.

LTI developed the film; scanned every negative full frame with black border, with no corrections; made a 4-by-6-inch machine print from the scan with the full frame and black border; and made three index prints for each roll, one of which I submit to the Copyright Office as a deposit copy. As I edit and provide negatives, LTI is making gelatin silver prints.

Of course, we are so thankful that Susan made the effort to mention us and explain our services in her interview. Please take a moment to peruse the rest of the text here.

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