Portland no. 3: Rachel Wolf
Thanks for visiting our series “Portland” where we celebrate the local photography community in Portland, Oregon. I’ve really enjoyed living in such a vibrate photo arts city for nearly 20 years, and feel it’s time to specifically promote our locals in this column.
I love me some Rachel Wolf! I’ve been a fan of Rachel’s work for some time, in fact, I can’t actually remember how we met, but I knew immediately that she was my people. I’ve published several images of hers in Diffusions past and continue to be drawn to her imaginative darkroom experimentations. At the core, her work is about light, chemistry, and COLOR (these are a few of my favorite things). I can’t help but note that these images are reflective of Rachel’s personality; endearing, full of hope and wonder, and vivid! Thank you Rachel for your friendship and all the extrordinary cameraless photography you’ve shared with us over the years. —Blue Mitchell
While my images are photographs, the principal method I use to create is without a camera.
My camera-less photography is an exploration of the essence of the photographic process.
Through the release of expectation of what the image may hold and even how a photograph is created, a transcendence of perception begins to emerge, inviting us to consider our notions of what a photograph is, must, or can be.
Working in my darkroom I explore light through the use of different elements and chemical processes that inevitably lead to a symphonic play of color on the photographic paper. This involves directly exposing photographic paper and film to various light and chemicals. I’m working with these fundamental elements, which are the invisible tools of analog photography, to produce a new tangible photographic subject. Thus, medium and object become one, an idea that challenges common perceptions about the nature and subject of photography.
This project, The Illuminated Love Oracle is a collaboration with Jessica Rose and Jennifer Dawn and brings together my light explorations alongside my camera-less photography.
Oracle cards are an apparatus for a window of self-reflection, much like tarot cards or astrology. Together we created every card within the deck with intention and meaning, combining light alchemy, geometry, and spirituality. Our tasks diverged in that I created the images while Jessica and Jennifer penned the words. The creation of this deck was a cyclical process where my images would inform the conception of a card and in other instances, I would craft the image to encapsulate the truest nature of a card. The making of this deck has been one of love, heartfelt intention, and partnership. Collaborations are an indispensable part of my practice, they allow me to take on projects that I couldn’t do alone. Working together we can propel more positive energy and change in the world.
I have adopted the core principles of alchemy in my work and am informed by this alchemical idea of transformation. The colors and images I create are through a transformative process of light manipulation and chemical action. One of my primary ways of manipulating light is by reflecting and refracting it through prismatic materials to capture the spectrum of color contained within white light. This color dance is further mimicked by the photographic paper itself, the resulting color is the opposite color that was used to expose it. I further explore transformation with chemical reactions. I can make an assortment of colors from the reactions of the two chemicals that are used for processing color prints.
Speed, duration, temperature, and light are some of the variables that factor into what color the chemical reactions make. I am fascinated by the alchemical process, for it is never complete, each piece will continue to slowly evolve with time, just like you and me.
For more information and to purchase your own “Illuminated Love Oracle” deck please go to
Rachel Wolf is a professional photographer who specializes in camera-less photography, alternative/antique processes, and creates immersive environments through light-based installations. Growing up in Alaska, the presence and absence of light has been profound in Rachel’s life and work. The aurora borealis gave her a direct experience of light as both transcendent and embodied. Since then, light has been Rachel’s muse, and her work is devoted to exploring and expressing its multivalent qualities in the field of photography and beyond.
Rachel loves to inspire others by sharing her passion for light and photography as a professor and speaker. She also believes in the power of art as a collaborative endeavor and its raising of community. She is a founding member of FO(u)RT Collective, a multi-disciplinary arts collective that creates/curates exhibitions and events. Rachel has exhibited across the United States including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Seattle, Portland, and Europe. Her work is held in both public and private collections. Rachel earned her BA from Hampshire College and her MFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art and can be found playing in her darkroom in Portland, OR.