Adventures in Positive Paper

I may have mis-titled this post since the adventure was not really anything to do with the medium. I will just make a couple of technical notes. The paper was exposed in my Graflex Speed Graphic with the Graflex Optar 135mm f/4.7 lens. It was exposed using an EI (exposure index = iso) of 3. The light was indirect sun from a window, so not very bright and somewhat diffuse. Exposure time was ~ 60s at f/4.7. Tray development was done in Rodinal 1:50 by inspection under red light. I think it was around 10 minutes with fixation in Ilford Rapid Fix (1:4). The 'tray' I used was narrower than the paper, so I had to curl it into a 'U' shape and that may have had an effect on development as agitation was uneven.

Okay, the main thing I wanted to talk about was this. I don't take many people pictures. Look around my Flickr feed and you will see lots of plants and random objects and some landscape. Street photography is pretty much absent from my repertoire, and portraits are uncommon if not rare. Let's just get this out of the way. I am an introvert. I don't naturally connect with people, especially people I don't know well. So going up to people and asking them if I can take their photo is an experience on a level with unanesthetized fingernail extraction. I tried to work this out by starting a "100 Strangers" project. I think I made it to #3. Even though the people I photographed were friendly and good-natured, the negative reinforcement outweighed the positive.

That's probably more than you care to know about my inner psychology, so what does all of that have to do with anything? Only this... My youngest son (not so young any more) is the model for a good portion of the portraits I take. He is always willing to sit down and have his photo taken. It might even qualify as "quality time" since he is just curious enough to ask a question or two about what I'm doing and I am willing to take the time out of what I'm doing to explain it. Maybe some day he will want to start taking photographs himself.

So what was I trying to do with these two photos? I wanted to try some 'non-conventional' portraits that were more implicit than explicit. I wanted to do something to add another layer of abstraction. A photo is inherently abstract since it reduces a 3D object to 2D. Using b/w media is another layer of abstraction since most of us see in color. Removing any accompanying environment or context is a type of abstraction. Then I figured that since I was using a long exposure and not in any way 'stabilizing' my subject, there would be some motion blur. I decided to enhance this by using the on-camera shutter release and then intentionally shaking the camera ever so slightly. The first shot was a close up of Artyom's face. This is even more abstract because it isn't immediately obvious what the subject is. Most of us certainly never see another person from quite this close of a perspective. I would characterize this as "expressionistic". It uses a very abstract representation of the subject to say something about them or maybe just to create a beautiful pattern. Artyom is a 'touchy-feely' kind of person. He likes to get up close to people he likes. This photo illustrates that characteristic without explicitly showing him hugging someone. It is an 'expression' of that trait the way I see and feel it in my heart and mind.

The next shot is a little farther back, so that the subject is more recognizable. The high contrast of the photo depicts him in a certain way, but it does depict him. Anyone who knows him would recognize him in this photo. Artyom is very athletic and strong. This photo is very structural. It shows a stark outline of his shoulder, neck and collar bone. His gaze penetrates out of the photo at the viewer. So this image is what I would call "impressionist". It is an image of Artyom overlaid with the impression of his strength. The purpose of the image is not to identify him, but to identify with him. Please take a moment to comment if you like anything about these photos. I appreciate your feedback.

A Tale of Two Prints

One of the reasons I got a large format camera was so that I could use the negatives for contact printing with 'alternative' printing techniques. Alt techniques aren't really 'alt' at all. They are just out-dated. They are the techniques used by the early photographers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These are wet plate collodion, daguerreotype, salted paper, ambrotype, kallitype, albumen, gum bichromate, etc. These techniques are definitely still in use and there is an entire photographic sub-culture that enjoys getting their hands dirty with paper and chemistry in order to create images that capture the imagination. I personally love the simplicity of the cyanotype. As you might infer from the name (cyano) this is a blueprint, only instead of printing architectural plans, I print photographs.
It is a very straightforward procedure. Two chemicals (potassium ferricyanide and ammonium citrate) are mixed separately and in this form they are quite stable and can be kept for a long time. Once mixed in a 1:1 ratio, they become (mildly) photo-sensitive. The solution is applied to a surface into which it will soak and/or stick. Generally people use watercolor paper, but cloth, wood or other substrates can be used. I use a brush and just paint it on, but many people use a glass or plastic rod to push the solution across the paper to achieve a very even coating. The paper is allowed to dry (I am impatient, so I take a hair dryer to it in a dark bathroom). Then a negative is laid (emulsion side down) on the coated paper and a piece of glass is placed on top of that to keep everything in contact and flat. I use a contact printing frame that is designed especially for doing just this. The cyanotype emulsion (and also many others) is sensitive to UV light, so either buy an expensive printing light, or if you live in a sunny climate, just use sunlight. I take my printing frame out into the sun and let it sit for anywhere between 5 and 30min depending on the density of the negative. Once the exposure is done, you have to 'develop' the print. Fortunately, the only chemical needed for development is good ol' water. I usually rinse the print under gently running water for a minute or so and then let it soak face down in the sink for another 10-20min. I end up with something like this.



You can see some specks and other artifacts indicating that I didn't blow the dust off of the paper and/or the negative before I made the print. It all adds to the imperfection and uniqueness so don't sweat it.

While I was waiting for some other cyanotypes to dry, I decided to get the Speed Graphic out and load up a couple of sheets of Harman Direct Positive paper. This is photographic paper that creates a regular photograph, sort of like a Polaroid except that you have to develop it in the darkroom. One of the photos I took was of my work area I was using to do the cyanotypes. This paper is very 'contrasty' and you can lose shadow details very quickly. The solution is to 'pre-flash' the paper. That just means to expose it to a little bit of light before you put it in the camera. That way the darkest parts of the image are brightened a little, thereby reducing the overall contrast. This is another fun way to make photos and what you end up with is 'one of a kind' since you are not going to make any more prints because you don't have a negative. Obviously, I scanned the photo, so it isn't really as unique as if I put it in a frame and it could only be viewed by coming to my house, but you get the point. (note: the daisy cyanotype is in this photo and you can see the brush marks where I applied the chemicals to the paper)



So there you go. Browse over to Photographer's Formulary and pick up a cyanotype kit. It is tons of fun!!