RPS Analogue Issue 3 - the long view many in high water

ANALOGUE
film, alternative, hybrid and darkroom
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ANALOGUE ➤ PROFILE
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Editorial
Contents
Welcome to the spring edition of Analogue, which should reach you just
before the AGM on 7 May.
This issue marks another first, having two members’ images in colour.
These are by Sean Bulson and Kay Reeves respectively. Sean talks about
his work documenting housing estates and using a Hasselblad XPan, while
Kay explains why she uses colour slide (transparency) film for her work.
Back in monochrome, but not strictly black-and-white, is Donald
Richards’ explanation of print-making using the platinum/palladium
process. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the delicate tones this
process can portray come across on a computer screen or using the
common methods of producing hard-copy from a digital file.
Next, although not exactly in the footsteps of Vivian Maier, we look at a
mini-portfolio of The people of Havant 2008 through the lens of Pietro
Roccicchioli as a prelude to his forthcoming exhibition. I hope this will
encourage others among you to come forward with your work!
3 Tech
7 Exhibition
Precious metal
The People of Havant 2008
Dr. Donald E. Richards illustrates
a method for making Platinum/
Palladium prints that spans 150
years of photographic history.
Pietro Roccicchioli extols his
forthcoming exhibition.
5 Tech
Slide film: Why and what?
Kay Reeve discusses the positives
to be had in using slide film.
9 Profile
The Long View
Sean Bulson on documenting the
end of a housing ideal.
12 Tech
Making the Platinum/Palladium
print
Finally, if you are wondering about my plea for information in the last
issue of Analogue about manufacturer’s publications. Well, in the
manner of I’m sorry I haven’t a clue I was inundated with a letter.... The
list now has 179 items and I will be making it available online – watch the
Forum for details. Please keep your suggestions coming!
Analogue Group
Chair:
David Healey ARPS
Vice-chair:
Dr Afzal Ansary FRPS
Treasurer:
Peter Young
Events:
Steven Godfrey
Secretary:
Andy Moore
Editor:
Richard Bradford ARPS
Designer:
Simon W Miles
E: [email protected]
As usual, feedback is welcome on the Forum or direct to me. Let’s see
more of your articles and/or images, too! Please contact the Editor at
[email protected].
Richard Bradford ARPS Editor
cover: Platinum/palladium
The Royal Photographic
print by Dr. Donald E.
Society
Richards.
Fenton House, 122 Wells Rd,
inside cover: far left image 3;
Bath BA2 3AH
middle left image 5; middle
T: +44 (0)1225 325733
E: [email protected]
W: www.rps.org
right image 6; far right image
4; all by Sean Bulson
right: Blue by Kay Reeve.
ANALOGUE ➤ EDITORIAL
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Tech
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Precious metal
A method for making platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) prints that spans 150
years of photographic history.
Dr Donald E. Richards.
Compared to the traditional silver gelatine prints, Pt/Pd prints are less well
known by the general public. However, the process is not only quite old, as the
first patent for this method was awarded in 1873 to William Willis, but a partial
list of photographers who used this method to produce some or all of their
images reads like a ‘who is who’ in the history of photography: In the US Alfred
Stiglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Edward Weston; on this side of the
Atlantic, Frederick H. Evans, whose images of English cathedrals are justifiably
famous. As examples of the more modern well known photographers who
used or are still using this method there are Irving Penn in the 1950-60’s, and
currently Tillman Crane and Dan Burkholder (see references).
The image obtained with Pt/Pd has a delicate sepia tone, and is of relatively
low contrast, with very expanded tonal range. People have described
it as having a ‘presence’, or ‘depth’. In common with many alternative
photographic methods that rely on coating paper with a solution, the image
is not only on the surface of the paper (as is the case with silver gelatine
prints) but also in the paper, and this
may contribute to the different look.
(see images below).
The method outlined here to obtain
a Pt/Pd print is by no means the only
one. However, it is the one I learnt by
attending a 5-day course with Tillman
Crane, in the Inversnaid Photographic
Centre (a paradise for photographers,
that sadly no longer runs workshops).
The making of digital negatives I
learnt from Dan Burkholder’s software
and instructions (see references). If
any reader wishes to have full details,
they are welcome to contact me.
