#alternative printing processes

[robertmatejcek]

A. with Aluminum Headdress - anthotype (turmeric) contact printed from laser-printed transparency (90 minute solar exposure) - 8.5″x6″ printer paper - robert matejcek - 2020

"The stars are the landmarks of the universe.”

- Sir John Herschel

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[elizabethfphotoblog]

Kallitype

[elizabethfphotoblog]

Kallitype

[emanaliwashere]

Darkroom experiments>>UPDATED

I experimented with a range of alternative photographic processes using a few of my Berlin images+old work a week ago. I have yet to scan the whole lot but as Dom's annoying all-in-one printer refuses to work on my laptop, I had to resort to photographing a few just to put up here as a sneak preview.

If your familiar with alternative photographic printing, you'll know that it requires a lot of time spent in the darkroom and a hell of a lot of patience as many tests must be done beforehand to ensure you get the right exposure to satisfy your aesthetic needs. Having said that though, it is the most wonderful experience and you begin to really delve into it as you find its very much an experimental process with an infinate range of possiblities to explore. I completely lose myself in the darkroom as I work obsessively for hours and forget to eat/drink/connect with the outside world. It's absolute heaven. (warning: side effects of malnutrition,light and human contact may lead to bouts of neurosis.)

Here are a few sketchbook bits: 

Gum-bichromate: 

A portrait of my old tutor Peter Mackertich. An eccentric man, an amazing photographer and an incredibly fun teacher! He makes architecture and cars look so sexy. http://www.petermackertich.com/

Van dyke:

For some reason I left the version without the step wedge at home, so only had this one to scan at the time.

This one makes me happy..

Failures with interesting results..

Cyanotype:

Liquid Emulsion:

[diana-more]

Van Dyke Printing

For the past 7 or 8 years I've been shooting mainly digitally, which has meant spending a lot of time at my computer. As much as I love my Mac, I miss film but more than that I miss printing.

Last fall I was living in Brooklyn and spent a lot of my time shooting the neighbourhood and Coney Island. The look and feel of Brooklyn drew me towards Van Dyke printing, an early photographic printing processes named for its similarity in color to that of a brown oil paint named for Flemish painter Van Dyck.

Getting the chemicals was easy enough but actually mixing them and then finding a reliable light source proved to be a bit trickier than I'd expected. A few of the chemicals are quite corrosive and most required special handling. Using the sun as a light source in London was never going to happen. After a very extensive search and a few very expensive options I finally found a cheap floodlight balanced on a chair that was balanced on a box with a shoe rack to hold the prints would do the trick. I had to keep the prints off the ground as my first attempt caused the floor to melt from the extreme heat generated by the light.

There was no need for an enlarger as Van Dyke prints are contact prints. Meaning you place the negative, in this case a 5" sq neg, directly on top of the paper you have coated in UV sensitive chemicals and sandwich it between glass. .

I hadn't been in a darkroom for a long time but it all come back rather quickly and I really enjoyed the processes. Despite the unpredictability.

I ended up staying up till 4am the morning of the exhibition printing like mad. I hope you enjoy the results. All images are original 1/1 prints. The exhibition is on at the Hackney Picture House, London until May 23rd, 2012 11:30am to 11:30pm daily.

https://www.facebook.com/events/274578822623375/