I started my career in my teens as an assistant to a very talented photographer in NYC.

We got along great, and honestly, spoke not that long ago.

One of the perks of the job was being able to use the studio and darkroom, which was so much better than the darkroom in my bedroom.

There was an exchange of service though. One of those was printing out 50 headshots of one of his actor friends.

They came out great, but he had a look, approved of the exposure, and print quality, but asked me about the spotting.

The what, now??

Yep, dust spots. I had to quickly learn how to spot a print. Basically painting in the white spots with an ink made for the fiber based photographic paper. He taught me though, which was just one of the many lessons I learned.

But 50 prints?

These bottles of spotting ink was the special sauce. Plus various very thin brushes. Oh, and a little spit.

You would mix a color match, as each bottle had a slightly different tone, in a dish, then wet the brush with your tongue, and get to coloring in the dust spot with a matching B&W tone. It was a delicate process, and a deft hand was needed.

Today I was in a gallery where this was happening, and I was immediately thrown back in time.

Now these inks are no longer made, and it seems that EBAY is the only place to find them.

When I came back home, I digitally did some “spotting” and of course it worked.

That trip down memory lane was a reminder of how analog my time in photography began.