Ninety hours in darkness

Pablo Inirio with Ann Tornkvist

A three inch tall James Dean rests on the black work top. And another one, and yet another. After some hands-on dodge and burn adjustments with a Dennis Stock image, three small cut outs of the trench coat-clad film icon - hands in pockets, cigarette in mouth - litter the work surfaces of the darkroom at Magnum Photos' New York office. The man with the scissors, the Ilford 500H multi grade enlargers and access to innumerable priceless negatives, is Pablo Inirio. He has claimed the small cubic space as his own since 1992, often working up to 90 hours a week.

Two weeks before Christmas, one of the monthly photographers' meetings has just wrapped up, meaning frequent visits to the darkroom. "Just a minute," comes the reply as Hiroji Kubota taps gently on the light gray door. Later, once it is open, Chien-Chi Chang silently runs back and forth over the threshold asking questions. Many of the photographers place large orders at this time of year, the reason for which Inirio hasn't pondered, probably hasn't had the time to ponder as he deals with the work flow calmly, not a word of complaint, not a single stress-induced, cross word.

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