Jens Mauthe, an amateur film photographer based in Richmond, Virginia, has concluded a long-term photography project built around strict limitation and repeated execution. The work reinforces a method rooted in routine, documentation, and physical printing, continuing his analog-only practice. The project developed over many months following a fixed structure from start to finish, using the same cameras, lenses, film stocks, and darkroom setup throughout without introducing new tools once shooting began.
The intention behind these constraints was control. By limiting variables, Mauthe aimed to better understand how small changes in light, exposure, and printing decisions affect the final photograph. All photographs were made on black and white film using fully manual 35mm and medium format cameras, with exposure decisions made without automation. Shutter speed, aperture, and focus were set deliberately for each frame, with notes recorded at the time of exposure to track conditions and intent. Each roll followed the same development process to maintain consistency.
Film was developed by hand in a home darkroom with developer type, dilution, temperature, and agitation timing remaining constant throughout the project. This removed guesswork and allowed changes in negatives to be traced back to exposure rather than processing. Every roll was contact printed before enlargement to evaluate density, contrast, and framing. Printing played a central role, with Mauthe treating the darkroom as the primary site of decision-making rather than the camera. Each selected negative moved through a sequence of test strips and work prints with exposure times adjusted in small increments and contrast filtration refined step by step.
Final prints were made on fiber-based photographic paper using traditional enlargers and archival chemistry. Each finished print was washed, dried, flattened, and stored according to archival standards, with Mauthe evaluating prints as physical objects under consistent lighting rather than relying on scans or screens. Only one final print per image was retained. The subject matter remained restrained, depicting quiet interior spaces, transitional architecture, and utilitarian surfaces found throughout Richmond while avoiding recognizable landmarks, people, and staged scenes.
This repetition was intentional. By working within the same spaces, Mauthe removed the pressure to find new subjects and shifted attention toward execution, with subtle differences in light direction, surface wear, and tonal response becoming the focus. The completed project is now published within Mauthe's online archive at https://jensmauthe.com/archive, where each image appears alongside its contact sheet and technical notes including exposure settings, development records, and printing decisions. Failed frames and rejected prints remain visible, presenting the work as a complete process rather than a curated selection.
Mauthe views the archive as a working record where the goal is accuracy rather than presentation. By keeping all steps visible, the project documents how analog photography functions when treated as a discipline rather than an outcome. The structure supports photographers interested in long-term improvement through repeatable methods. The project was completed without commercial intent, with photographs not for sale and not produced for exhibition deadlines, marking the conclusion of a defined phase rather than a final statement.
Constraint remains central to his approach, with limiting tools, locations, and materials allowing deeper attention to process. Mauthe continues to work slowly, often producing only a small number of finished prints over extended periods, measuring progress through consistency and clarity rather than volume. Future projects will follow the same framework of fixed equipment, defined subject range, full documentation, and physical output, with each new body of work building on previous records to form a cumulative archive of decisions made over time.