ANALOGUE ➤ TECH
As with most traditional photographic methods, the printing starts with a
negative. This can be obtained in several ways. When using film, I expose
5x4 Tri-X film in a view camera and develop the negatives in Kodak’s HC110 developer, in trays, by hand, in total darkness, followed by the usual
stop bath, fixer, and wash. Arentz’s book (see references) has details of the
necessary density range of the negative.
However, the method I now favour for obtaining the negatives is the one
pioneered by Dan Burkholder (see Figure 1), which spans 150 years of
photographic history. Using a digital camera (a Canon S-90), I get a colour
digital file. In Photoshop, I transform it into a black and white image, and
do any necessary manipulations. I then use Dan Burkholder’s software (see
references) to produce a negative digital image. The software inverts the
image, making it into a negative, and also applies a Photoshop Curves
correction to it. It is also possible to start with a traditional silver negative,
scan it, transfer the scan to a computer, and continue as described in steps
4 and 5 of Figure 1. This negative image is then printed onto transparent
media using a digital printer (see Figure 1), thus obtaining a digital negative.
From the negative, either a silver or a digital one, the next step is to print it
on sensitive paper. Unfortunately, platinum papers–as opposed to the ‘off
the shelf’ silver gelatine type–stopped
being produced in the 1920’s (it is
said that Frederick Evans abandoned
photography when the papers were
discontinued). This means making your
own sensitive paper.
The chemicals needed are obtained
from Bostick and Sullivan in the
US (see references). First, prepare
a solution containing iron oxalate,
palladium hexachloropalladite and
gold hexachloroplatinate. Using
a glass rod, extend the solution
carefully onto a piece of 100 % cotton
rag paper until the paper has a
About the author
I have been making
traditional silver gelatine
prints for many years,
exposing 4”x5” negatives in
a 4”x5” view camera. I love
the look and feel of a silver
print. However, from the very
few prints I first saw, I thought
platinum prints were also
very beautiful. Nevertheless, I
decided to learn the method
of making them only when,
because of the increased use
of digital materials, I started
worrying that traditional
silver gelatine papers might
disappear. I now make both
silver and platinum prints,
and I cannot say which I like
the best.
I have had solo exhibitions
of my prints in Círculo de
Periodistas de San Martín
(Buenos Aires, Argentina,
October 2000); John Innes
Centre (Norwich, UK, July
2004); WindmillArt Gallery
(Linton, UK, 2014); Anteros
Art Foundation (Norwich, UK,
April 2015); and Robinson
College (Cambridge, UK,
October 2015). In December
2015 one of my (silver) prints
was awarded the bronze
medal in the exhibition of the
Analogue Group of the RPS
in Bath.
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Tech
homogeneous covering. The paper is
dried, and the now sensitive paper is
ready to be exposed (see Figure 2).
1
2
3
For exposure, the negative has to be
contact-printed onto the dried paper
in a contact frame, emulsion side
against emulsion side. The final image
is thus the size of the negative. Some
readers may ask why we cannot print
the negative using an enlarger, as
for silver gelatine prints. The reason
is that the sensitive paper needs to
be exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light,
as light in the visible portion of the
spectrum does not have the energy
necessary to activate the process.
There are no UV-light enlargers!
All my platinum prints have been
made using an easily available
source of UV light (see detailed
method below), although commercial
UV boxes specifically made
for photography are available
(Edwards Engineered Products, see
references), and Arentz’s book has a
plan for making a UV box for Pt/Pd
printing (see references).
Once exposed to the UV light, the
paper is immersed into the developer
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5
ANALOGUE ➤ TECH
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solution for a couple of minutes.
Then the print is washed in a solution
of a chelating agent to eliminate the
excess salts of iron, platinum and
palladium. Finally, it is given a wash in
running water.
The final image is made of Pt and
Pd in metallic form, both being
chemically very inert. For that reason it
is said that a Pt/Pd image lasts as long
as the paper onto which it is printed.
Because of the elaborate nature of
this method, each print is a “one
off”, that is, although very similar
prints with the same negative can be
produced, it is unlikely that they will
be exactly the same. Each coating
of the paper, for example, may be
different, however much one tries to
be consistent; there are some reports
that ambient humidity may have
an effect; and there may be other
variables out of our control.
