Mar
27
2011
Gold Toned Salt Print on Magnani Revere Suede Paper
Now that seems like a funny notion, rewinding modern technology and stepping back in time to the very beginnings of photography. It is serendipitous that modern technology is enabling the discovery of photography’s past and the online communities like AlternativePhotography.com that bring people together sharing experiences working with original photographic processes.
My most recent journey back in time was driven by the notion of finding a B&W process that is more cost effective than Platinum printing while doing experimental work. Another reason was to look for a process that exhibits a greater latitude of final coloration of print tones. This journey took me back almost two centuries ago where in 1839 William Henry Fox Talbot made public his discovery of the Calotype or Talbotype process. This process is the first to introduce the ideas of a photographic negative and being able to create many fixed photographic positives from a single negative.
I was primarily interested in understanding and trying out the fixed positive image element of the Calotype process which is referred to today as a Salt Print. Turns out the process is relatively simple to follow and does not require being a super duper chemistry major. What made this process even more attractive is that a complete kit can be purchased online from Bostick & Sullivan, my favorite supplier of photographic chemicals and other supplies.
A Salt Print has many variables that can be changed to control the final image tone from a vibrant rusty red to a deep rich eggplant color with many shades in between. Changing from different types of salt moves the printed image between warm and cool tones as the print is exposed and then toning options give finer control of the tone. With all the options available it is relatively easy to take a single negative and create many variations by modifying the process to fit a desired result. Another possibility worthy of exploration is the ability to split tone a Salt print targeting a specific hue for the shadows and a different hue for the highlights.
The simplicity of this process follows second to Cyanotype printing in level of difficulty. Anyone interested in exploring and practicing the origins of photography should look into this process. No need for a dedicated dark room and much of the supplies for a simple setup can easily be found in home improvement stores. The kit from Bostick & Sullivan comes with everything needed in terms of chemicals and are all premixed.
At the end of a day of printing I find it very rewarding and exciting to be able to leverage modern advanced cameras and computers to produce a film negative to be used in the analog darkroom to create a handmade print. The analog printing process adds another dimension of creative control over the final print that is beyond comparison to modern inkjet printing technology.
Aug
1
2010
Canon 1DS Mark III ,Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS, 1/125s f/5.6 @ 500.0mm iso100
I recently returned from a fantastic photography trip over to eastern Washington. The destination of this trip? The rolling hills of the Palouse region in and around Colfax, WA. The trip even included a wonderful opportunity to try my hand and eye at aerial photography, which was a fun learning experience in itself. Over the course of the trip I learned how to become intimate, intimate with the landscape that is.
Leading up to the trip I really became nervous and somewhat apprehensive since this would be my first time to the area with the intent to photograph the landscape and not visit family in Pullman. I kept contemplating the challenge of how to incorporate my style of photography with a photographically mature subject such as the Palouse and the views from Steptoe Butte.
The bald blue cloudless skies pushed me further towards the decision to get intimate with the landscape. I don’t know what is worse in terms of landscape photography. Heavy clouds and rain or plain blue sky with not a single cloud in sight. So how does one go about shooting an intimate landscape from 3500’ feet up in an airplane or 1000’ atop Steptoe Butte? Long telephoto lenses to the rescue.
For most of the shooting, while me feet where planted on the ground I ended up using a Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens that I rented from LensRentals.com. This super telephoto lens really let me get up close and personal to explore the landscape in different ways than I would have with a normal or wide angle lens. The long focal length compressed the landscape and created a view where the hills were pushed or stacked up closely one behind the other. Distinct patterns and shapes began to appear and a much greater ability to localize contrast of color between the harvested wheat fields and areas where the golden wheat was still standing.
Shooting early in the morning and evening during sunrise and sunset created even more opportunities to further explore the intimate shapes. The low angle of the sunlight hitting the rolling hills created remarkable shadows that accented the land and revealed subtle contours.
The compressed view of the super telephoto and incredible quality of light revealed an abstract way of seeing and visualizing the Palouse. Instead of focusing on the place itself I followed the flow of the land and light to create images that reflect interlocking shapes and forms. In the end I felt thru this approach I was able to capture the amazing views and sense of awe and wonder the Palouse had to offer during the trip.
Jul
1
2010
Canon 1D MKIII, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, 358s f/8.0 @ 100mm iso100
It is hard to believe but the year is half over and it only feels like February. Oh, wait it is the weather making it feel like February. I took some time out from the normal daily duties to revisit the photography goals I had set out to accomplish this year and measuring how far I have gotten towards achieving those goals.
