Richard Learoyd’s portrait series Presences showcases life-size, highly detailed prints created using the camera obscura combined with modern techniques like strobe lighting and Ilfochrome printing. His process involves arduous multi-hour sessions where models must sit still under hot lights. Learoyd produces unique positive prints with no negatives, deciding the final image during the exposure and destroying any rejected prints. The portraits explore the tension between intimacy and distance, challenging the viewer’s ability to truly know another person through the surface of a photograph. The series was exhibited at Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco from May to June 2011. Read Article