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Rangefinder
Magazine
June 2004
An Alternative Processes Sampler by
Lorraine A. DarConte
Something Old, Something New
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| Prickly Pear hand-painted Van Dyke. The color slide
was scanned and in Photoshop “noise” was applied. The
finished Van Dyke was painted with watercolors. Pictorico or Kilimanjaro
papers work well for this process. |
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For the last six months or so, I’ve immersed myself
in traditional photographic printing processes, more commonly referred
to as alternative processes, including, cyanotype, Van Dyke, and salt
and gum dichromate prints. For those unfamiliar with them, these printmaking
processes, which date back to photography’s earliest days, can
yield prints with color and surface textures of unsurpassed beauty. All
prints made with these techniques are prepared individually, by hand,
with a few well mixed chemicals, some fine cotton/rag papers, hake brushes,
water and UV light.
Today, an ever-increasing number of photographers
explore these printing techniques, not only in the hopes of rediscovering
something fresh, but
also for the striking, rich and truly permanent photographic prints these
processes produce. I consider myself lucky to have been able to take
a class on alternative processes at the local community college here
in Tucson, Arizona. The school has great facilities and a knowledgeable,
creative teaching staff. All of the information you need is readily available
in books, such as The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography,
Book 2 by John P. Schaefer (Little, Brown and Company, 1999), but having
someone walk you through the processes has advantages (such as eliminating
time-consuming elements from the processes that some photographers like
but aren’t really necessary).
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| Ode to L.C. Tiffany hand-painted Van Dyke. The negative-making
process is the same as the cyanotypes and gums. Printing Van Dykes
requires a more elaborate darkroom setup than the former processes:
water with Borax, water, fixer (hypo rice), water, clear, and then
a final water bath. This image was not altered in Photoshop but was
painted with watercolors after it dried. |
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The Processes
Cyanotypes, invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842 and used primarily
for architectural blue prints, are continuous-tone images made from a
mixture of iron salts—ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) and potassium
ferricyanide (PF). Cyanotypes range from pale to deep blue, depending
on negative density and exposure time, and they tend to have high contrast.
A somewhat flat negative is the best way to go here. You can intensify
the blue in a water bath with a capful or so of hydrogen peroxide added
to it.
Salt prints use the photographic process invented by
Fox Talbot. Perhaps one of the most difficult techniques to master, the
results are
well
worth the considerable time, struggle and angst. Negative quality (I
recommend high contrast as prints tend to be very flat), paper choice
(I recommend Crane’s Classic, although I’ve yet to find someone
who sells it—try Rives BFK), and precise coverage when coating
the paper (with silver nitrate) all play an important role in the final
outcome. A salt print is made up of ultra-fine particles of silver with
a color/tonal range that varies from eggplant to silver. It gets its
name from the “salted” paper used for printing (paper is
soaked in a distilled water/table salt solution prior to use).
Van Dyke
prints are a cross between salt and cyanotype printing and can produce
a full range of brown-toned images—from light sepia to
deep, chocolate brown. As with all the processes, negative quality, exposure
time, and paper surface all contribute to a print’s success. The
chemical solution consists of ferric ammonium citrate (green), tartaric
acid, silver nitrate and sodium thiosulfate. Personally, I find this
process very satisfying. Practically every negative I print has good
tonal range and detail.
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Palm hand-painted
Van Dyke. The palm was manipulated in Photoshop using several filters
including “find edges.” The
final Van Dyke was painted with watercolors. |
Green Peace Lily gum dichromate print. This
is a single layer of gum that resembles a silk screen. Original color
neg was manipulated to make the image appear more like a line drawing. |
Gum dichromate, extremely popular near the end
of the nineteenth century, is the most pliable of all the alternative
processes. Because the process
(a solution of chromium salts and gum Arabic) gets its color from watercolor
pigments, prints can be produced in virtually any color or combination
you can dream of. Hence, you can let your imagination run wild. The average
gum print has three layers, that is, the paper has been coated, dried,
exposed and processed (in tap water) three separate times, one on top
of the last. But there is no rule as to how many layers can be applied.
I have made gum prints with one coating/layer of pigment and very high-contrast
negatives that resemble silk screens.
