BNG Fireside Chat
A Conversation with Master Printer Steve Rifkin and Photographer Seth de Roulet
Friday June 20, reception at 5.30pm, followed by discussion at 6pm. Tickets are $20 for BNG members, $30 for non-members.
The photographs in Bending Light: Photographs by Seth de Roulet, many as large as 60 x 40 inches, have all been printed by hand at Hank’s Photographic Services in New York. There, Seth de Roulet and master printer Steve Rifkin, who has collaborated with some of the world’s most renowned photographers, work hand in hand. “He is a pleasure to work with and a mad scientist in the darkroom,” says the photographer.
“Printing in the darkroom at 16 x 20 inches and smaller is one thing. When you want to go big in a darkroom, you are bringing in a world of challenges,” he explains. “There is no 60 x 40 inch tray, so you have to develop systems. There are only a couple of guys who can do it, and they all do it differently. It takes a true master and decades of trial and error to be able to perfect your system.”
Generally, 35mm Kodak T-MAX 3200 black and white negative film is not used for such large-scale prints, and the combination creates a uniquely textured grain. “People would think that you would be shooting large format on 50 or 100 speed film so that you would have a very tight grain, but I’m on the opposite programme,” explains de Roulet.
About the Speakers
Steve Rifkin
For over 45 years, Steve Rifkin, along with his highly skilled production team, have worked with the world’s most renowned photographers, producing traditional silver prints for exhibitions and limited editions. His work is seen in museums and galleries worldwide. Rifkin has cultivated the unique ability to understand the artist’s aesthetic and work collaboratively to execute the artist’s vision, down to the finest detail. Rifkin believes that the perfect print is the one that embodies the artist’s vision, finished to the highest technical and archival standards.
Seth de Roulet
As one of the world’s leading surf photographers, Seth de Roulet has spent more than 20 years swimming in the most treacherous waters around the globe, camera in hand. His photographs have appeared in all the major surf magazines, including two portfolios in The Surfer’s Journal, one of the few titles to have survived the seismic shifts which have taken place in the publishing industry over the past decade.
Bending Light: Photographs by Seth de Roulet is currently on display in the Main Galleries.
Join us at the Bermuda National Gallery on June 20, 2025 from 5:30 to 7:30.
This talk will be held in BNG’s Young Gallery, which is on a raised level (up 7 steps with a bannister handrail). If you have questions regarding access, please reach out ahead of this event.