Looking over the planned list and actual accomplishments I would have to say I am somewhere in the middle and finding it personally challenging to stick to the original list of goals. I am very happy to have completed the items I have done so far but it would seem that the “TODO” list has grown very large and most of the goals on the list are in a state of constant re-prioritization. It would seem that I am suffering from what my wife calls the “Shiny Object Disorder”. I can easily be distracted and taken far of course exploring something new and different instead of focusing on the goals already in place.
The only constant to all this is time. Time will never stop and wait for anyone. Time will always keep moving and is something that I cannot control, no matter how hard I may try. So for the remainder of the year I am going to try and focus on journaling all the new and shiny objects that cross my path and work on those as time permits. The desired outcome would be that I am able to focus on and complete the goals I set forth at the beginning of the year that I feel are still important to me. Who knows maybe I will have more time to play with a shiny object from the journal.
Jun
26
2010
Canon 1DS Mark III ,Canon TS-E24mm f/3.5L II, 475s f/11.0 at 24.0mm iso100
Awake and on the road hours before the morning sunlight breaks across the horizon and heading down US. 101 with Neil and Vlad to Ruby beach with the hopes for decent weather to capture a sunrise. I have been to Ruby beach many times before and was familiar to the layout of the beach, a small lagoon, and how the morning light interacts with the sea stacks that occupy this beach. I had already formed ideas of where I was going to go and the basics of possible compositions already formed in my mind.
Once we made the short trek down the trail to the beach and stepped out from the tree line I was in complete shock. Gone was the old Ruby beach and in with the new. The previous winter storms where strong enough to completely dismantle the lagoon and turn it into a deep flowing stream which now blocks access to the desired shooting locations I had planned on walking to. The weather was not as expected either, light rain and heavy cloud cover. The mental visions of what the morning should have been are nonexistent in the reality set before me.
I spent the next couple of hours walking along the newly formed stream looking for any way conceivable to get across and reach the sea stacks that I was so familiar with. Every attempt to cross was met with failure and disappointment. While I was fretting what to do Neil and Vlad had their cameras out working compositions and making images. I kept thinking that the morning was a total loss. I finally decided to let go of the plan I had formulated in my mind and walk south down the beach, something I had never done before and was completely unfamiliar with.
The further I walked the more I was able to relax. The more relaxed I became the more excited I got about new possibilities and ideas for compositions that came to me. By now the rain had finally stopped and the sky was beginning to clear a little and have some details in the clouds. I came upon a nice looking rock formation, got out the camera and started shooting general shots trying to get a feel for a nicely balanced composition. I took shots from several different angles and heights and distances until I ended up in fairly low north west position to get a cross hatching pattern between the water and cloud movement. I also liked how I was able to use the larger foreground rocks to book end the smaller rocks in the distance.
I could have just as easily sat around sulking the entire morning and gained nothing. Instead I eventually decided to give up on my pre-conceived ideas of the shoot for the morning and let myself open up to exploring new ideas and opportunities. In the end I got the chance to explore a new part of the beach and add another long exposure image to my portfolio.
Jun
20
2010
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM - 1s f/5.6 at 105.0mm iso50
There finally was a break in the weather last weekend, the rain clouds moved away long enough for a scouting trip out to Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, WA. Late spring in the Pacific Northwest brings plenty of water to the area and Whatcom Creek was full of cold fast moving water for me to explore.
The falls where what one would except for a water fall in the area, not very impressive from a photograph view point. The only dry vantage point was standing on the bridge crossing Whatcom Creek. The bridge offered a straight on level shot to the falls and not much more. I think the falls would be much more interesting when the water volume is less and revealing more interesting rock formations.
Just after the bridge I was able to get down to the creek’s edge and try for a low to high composition back to the falls, that also failed to yield any decent results. The turbulence of the water was pushing the highlights to far to hold any detail. Another note in the journal to return later in the year or fall when the vegetation adds much more color.
Further down the trail I found another area where I could make down to the water. This was a great location with large moss covered rocks, some small rapids and a curve to the waters path. The area was also well covered by the trees and created very nice dappled light on the water and surrounding area. The water in this location was moving way to fast for me to attempt to jump in to work some ideas for compositions, so I added more details and notes and a few sketches into the journal.
The final stop made was the area known as the whirlpool. This is where the creek significantly narrows and creates a small water fall into a much larger circular area. The best vantage points to shoot this would be again down low at the waters surface and much later in the day with the sun behind you. More notes for the journal.
Although this was primarily a scouting trip I did take advantage of the warm dappled sunlight hitting the cold water. The was a perfect opportunity to work on adding a few new abstracts to my abstract water portfolio.
I will definitely be going back sometime in the fall when the maple leaves start turning to their vibrant fall colors.