This method of print-making
should attract a wide variety of
photographers. If you are a mainly
a digital worker, start from a digital
file (some people are now using their
phones!) to capture the initial image).
If you are a traditional film worker,
and work with a 5x4 negative or
larger, you can simply use a negative
of the adequate contrast. If you work
with negative film of any size, from 35
mm to 10x8, or bigger, you can scan
the negative, transfer the file to a
computer, and make a negative.
1
Continued on page 11.
References
Arentz, Dick (2000) Platinum and
Palladium Printing Focal Press.
Probably the standard reference text
for Pt/Pd printing.
Bostick and Sullivan: http://www.
bostick-sullivan.com
Burkholder, Dan: http://www.
danburkholder.com. Here one can
download the software for making
digital negatives. The documentation
has a very detailed description of
how to proceed. I have needed no
extra source of information.
Edwards Engineered Products: http://
www.eepjon.com. A commercial
source of UV boxes for platinum
printing, based in the US.
Tillman Crane: http://www.
tillmancrane.com
Making a digital negative. A portion of a colour world (1) is captured with a digital camera (2). the file is transferred
to a computer (3) where it is changed into a black and white negative image, using Burkholder’s software (4). The
negative image is printed onto transparent material (5), thus obtaining a digital negative. It is also possible to start
with a traditional silver negative that is scanned into a computer, and then proceed with steps (4) and (5).
Making the sensitive emulsion. (1) The three solutions of iron, platinum and palladium on the left, and the
container where they will be mixed. (2) The mixed solution is deposited onto the piece of 100% rag paper, and (3)
the liquid is spread with a glass rod (called a ‘puddle pusher’) until the paper is homogenously covered with the
solution (4 and 5). Then the paper is air-dried, and is ready to use.
2
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Tech
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Slide film: Why and what
Kay Reeve, FRPS
I use slide film. This statement produces a
variety of responses from utter incredulity
– Why on earth don’t you move on? Are
you a total technophobe? – to interest,
encouragement and support.
So when and why do I use it? Always when
I want an image to project. I do a series of
talks, mostly for natural history societies and
community groups, showing natural subjects,
where accurate colour and tone rendition
is essential, and where good contrast and
brightness do much to enhance the enjoyment
of the audience.
There are a number of problems with digital
projectors, and these are at their most acute
when they belong to organisations whose main
purpose is not photography, and when they are
managed by people who do not understand
the the need for regular maintenance and
calibration–this is typical with village, school
and church halls. For highest quality digital
projection, the images really need to be
processed on a computer screen calibrated
to the same standard as the projector. This
is unlikely when images from a number of
different authors are shown in the same
sequence, and while it has become normal in
photographic circles to make allowances for
this, it is not ideal. It could be argued that
there should be no problem when the images
are all the work of one author, but I regularly
use three digital cameras – a Lumix bridge
camera, a Nikon Df, a Phase One P20 back
ANALOGUE ➤ TECH
for my Hasselblad H1 – and although I always
shoot RAW, each has its own ‘image signature’
in terms of colour balance, saturation and
sharpness. So producing a consistent set of
images from these three would at best be
time-consuming and tedious, whereas the same
type of slide film is consistent whatever camera
is used to expose it (provided it is correctly
processed).
Digital projectors struggle to deliver the same
range of tones which a good slide, projected
by a clean projector in a darkened room, can
achieve. Subtle differences in greens can also
be a problem, which particularly concerns the
nature photographer. In any case, I and I think
many others simply prefer the aesthetic quality
of slides over digital projected images.
If anyone is tempted by slide photography,
but feels they need the advantages which
digital photography brings, such as the ease of
sharing images and high quality home printing
without a darkroom, then remember that these
are also available by scanning slides. Although
scanning is beyond the scope of this article,
I am illustrating it with a number of slides all
taken on Fuji Provia 100F and scanned by me.
However, suppliers are not always easy to
find, particularly Canon). Hasselblad also still
make a camera which takes a film back – I
have not researched other medium format
manufacturers. If you are into medium format, I
am sure you do not need my advice!
