The Well-Worn Developer Trays of Famous Photographers

Photographer John Cyr has an ongoing project titled Developer Trays that features photographs of developer trays used by famous photographers. He writes,

I am photographing available developer trays so that the photography community will remember specific, tangible printing tools that have been a seminal part of the photographic experience for the past hundred years. By titling each tray with its owner’s name and the years in which it was used, I reference the historical significance of these objects in a minimal manner that evokes thought and introspection about what images have passed through each individual tray.

The tray above was used by Ansel Adams.

Eddie Adams:

Sally Mann:

Arnold Newman:

Larry Fink:

Developer Trays [John Cyr]


Image credits: Photographs by John Cyr and used with permission

Discussion