Scott McFarland

I recently tried my hand at typing on a typewriter – it forces you to exert a lot more pressure than you would when performing the same task on your computer keyboard. I was amazed at how closely typing on a typewriter parallels the playing the piano. I am a classically-trained pianist, albeit a hobbyist only, but typing on a typewrite proved to quite the finger workout! I really never made that connection before, and it prompted me to seek out other activities that I do, whose motions and intentions can also be translated to another activity. And this was what led me to Canadian photographer Scott McFarland’s work:

“When I was taking photographs of gardeners occupied by their everyday activities, I could see similarities to my own actions with photography, including printing in the darkroom. In Pouring, the figure is emptying a container of potassium permanganate solution into water, which will cause a reaction depending on levels of other chemicals in the water. In this case, the pond is home to koi so he is balancing the PH levels for the fish. In relation to photography, there is a way to check on the exhaustion level of the fix by using a product called “hypo check.” I regularly pour this into the fix to ensure the solution is still performing its task.”

Interview excerpt from Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. Please visit McFarland’s website to view more of his work.