In my hand I hold a print entitled ‘Reverence’ by large format photographer Ben Horne. At 10x8 inches it is small, easy to handle and inspect. I hold it out, pull it in close, and tilt it, catching the light on its slightly pitted surface. The paper stock is Hahnemuhle’s Photo Rag Baryta, a modestly glossy ground with impressive tonal depth and fine local contrast.
‘Reverence’ print close-up
‘Reverence’ is printed on Hahnemuhle’s Photo Rag Baryta paper
‘Reverence’ depicts a section of forest on a misty day. Whilst predominantly green in hue, it contains a strikingly broad range of supporting colours, from icy blues to punctuating warm yellows. It is a study of a small diorama of nature, bereft of human presence and meddling, calm, sublime, overwhelming yet understated. Despite my growing acquaintance with the kind of impressive micro-detail that 10x8 film can produce, I can’t help but be struck by this aspect here. Yet the most prominent feature in my mind is the presence of light. Not in the scene precisely, but emanating from the print itself. It is the photographer / printer’s job to harness this light and to convey it in the print. This is not magic, but craft (it can sometimes feel like magic in the work of fine printers). In ‘Reverence’, Horne shows off his craft skills.
Exterior of the 2019 Portfolio Box
The print comes from Horne’s 2019 Portfolio Box Set, a set of ten prints in the aforementioned format (shot on 10x8 film, printed on 10x8 paper, with the image a little smaller to leave a border). It is, in the photographer’s own words, a ‘collection of archival pigment prints’ representing his ‘best work of 2019’. Each print is individually numbered and initialled on the rear, and the set as a whole comes from a limited edition of one hundred and fifty. The prints come in a sturdy archival box with an exterior paper wrap bearing Horne’s signature.
Detail showing the artist’s signature of the rear
I received my copy before Christmas, but have patiently left it undisturbed in order to find a quiet moment to write this review. Opening it up was a joy: to see so much printed photographic work in one place, to see a set beautifully and intelligently presented, to ponder the sheer scale of the work that must have gone in to making it. The subject matter and characteristics of ‘Reverence’ are carried all the way through the set. Horne concentrates on small corners of an American natural landscape without human presence. He is very attuned to the possibilities of colour in his chosen scenes and clearly seeks a kind of meditative calm. There is a split between tableaux shot around the 300mm focal length mark, and close-up details from the land.
‘Coyote Twilight’ by Ben Horne
Stylistically, Horne is no avant-gardist, being instead firmly rooted in a long tradition of American landscape photography. He is well known for his well-presented website and Youtube tutorials / blog, and can best be described as a photographer / adventurer. As these prints attest, he is also a craftsman and a fine printer. Considering the sheer scale of work in this portfolio, he is also prodigious in his output (in 10x8 format, no less). I can’t quite wrap my head around how he manages to make so much work in such a short timescale. Horne’s adventures can be followed on his excellent Youtube channel, where he also generously shares many technical details.
‘Secluded’ by Ben Horne
You will see from the tenor of this piece that I am more than happy to recommend this box. My reasoning is twofold. First, I think as a product it represents exceptional value for money. You are getting a sizeable body of work, in the tradition of printers of yore, for a relatively modest price. The production values and presentation are second none. Second is something I always have in mind when looking to acquire the prints of other photographers. There is a huge amount to be learned from being able to spend time with, and closely inspect, work by accomplished printers. You can work at your own pace in thinking about a range of technical choices, from paper stock, to composition, to depth of field. You can return again and again to the work and commit the aspects you like best to your operational storeroom of ideas. That is certainly the case with Ben Horne’s Portfolio Box.
At the time of writing only fifty sets from the edition still remain. You can order your copy by following the link below.