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Rhododendron Leaves cyanotype.The
beauty of working with Adobe Photoshop is having the ability to take
a portion of an image and really work with it. This image of rhododendron
leaves is but a small section of the original shot. I enlarged and
sharpened it extensively, for a very graphic look. |
Blue Calla Lilies cyanotype. Original
image is a color slide that has been scanned, gray-scaled and mildly
distorted using the sphere filter. I first printed this image as
a Van Dyke, but it was flat, so I then tried the cyanotype process,
which has inherently more contrast. It really brought the lilies
to life. |
Bigger is Better
In a perfect alt-process world, I’d photograph with a large format
camera, which garners an equally large negative ready for contact printing.
However, there are several good options available for producing enlarged
negatives from 35mm slides and negatives. Kodak Duplicating film allows
me to make a negative from a negative using an enlarger in the darkroom.
I can also make negatives using ortho-litho film, which makes a positive
from a negative. (To make a negative, a dried positive is placed on top
of another piece of film.) I can also make negatives using a computer,
Adobe Photoshop (invert the image) and transparency material from Apollo,
Pictorico or Epson. I like Pictorico’s Premium OHP Transparency
Film. Using a computer is a fairly quick and inexpensive way to make
negative enlargements, plus, you won’t need a darkroom to produce
them, just a decent printer. In addition, with Photoshop, negatives can
be tweaked. I have tried all the aforementioned options, and I prefer
the computer negatives, hands down. They’re just so easy.
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Fern
cyanotype.Original image is a color slide that has been scanned
and then distorted in Adobe Photoshop
(filter: twirl). In addition, the contrast levels have been pushed
to an extreme. The image was then “inverted” in Photoshop
and printed as a negative on Pictorico’s Premium OHP Transparency
Film using an Epson printer. Cyanotype chemicals were then brushed
on Kilimanjaro 140-pound cold press watercolor paper. The print was
developed in water and “finished” in a water bath with
hydrogen peroxide (to make the blue color more intense). |
Blue
Palms cyanotype. Because I wanted a larger print, I had a service
bureau make the
negative for this image (since my printer will only goes as big
as 11x14). I had a difficult time getting them to make a higher
contrast
negative, and hence, this image only works as a cyanotype. By understanding
the qualities of each process, you can customize negatives for
the best results. I’ll be purchasing a new printer. |
Recently,
I was asked why I go through the hassle of making prints by hand when
I can get a similar effect using digital software. For me,
it’s about acquiring new skills and honing old ones and mixing
new technologies with old-fashioned craftsmanship. It’s not about
doing it quickly or cheaply. It’s about the texture of the paper,
the curve of a brushstroke, rich, saturated colors, and the fact that
I produced it by hand. Besides, a blue inkjet print on watercolor paper
lasts maybe thirty years; a cyanotype lasts 500 plus. So, it’s
also about longevity and quality and legacy.
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Artichoke Agave
gum dichromate print. The original image is a color slide, scanned
and made into a negative
using Pictorico’s Transparency Film. The first layer is actually
a cyanotype that was thin. I then added two layers of gum with a
red/brown pigment (image is developed in water only). I used Rives
BFK paper. Although I love Kilimanjaro’s cold press paper for
both cyanotype and Van Dyke prints (it’s highly absorbent,
resulting in more saturated color), it’s lousy for gum prints.
The texture of the paper gets in the way. I recommend a smoother
surface such as Arches 140-pound hot press paper or Rives BFK or
even Stonehenge (very inexpensive). |
Girl with Violin salt print.
Salt prints are lovely but difficult to get right. The tough part
is, you can’t really
tell if you “got it” until the print dries. When exposing
a salt print, you want to overexpose it because it will bleach out
in the fixer and get lighter. They have a tendency to be completely
flat without contrast. Using a high-contrast negative is a must.
This negative was made the same as all the others; the filter used
in Photoshop was “noise,” and I added a sky to the violin. |
For More Information:
Bostic & Sullivan (for contact print frames, some papers and general
information), Box 16639, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87506; (505) 474-0890;
www.bostick-sullivan.com.
Freestyles Sales Company (for films and other
equipment), 5124 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027, (800) 292-6137.
Astro
Grid Lamp Products (for UV light sources), 35 Lumber Road, Roslyn, NY
11576; (516) 484-6992.
Adorama (for Kodak duplicating film, (800)
223-2500. Pictorico (for transparency film), www.pictorico.com/, (888)
879-8592.
The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography,
Book 2, by John P. Schaefer, Little, Brown & Company, 1999.
Lorraine A.
DarConte is a freelance writer/photographer living in Tucson, Arizona.
Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Rangefinder,
and Newsday. |
