Subjects range from road-construction crews and a supermarket-checkout employee to a barber and funeral-home director.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are folks doing essential services for us that we take for granted if we even think of them at all,\u201d said Cosgrove-Davies, who retired after a quarter-century working on rural-energy issues for the World Bank.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are important people, doing important stuff,\u201d he said during an ARLnow interview.<\/p>\n
The technique he used for the images on display was a dominant, in some case the dominant, photographic technology of the mid-19th century.<\/p>\n
If you are viewing a Civil War photograph, \u201cyou almost certainly are looking at an image made by wet-plate collodion,\u201d Cosgrove-Davies said.<\/p>\n
It was the first process that took photography out of the studio and \u201cout into the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The resulting tintypes on display in \u201cEssential Arlington\u201d are, in effect, underexposed negatives. The sepia-toned images are comprised of grains of silver, with the final product varnished to preserve its longevity.<\/p>\n \u201cTintype\u201d is the name commonly used for the end result but is a bit of a misnomer, Cosgrove-Davies said. Instead, images are developed on photographic plates made of sheet aluminum, the kind used to make trophies.<\/p>\n The exhibition delivers on a number of levels, said Catherine Anchin, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington.<\/p>\n \u201cMac\u2019s historic lens gives an engaging look at Arlington today, while also helping visitors see how photography has evolved since the 19th century,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Among those photographed in 2024-25 and included in the exhibition:<\/p>\n Tony Watts, Geoffrey Knollys and other members of a Dominion Energy power-pole replacement team To create the images, Cosgrove-Davies sets up his 8-inch-by-10-inch cameras \u2014 one more than 80 years old, the other even older \u2014 on tripods, puts a dark cloth over his head and composes the shot.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is just me and the image,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Portraits can be shot indoors or outdoors, although doing it outside in an overcast environment typically produces the best results. Too much lighting, as on a sunny day, or too little, as in a dark room, is less ideal.<\/p>\n The timing of photographic exposures can range from a few seconds to as many as 20. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to do,\u201d Cosgrove-Davies said of subjects needing to stand still for the duration. Often, they will be posed against something so they can brace and remain motionless for the length of time needed.<\/p>\n \u201cI develop, I hope, some rapport with the subjects,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a very deliberate process, one that requires the subject to be part of that process.\u201d<\/p>\n The final steps are completed on location; Cosgrove-Davies has a mobile darkroom in the back of his car.<\/p>\n \u201cI love working with my hands,\u201d he said of the process, which he learned while taking a class in 2022 at the Maine Media Workshops<\/a>.<\/p>\n The exhibition and those it features has brought positive responses, Anchin said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so pleased to show Mac\u2019s work in our Jenkins Community Gallery and to hear visitors\u2019 reactions when they recognize familiar faces from around Arlington,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The current exhibition is a follow-up to Cosgrove-Davies\u2019 2022 effort chronicling volunteerism in Arlington during Covid.<\/p>\n A self-taught photographer, Cosgrove-Davies has been working with classic techniques since the late 1970s. His repertoire has included works using processes including gum bichromate, cyanotype, VanDyke, palladium, oil printing and carbon printing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Photographer-Mac-Cosgrove-Davies-with-one-of-his-classic-cameras-staff-photo-by-Scott-McCaffrey.jpg\")
<\/a>Photographer Mac Cosgrove-Davies with one of his classic cameras (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)<\/p>\n
\nDaniel Mariam, an Arlington Public Schools\u2019 substitute teacher
\nThe cafeteria staff at Arlington Career Center
\nDeputy Sheriff Angelica Zelaya
\nRoad flagger Jerry Wright
\nPolice Officer Julia Hammer
\nArlington police crossing guard Richard Starr
\nEl Phounsavath, an auto mechanic for the Department of Environmental Services
\nFatima Mohameden, a pharmacist at Preston\u2019s Pharmacy
\nMary Rochette, a cashier at Giant Food
\n\u00a0Shawn Baker, funeral director at Chinn-Baker Funeral Home
\nRonald Marshall, proprietor of Star Barber Shop<\/p>\n