“Mark Schwartz 1980 Self-Portrait”

I read on the back of a print I found in 2019.

When I flipped it over, I couldn't believe what was looking back at me. My dad, at the exact same age as me at the time. Made during the time he was getting his MFA in photography. At first, all I could see was myself. My eyebrows. My pout. My body, even. I got lost in all of the tiny moments of magic in this photograph. The way the flash illuminated the folds on his t-shirt. The motion of the sync cable connected to the flash. The butterflies carefully adhered to the wooden column. Across his chest says “AMIDOL”: the name of a toxic but excellent paper developer which produces rich, strong, black tones. Although he’s been gone almost a decade now, I never found his negatives but I’ve held onto this print ever since.

2022