28. A mistake of a picture
ROLL 593 | FRAME 34
Martha and Dylan, Brooklyn / Paris, November 2025.
Last year in November I went to Paris. Every time I travel I rewind the roll that is in my camera and then load it back into the camera after I go through security and wind it to the frame where I left off. I forgot to wind it and I accidentally double-exposed four pictures from this roll, blending my room in Brooklyn with the streets of Paris. Of course, I now have the narrative of “I ruined the only three pictures I was excited about this year”. Which might or might not be true.
What is true is that I am so unsure about any of the pictures I took this year. They are not particularly different from the pictures that came before, but that is exactly the problem. When I made Small Death I looked at every picture I have ever made. I organized it and thought about them very hard. All the pictures I made afterwards did not surprise me. I also spent long stretches of time without photographing.
How does one go about making work?
People keep asking me “What’s next?” I say “Rest”, because I’m tired, but also because I do not know. For now, I have to thank Izzy Dow, who just gave me a beautiful Realist stereo camera. I also bought a self-published guide to how to use it. If you need me, I will be figuring out how to master the obscure technique of stereo slide photography.
From the contact sheets I wanted to share the first picture I took of me last year.
ROLL 548 | FRAME 36
Martha, Brooklyn, December 2025.
As a new year starts I look back at the intense year I had with gratitude and expectancy. I am thankful for MACK, for the stores that carried my book, for all the press outlets that featured it, for all the jurors that advocated for it, for everyone who shared it, for all the spaces who hosted events, for my husband who carried me all the way to the finish line, and, of course, for everyone who bought my book: HOLY SHIT! So many of you spent your hard-earned money on a copy of this book. You own a piece of my heart. I will forever cherish that.