Numerous dealers offer second-hand cameras,
but be careful, as you get what you pay for. If
you are returning to film photography and have
a camera which you have not used for years, get
it serviced before you start. The manufacturer
may offer the service, or there are independent
repairers. In some circumstances, new lenses
may fit old cameras, or old lenses new cameras,
but this is not always the case – ask advice from
a reputable dealer.
Images:
this page;
Chesterton at dusk
overleaf top far left;
blue
overleaf top middle left;
Orange Tips paired
overleaf top middle right;
pink
overleaf top far right;
Small Pearl Bordered
Fritilliary
overleaf lower far right;
Female Azure Damselfly
with potential prey
all images © Kay Reeve
So what do you need, and where do you get it?
The requirements are:
A film camera
I use a number of Nikon cameras at 35mm – an
FM2, an FM3A, and an F6. I also have a 645format film back for the Hasselblad. (New film
cameras are still available from Nikon, Leica and
Canon–their EOS 33V.
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Tech
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Images:
this page;
Chesterton at dusk
Film
There is not the range there once was. Fuji still make Velvia 50,
Velvia 100 and Provia 100F. Agfa supply CT Precisa 100. Try
them and choose which you prefer. Lomography also make
slide film if you fancy something different. The only slide film
whose passing I really regret was Kodachrome 25, the sharpest
and best ever, but with modern zoom lenses, inconveniently
slow. My current choices are Provia 100F at 35mm, Velvia 50
at 120. Provia 100F seems to give a more pleasing result with
natural history subjects, for which Velvia (particularly Velvia
100) is rather over-saturated. I tend to take more landscape
subjects in medium format, for which Velvia 50’s slightly warmer
colours are nicer, although it really is a question of personal
choice. In some ways it is inconvenient that there is now no
slide film faster than 100 ISO, but when necessary I up-rate a
roll of Provia 100F to 400 ISO and get it push processed, which
a good laboratory can do for you. There is some loss of quality,
but it is normally perfectly acceptable.
Processing
The era of process-paid films is over. You can process your
own, but I always send mine to a reliable laboratory, and get
them to mount 35mm slides. There is some extra cost, but
mounted slides are much more convenient to handle, and
you cannot really tell the quality of a slide until you project it.
Gepe slide mounts and equipment are available if you prefer to
mount your own.
Slide Projector
overleaf
top far left;that
the same comments apply as for cameras.
Remember
blue
slide projectors gather dust during operation
and need to be
kept clean. Be careful what you to project
on
to.
Some screens
overleaf top middle
left;
designed for digital projectors may not
have
the
best reflective
Orange Tips paired
qualities for slides.
Suppliers
overleaf top middle right;
pink
overleaf
top for
far right;
I have used a small number of reliable
suppliers
years,
Small Pearl
Bordered
but when I came to research for this article,
I was
agreeably
Fritilliary
surprised by how many there are - look
on the internet, but
be cautious: not all the information may
be up
to date,
and
overleaf
lower
far right;
always check by phone or return e-mail
before
committing
Female Azure Damselfly
to any transaction. Certain photographic
carry
with magazines
potential prey
advertisements which are useful in their own right, and also in
all images ® Kay Reeve
pointing you towards current websites.
Here, in alphabetical order, are six I have dealt with recently
and you might find helpful to start with. There are many more:
Aperture UK: http://www.apertureuk.com
Cameratiks: http://www.cameratiks.co.uk
Dale Photographic: http://www.dalephotographic.co.uk
The Darkroom UK: http://www.the-darkroom.co.uk
The Imaging Warehouse: http://www.theimagingwarehouse.com
Silverprint: http://www.silverprint.co.uk
Finally, a word about the theory of slide photography. Do not click
away and hope. Take care over each image at the taking stage
and you should get good quality and a great deal of enjoyment.
New models still seem to be available from Braun and Reflecta.
As regards second-hand, or long unused projectors, exactly
ANALOGUE ➤ TECH
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Exhibition
➤E
The People of Havant 2008
Pietro Roccicchioli explains the background behind his forthcoming exhibition at the Spring Arts
& Heritage Centre, 56 East Street, Havant, PO9 1BS. 4th April to 30th June 2016.
https://www.facebook.com/pietro.rocchiccioli
https://www.facebook.com/The-People-of-Havant-183066325404895
v
During my second year (2008) of the BA (Hons) Photography at The University of Portsmouth we
had a documentary module with the wide scope of a place or a location.
