Rangefinder Magazine
October 2005

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Profile: Brigitte Carnochan By Michelle Perkins
Hand-painted Masterpieces

Top: Carnochan uses flowers and fruits from various sources but finds special pleasure in photographing subjects from her own garden. Right: Carnochan says she buys vases “with the profligacy of someone who knows they are business expenses.” Bottom: Symmetry produces a sense of stillness in this image of a yellow tea rose—a feeling that is accentuated by the leaves trapped behind glass. Top left: Using shallow depth of field and subtle colors, Carnochan transforms a simple bouquet of roses into a visual poem. Top right: A benefit of photographing fruit? “They make good eating when their time as photographic subjects is over,” says Carnochan.

When Brigitte Carnochan immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1947, she was six years old and dreamed of a career as a ballet dancer. Although her life didn’t end up taking that path (she first became a high school English teacher, then served as the associate director for external affairs at Stanford’s Institute for International Studies), the beauty and imagination of dance remained a constant fascination. As a graduate student in English she investigated these qualities in literature; now, as a photographer, she has continued to explore them in her fine art images.

Carnochan’s career in photography began with a basic class in darkroom technique—a class that was a life-changing experience. “I had that experience that so many photographers talk about,” she says. “The first time you see the photo coming up in the developing tray, you’re hooked. It was very exciting.” A few years later, she submitted a black-and-white image of a nude female holding a bouquet of tulips to a photo contest sponsored by a local newspaper. It won first place and set in motion a chain of events that brought her to the attention of the art world. One of the judges, Amy Saret, hosted an exhibit of the prizewinners at The Photographers Gallery in Palo Alto, CA. Saret was so impressed by Carnochan’s talent that she continued to show her work and brought it to the attention of other gallery owners. Since then, Carnochan’s work has been shown in a number or East and West Coast galleries, and her career continues to blossom.

Carnochan’s principle photographic subjects are flowers and nudes, both of which are treated as still lifes. Her floral studies in particular reflect a long study of art, and particularly an admiration for Dutch still lifes and the works of Georgia O’Keeffe. “Both did magical things with flowers and fruit,” she says, “and both had a sensuous vision of still lifes that’s very appealing to me.”

While her aesthetic is decidedly understated, Carnochan’s floral studies exude an energy that is formal and romantic, graceful and relaxed. They are celebrations of form that evolve as organically as the subject matter itself. “The qualities that have fascinated me and led me to make a particular photograph are usually quite intuitive,” says Carnochan. “I generally don’t have a completed concept in my mind when I begin—I move things around, changing the angles and lighting until everything seems right.”

Carnochan begins by capturing her images on Kodak Tri-X—a film she loves and hopes Kodak never stops making. For still lifes, her subjects are illuminated by window light. Although she sometimes filters it through a translucent shade or plays with mirrors and reflective backdrops, mostly she keeps it quite simple.

Next, she moves into the darkroom, where she produces each image as a carefully crafted gelatin silver print toned with selenium. What distinguishes her work, however, is what hap- pens after she leaves darkroom; it’s the way she hand-paints her photographs. “I love black-and-white photography,” says Carnochan, “I love it with a passion, but there are certain things to me that just want to be painted.”

Handcoloring added a golden glow to this delicate clematis.

Next, she moves into the darkroom, where she produces each image as a carefully crafted gelatin silver print toned with selenium. What distinguishes her work, however, is what hap- pens after she leaves darkroom; it’s the way she hand-paints her photographs. “I love black-and-white photography,” says Carnochan, “I love it with a passion, but there are certain things to me that just want to be painted.”

Unlike many hand colorists, Carnochan almost always begins with the background. “Perhaps this is because of my subject matter,” she says. “I paint only still lifes or anonymous nudes and therefore don’t face the challenge of those who paint portraits—in which background must be subordinate to the individual who is the legitimate center of attention.” For her subject matter, Carnochan finds that the backgrounds play an important role.

Since she paints multiple editions of each image for her gal- lery orders, she must keep careful notes throughout the entire process in order to ensure that future copies match the original. She also keeps the first version of each image so she can refer to it as she makes new edi- tions. This helps to eliminate problems with gen- erational shifts.

Carnochan finds that the most challenging and important aspect of hand coloring is the choice of color palette. She has no concern as to whether the colors she picks are the “real” colors; instead, the selection of the color palette for a given image is an intuitive choice. “My aim in painting on photo- graphs is not to replicate reality,” she notes. “If that were the case, it would be better (not to mention easier) to use color film. What makes the extra labor of painting photographs worthwhile is the power it gives me to create an image according to my own sense of aesthetics. By choosing each color, its intensity, and its relationship to the other colors, I try to expand the emotional as well as the visual range of the photograph.”

Carnochan also points out that color itself is in- herently subjective. “Even though most people see the world in color,” she says, “they do not see ev- erything in the same exact colors. From an optical point of view, the colors we see depend on where we stand in relation to the object, where the sun is on the horizon, what color the walls are, the tint of our glasses and so on. From a psychological point of view, everything depends on whether we are worried, elated, anxious, in love, lonely, distracted or fully alert.”

Similarly, she notes that photography “is an intrinsically subjective art and form of communication. The ‘story’ in the photograph begins with the photographer’s decision of when to click the shutter and isn’t complete until each viewer interprets that image in his or her own way.”

Indeed, Carnochan’s current work seems to invite just this kind of interpretation. Her latest gallery show features a series of nudes based on the women of Greek myths—Pandora, Diana, Medusa, Aphrodite, etc.

For more information on Brigitte Carnochan and her work, visit her web site: www.brigittecarnochan.com/.

Top left: In this image of three poppies, the large blooms perch atop spindly, leafless stems. Top right: Illuminated from above, the petals of this tulip magnolia seem to stretch up toward the light. Bottom left: Carnochan calls this charming image “Tulips and Times.” Middle right: Carnochan contrasts the deep tones in the peony with a warm golden glow on the background. Bottom right: Green figs emerge from a dark background in this dramatic image.