John Cyr

Every photographer working in a darkroom has a tray specifically designated for developer. After years of consistent printing, their tray’s appearance becomes a direct reflection of its treatment: frequency of use, maintenance, type of developer used and level of print agitation. Every accumulated tong mark, silver deposit and chemical stain is present because of the continual repetition of their print processing habits. Every used developer tray, once sterile and generic, has become one that is uniquely that of the photographer. For the eighty-two developer trays I have photographed, an essential aspect of the individual darkroom experiences of these photographers has been recorded for posterity, ready to captivate our imaginations with each viewing of these thoroughly transformed utilitarian objects.