After some consideration I thought of Havant, a typical market town that was trying to re-invent
itself in the new century. I used black and white film to put into context the social, cultural, and
political ramifications showing the so-called modernization. The concepts of people, space and
place are examined to reveal the subtleties of human existence with images captured in Havant
central to their community.
Using the Mamiya medium format film camera and a standard lens is not the usual equipment
for street photography. Wet-printing the work and the overall project was a challenge outside of
current photographic practice.
The exhibition expands the original exhibition from 2008 entitled Parlare which roughly translates
as people chatting. At that time I was particularly conscious of the parlare between the people
and myself in life around Havant’s market, high street, and shopping centre. The portraits centre
on the relationships I formed with the subjects, their experiences and lives, the places they lived,
and their thoughts and fears. I used text with these images to provide the extra edge to my work. I
feel the incidental conversations with my subjects, which related to society at that precise moment,
augment the reality and provided me with another area of development regarding photographic
project work and related research.
There were two influences for my work. The first were Chris Killip’s gritty black and white images
of north-east England. I also analysed Daniel Meadows’ The Bus an old double-decker in which he
toured around England in 1973-4 and which was his home, studio, and darkroom.
I always hoped that I could hold a retrospective. Posters and adverts will be displayed in the
Havant area inviting the people in the photographs to come and have another picture taken, as a
comparison against the 2008 version.
ANALOGUE ➤ EXHIBITION
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Exhibition
ANALOGUE ➤ EXHIBITION
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Profile
➤P
The Long View
The Long View: Documenting the end of a
housing ideal.
Sean Bulson LRPS discusses using the Hasselblad
XPan to document London housing estates
destined for demolition.
Writing in the RPS Journal (January, 2012), I argued
for a form of photography that goes beyond
the aesthetic, as there is, of course, far more to
photography than the purely visual:
‘To focus only on the aesthetic can lead to
unreflective perspective, a form of escapism via
an idealised image. While there’s a place for this,
there’s also a place for a more critical approach,
connecting to philosophical ideas that insight and
understanding, taking you beyond aesthetics, and
into the realm of meaning’.
I have since worked on a number of projects
intended to add photographic insight to the
debate on specific social issues. One such issue
is housing, and the alleged ‘social cleansing‘
associated with regeneration in London. In
particular, the regeneration of the modernist
post-war housing estates of the 1960s and 1970s.
Designed with a degree of idealism, these
estates aspired to offer local authority housing
for all: generous living spaces, light and bright,
with walkways (or ‘streets in the sky’) intended to
recreate a sense of community.
The debate surrounding their destruction is
contentious and complex. From a documentary
perspective, I was originally drawn to the project
for two reasons. First, visually, the often epic scale
of these estates and their clear structural quality.
ANALOGUE ➤ PROFILE
Second, conceptually, the irony of these estates
being demolished in much the same indiscriminate
way as the slum housing they replaced: what
goes around comes around! However, the more
I researched the subject, the more apparent it
became that the real story is the fate of those
forced to move from them (or ‘decanted’ to use
the developers’ pejorative euphemism).
Having found a subject that worked aesthetically
and conceptually, the housing issue has become
even more acute, with affordability, especially,
set to dominate the London Mayoral election of
2016. Critics argue that those on lower incomes are
increasingly being pushed out of inner London by
a combination of high private sector rates, benefit
caps and the ongoing destruction of affordable
social housing. The life and character of inner
London is being steadily altered, and gentrification
may, ironically, undermine the vibrancy that
attracts many new Londoners in the first place.
All my projects are shot on the Hasselblad
XPan. This unique rangefinder camera combines
medium format quality (it uses 35mm film, but
the image width is 65mm), with the lightweight
responsiveness of a 35mm camera. It is easy to
hold in the hand thanks largely to the rangefinder
design, and despite relatively slow lenses (f/4 or
f/5.6) needing a centre filter to prevent vignetting.
If you need to work quickly you can: auto film
advance; a good centre weighted meter and
auto bracketing if required. Panoramic urban
photography – often in places where my camera
Images:
above; image 1
overleaf; image 2
page 1: image 3
page 1; image 4
page 1; image 5
page 1; image 6
all images © Sean Bulson
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Profile
may not be welcome – suits the relative speed
of the XPan, although I use a monopod or
tripod if time and vantage point allow.
