Category Archives: Fine Art Printing

Myriads of Gods on Platinum Palladium Prints

Here is a wonderful video of a Japanese photographer that makes images of the environment he is afraid may disappear—and makes platinum palladium prints, a process from the early 1800s. The artistry and the craft that this man employs is just astounding. The paper he uses has the potential to last 1000 years…




If you can’t see the video above, click here.

Also posted in Alt Process Photography, Black and White Photographers, Black and White Photography, Videos

Collotype: A Story of Ink & Steel

This is a great little video on a beautiful antique photographic print process called the collotype. Originally created in 1856, sadly there are only two collotype printing companies in the world, both in Kyoto, Japan. Only one, Benrido can do color collotypes:




If you can’t see the video above, click here.

I find it very sad that in the not so distant future, the commercial usage of the process may disappear completely. I was alerted to this video by my good friend Derek who sent me the article A Look at Benrido, One of the Last Collotype Printers in the World at Petapixel, where you can find several other videos on the process.

Also posted in Alt Process Photography, Fine Art Photography Business, Videos

The Stunning Work Of Michael Massaia

I’ve discovered a photographer whose work I really love: Michael Massaia. He creates stunning black and white images of desolation and emptiness, but not in a way that leaves one depressed, but more in a way that leaves one fascinated. To top it off, Massaia uses large format film cameras and creates his look in the darkroom. He is an incredibly skilled printer.

Take a look at his portfolios here. Watch a video about him and his process here.

Photo By Michael Massaia

Afterlife

Also posted in Alt Process Photography, Black and White Photographers, Black and White Photography Tagged , |

Susan Kae Grant: Night Journey

I’ve been following Susan Kae Grant’s work for several years and am still in awe of it. For some reason, I just assumed that the tableaux that she creates were paper cut-outs meticulously staged and then photographed. Turns out I couldn’t be more wrong about her process—these are life size tableaux that are meticulously staged and photographed. Take a look at this video and her process:

 

Direct link to the Night Journey video here.

What is even more interesting is that she has spent many nights in a sleep center and had the staff wake her from REM sleep, then she records her dreams. This is what provides the material for her work. I have some issues with insomnia and undertook a sleep study many years ago. For me, being repeatedly woken up during REM sleep was an extremely agitating experience, making me all that more impressed at Kae Grant’s dedication to her art.

Photo Susan Kae Grant "She's Grasping Her Behavior"

She’s Grasping Her Behavior, #006

Please take some time and take a look at her gallery of images here. I just can’t emphasize enough how gorgeous I find these images: The swirling backgrounds, the pools of light, and the jet-black subjects—it is a form of photography that that has human depth—it combines the psyche with the beautiful. I find the term ethereal is often excessively used, so I decided to dig into the dictionary and to really understand the definition of the word. This is one definition I found:

Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world.

I’m not sure I could find a better description.

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Also posted in Black and White Photographers, Black and White Photography, Black and White Websites

The Platinotypist “A little African story”

Continuing the theme of Tuesday’s post about alternative printing processes is another short video, The Platinotypist, about the platinum palladium printing process. What appeals to me very much about working with alternative materials is the hands-on nature of the process. Unless you are printing digital negatives, the process doesn’t require a computer and only a minimal amount electrical equipment. I wouldn’t call it a minimalist process as you need a darkroom facility of sorts and other specialized equipment. I think what is different is the element of craft. That isn’t to say digital photographers have no craft, quite the opposite. But this is a visceral, tactile craft;  alt. processes require one to mix chemicals, work with cotton paper and gums and carbon and silver. And the output is unique. You can’t just print the file out again. Along with the craft comes a bit of chance, of risk. If things go badly (as they are wont to do) you have to start anew. But when you have that finished piece of art, it is one of a kind, there is no duplicate of it. That is more than a piece of art, it is a piece of a nearly forgotten history.

httpv://vimeo.com/82288614

Vimeo link here.

The Platinotypist “A little African story.”

Also posted in Alt Process Photography, Black and White Photography

New Camera, Old Process: Leica Monochrom And Platinum Palladium Prints By Manuel Gomes Teixeira

This is a wonderful video on mixing a late 1800s printing process with a Leica Monochrom digital camera. I’ve long been a fan of alternative printing processes and have taken classes in cyanotype and gum bichromate printing. I think my next venture into that alchemical realm will be wet-plate collodion, but that means another camera and a darkroom…




Vimeo link here.

If you are interested in photographic antiquity, here is a wonderful resource describing the various processes. Or dig deep into Bostick and Sullivan’s store for all the alt. process materials you may want.


New Camera, Old Process: Leica Monochrom And Platinum Palladium Prints By Manuel Gomes Teixeira.

Also posted in Alt Process Photography, Black and White Photographers

From The Archives: Modern Dance In Brooklyn

This is a photograph of a dancer I took during a production of The Shed in Red Hook back in 2007. Truly a great example of modern dance in Brooklyn. I don’t usually post images that are already in one of my online galleries; this one is in the Film | Dance gallery here. However, I was testing a new Word Press plug-in, and needed an image to test with and this one popped up in a search. I looked at it anew and am still absolutely blown away by the tonality.

Modern Dance In Brooklyn

I’m still stunned by the tonality of this shot.

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Also posted in Alt Process Photography, Black and White Photography, Dance Photography, From The Archive Tagged |

Thinking About Panorama Formats

I recently was contacted about selling one of my prints, a black and white panorama of an old wood mill incinerator in Eastern Oregon (Download a free .pdf of this panorama here). That got me thinking about panoramic image print formats:

thinking_about_panorama_formats_comparison Read More»

Also posted in Panoramic Photography, Technical, Thinking About... Tagged |

Botanica Obscura Folio Sale—Happy New Years!

Lao New Years, that is. The Lao celebrate their New Years or Pbeemai (pronounced pi-mai bi-mai) on April 13th, 14th, and 15th. The 13th is the last day of the old year; the 15th the first day of the new. What is interesting to me is the 14th: Sangkhan Nao or day of no day. April 14th isn’t part of either year, it’s a day of rest and fun. One of the activities is the throwing of water on friends and passersby—something of a purification ritual.

Since this is going to be a bit of a party, I thought I’d put my Botanica Obscura folio on sale for 50% off. That’s right, for the rest of April, the print folios will be priced at $45 instead of their normal $90.

botanica obscura folio sale

Sale!

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Also posted in Black and White Photography, Fine Art Folios, Online Store Tagged , |

Atlex.com Rocks!

Atlex.com Rocks!

Atlex.com Rocks!

I generally don’t review suppliers unless I really feel it worthwhile, but in this case it is really warranted. I’ve been buying inkjet ink from atlex.com for at least a decade simply since they always had the best price. But recently I’ve purchased two printers from them, and had some serious issues with one of them. Of course this was a few weeks before I was due to hang two shows of my Botanica Obscura prints—can you say stressed? At that point I decided I’d really had enough with the inkjet manufacturer that I’d been using since 2001, and went with a new manufacturer—and the biggest printer I’ve ever owned, the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF6300. I’ve never had a better printer. I won’t gush over it now (although I may in a future post).

What I do want to gush over Read More»

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