The housing series is shot on Kodak Portra
400. I often use black and white, but I felt this
project needed to be photographed on colour
film. From a documentary perspective, colour
helps bring out the human character of what
may appear to be impersonal modernist (even
Brutalist) buildings. Graffiti is often prominent,
but more interestingly, large prints reveal traces
of lives left behind. For example, through broken
windows on the Ferrier Estate (shot shortly
before demolition) you can see pictures left
hanging on walls and other signs of occupation.
All these estates were photographed in daylight.
Photographing in the soft ‘picturesque’ light
of sunrise or sunset seemed at odds with the
subject, while night photography would reveal
too little of the architecture.
Portra 400 is a neutral film that renders colours
very naturally, with little if any adjustment
required in post-production. The film is
processed by a professional lab, and then
scanned on a Nikon Coolscan 9000. This
hybrid approach gives me the best of both
worlds: the quality and character of film,
and the control of digital post-production.
Technically, Portra scans very well, with
minimal grain for a relatively high speed film.
(A slower film would have made the camera
difficult to hand hold successfully.)
beyond’. For photographing buildings, the
XPan does have some special qualities. At
65mm x 24mm, the large negative gives
medium format film quality in terms of
resolution and tonal range. The superbly
sharp (Fujinon) lenses have minimal distortion
or ‘wide-angle’ field curvature. This lack of
perspective distortion is one of the main
advantages of XPan lenses over their 35mm
‘equivalents’. Put briefly, the 30mm f5.6 has
ultra-wide 94 degree horizontal coverage
– approximately equivalent to a 17mm lens in
35mm terms – but the geometry, or ‘look‘ of
a 30mm focal length. Wide angle distortion
is avoided in favour of a more natural looking
image and a signature aesthetic of medium
and large format photography.
The panoramic perspective does present
real challenges regarding composition. Most
obviously, the wide perspective can lead to
unwanted elements distracting from the main
subject, or large areas of empty negative
space undermining the image. Simplicity
and balance are often the best way to avoid
these problems. All photography is selective
of course, but with the XPan, it is especially
important that all the elements work together.
In the context of this project, the highly
structured nature of the housing and the
repeating patterns of the architecture often
harmonise with the panoramic format.
As a photographer with a background in
sociology, I am fascinated by the structures
that influence, and to varying degrees, shape
human behaviour. My approach to the housing
series is to carefully select compositions that
reflect these highly structured environments,
via varying degrees of abstraction. From broad
structural vistas (images page 9, page 10); to
vertical strips of housing highlighting the clash
between old and new (page 1); to closer, more
abstract, images highlighting systematic
neglect and poor maintenance (page 1) and
signifiers of local opposition (page 1).
The photographs capture these estates at
the end of their relatively brief existence (in
architectural terms); following years of being
poorly managed by the local authorities who
owned them. The viewer could be forgiven
for thinking that their loss will be mourned
by few. After seeing photographs of these
estates in earlier times – when they were
properly maintained and contained a genuine
social mix – I am struck more by opportunities
missed and potential wasted. And above all,
by a shared wish that social housing once
again becomes a place to live, rather than a
problem for local authorities and developers
with other priorities.
To find more out more, visit: http://www.
manyinhighwater.london/hwp/housing.html
The XPan (actually manufactured by Fujifilm
as a joint project with Hasselblad) was
not designed specifically for architectural
photography. Launched in 1998, the original
press release pitched the camera to a broad
range of ‘professional and discerning amateur
photographers...involved in advertising,
architectural, nature photography and
ANALOGUE ➤ EDITORIAL
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Tech
The Royal Photographic
Society was founded
in 1853 to “promote
the art and science of
photography”.
➤P
Making the Platinum/Palladium print
Donald E. Richards details a method for making a 4”x5” Pt/Pd print.
Continued from page 4.
Once the digital negative image is obtained (see Figure 1/page 5), it is printed
from Photoshop onto Agfa CopyJet film (from Positivity Limited, UK) to obtain
a digital negative. We can also use, as stated, a traditional silver negative.
All the subsequent steps can be performed under subdued tungsten light
(enough to see well ‒ this is not strictly a ‘darkroom’ procedure). Avoid
fluorescent light, which may have some UV in its spectrum.
The solutions needed to make the sensitive emulsion on paper are obtained
from Bostick and Sullivan (B&S; see references). Although they are based in
the US, there are no restrictions for shipping to the UK the solutions I
mention below. I know of no company that sells these materials in the UK.
To a shot glass, add with individual droppers:
1. 6 drops of ‘Palladium Solution No 3’ (palladium hexachloropalladite,
where Pd ion has a valence of +2);
2. 6 drops of ‘Ferric Oxalate Solution No 1’ (ferric oxalate 27%);
3. 1 drop of ‘Sodium platinum (Na2)’ 5 %, diluted from a 20% solution
(gold hexachloroplatinate, where Pt ion has a +4 valence).
I buy the solutions in 25 ml bottles that come with the dropper as seal. Standard
droppers used in chemistry and medicine deliver 50 µl per drop, but I don’t
know if that is so for B&S droppers. The ferric oxalate solution lasts a couple of
years if kept at 4C. The other solutions last for a long time at room temperature
(I tend to run out of them before I notice any changes in the prints).
With a clean dropper, I place the mixture onto a piece of 100 % rag paper,
either Arches Platine (from Silverprint, UK), or Bergger Cot 320 (from Linhof
Studio, UK). I then extend the solution carefully with a glass rod (a ‘puddle
pusher’ from B&S) until I get a homogeneous covering of the paper.
The paper is dried with a hair dryer in the cold setting, and the now sensitive
paper is ready to be exposed (see Figure 2).
The negative and the dry paper are put into a contact frame, emulsion or ink
side of the negative in contact with the sensitive layer of the paper, and
exposed to UV light. I use a ‘Phillips Original Home Solaria’ lamp, (now
‘Philips Facial tanner HB175’), that is used to tan faces. The contact frame is
placed about an inch from the UV tubes of the lamp, and exposed to the UV
light for about 4 minutes.
ANALOGUE ➤ TECH
After the exposure, the paper is immersed into the developer, a solution of
potassium oxalate 35% (the solid is bought from Silverprint, UK), making sure
that the paper is covered instantly and completely by the developer solution.
The image appears very quickly, but the paper is allowed to remain in the
developer for 2 minutes, with careful and constant agitation (depending on
the paper used, the wet paper may be somewhat fragile). The print in this
step and all other subsequent steps, until the final wash, is handled with
plastic photographic tongs in photographic 11”x14” trays.
The developer does not exhaust: Dick Arentz in his book says that his
developer is almost 20 years old, and mine is approaching ten years. The
amount lost by evaporation and by the carry-over in the paper is replaced,
when needed, with fresh developer.
After the 2 minutes, the print is taken out of the developer, and immersed
into a solution of 5 % disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate, Na2 EDTA (the
solid is obtained from Silverprint, UK), a chelator of divalent and higher
valency ions. Make sure that you buy the sodium salt of EDTA (with two or
four Na per molecule), the free acid is quite insoluble in water. The print
remains in the solution for 5 minutes, with constant agitation. Then it is
transferred to another bath of Na2 EDTA, where it remains for another 5
minutes with constant agitation, and finally to a third Na2 EDTA bath for
another 5 minutes with constant agitation.
The final stages are to wash the print in running water for about 30 minutes,
and then put it to dry, face down, on plastic wire-mesh frames.
When the first EDTA bath becomes quite dark (from carry-over of the
developer), it is discarded, and replaced by the second solution of EDTA.
The third solution of EDTA becomes the second one, and a fresh solution of
EDTA is used as the last one.
Regarding the safety of the process, it is not inherently more dangerous than
silver gelatine printing. All photographic chemicals can be harmful, so I take
the usual precautions of:
1. Following the manufacturer’s instructions;
2. Never eating or drinking whilst I am printing, and;
3. Avoiding contact of my skin with any of the chemicals (using gloves
and/or tongs).
I leave the room whilst the print is being exposed to the UV light, and wear
protective goggles (obtained from B&S) during the short time needed to
switch the lamp on and off, and I work in well ventilated rooms.
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➤ 3 ➤ SPRING 2016 ➤ 11