Many black and white analog photographers don’t realize the range of wonderful processes and materials available to make there creative dreams a reality. Some of these date back to mid nineteenth century, but are still in use today and are available for you to make beautiful photographic images.

The following descriptions of some of these of these processes and associated materials was prepared by Monalog members Chris Karfakis and Gary Samson as part of the catalog that accompanied recent Monalog Collective exhibits. Our members use them to create their fine art images, and the results are quite wonderful.

I hope you find this an interesting and useful resource. From here you can certainly learn a lot more. You can also visit the Monalog Collective website at https://monalogcollective.com to contact our members for their thoughts. Maybe you’ll think about opening your creative aperture (pun intended) and trying something new and different.  You might be surprised at what you see!

Albumen Print: The most important print material of the 19th century, the albumen print, was the discovery of a French photographer, Louis Desire Blanquart Evrard, and was first announced on May 27, 1850. Hen’s egg white is applied as a sort of sizing to the paper before it is floated on silver nitrate to sensitize it. The image prints out on exposure to UV light, so no developer is required. Most albumen prints were gold toned for added permanence and to shift the print color to a more pleasing tone. A negative the same size as the required print was used to make a contact print. The negative was loaded into a contact-printing frame with the sensitized paper and exposed to sunlight for several minutest o sometimes many hours. The back of the frame was hinged so that the density of the print could be checked without losing registration with the negative. Once the print was at the proper density, it was removed and processed.

Wet-Plate Collodion Process: Invented by Fredrick Scott Archer in 1851, a glass plate is coated with collodion that includes soluble iodides. Once the collodion has set up, the plate is placed in a tank of silver nitrate for several minutes there it becomes light sensitive. The plate while still wet is placed into a light tight holder so that it can be exposed in a camera within about eight minutes. After exposure, the plate is immediately developed using iron sulphate revealing the image in 15 to 20 seconds. The image is then fixed, washed, and varnished before use.

Ambrotype: is a wet-plate collodion process invented by Archer and Cutting in 1854. These images are made on black or ruby glass or clear glass (backed by black material) and appear as positives. Using a thin piece of plate iron that has been japanned instead of glass also results in a positive image called a Tintype or Ferrotype. Modern wet-plate photographers often use black enameled aluminum plates to create their images.

Carbon Transfer Print: A layer of bichromate gelatin containing a pigment (carbon black, for example) is exposed under a negative. The gelatin is selectively hardened by light passing through the negative. When the gelatin is gently washed in warm water, the unhardened areas are dissolved away, leaving a positive image of pigmented gelatin. In the late 1860’s, the process became practical when pigmented gelatin layers called “tissues” became commercially available. The resulting prints have exceptional stability and are quite permanent.

Platinum/Palladium Prints: The platinotype was first introduced by William Willis in 1873 and he continued to improve the process through 1887 via a series of patents. The process is based on the light sensitivity of certain iron salts which, when exposed to UV light, reduce platinum compounds to metallic platinum. The resulting prints have exceptional stability. The process was admired for its delicate tonality, enhanced using matte paper. The image color can range from steely gray to warm brown hues depending on the temperature of the developer and the kind of developer used.  This is a contact print process requiring each sheet of paper to be hand coated and then printed with a negative the same size as the desired print size.

Gelatin Silver Print: The gelatin silver process was introduced by Richard Leach Maddox in 1871 with subsequent considerable improvements in sensitivity obtained by Charles Harper Bennett in 1878. The gelatin silver print or gelatin developing out paper (DOP) is a monochrome imaging process based on the light sensitivity of silver halides. They have been made for both contact printing and enlarging purposes by modifying the paper’s light sensitivity. A brief exposure to a negative produces a latent image, which is then made visible by a developing agent. The image is then made permanent by treatment in a photographic fixer, which removes the remaining light sensitive silver halides. And finally, a water bath clears the fixer from the print. The final image consists of small particles of silver bound in a layer of gelatin. This gelatin image layer is only one of the four layers found in a typical gelatin silver print, which typically include the overcoat, image layer, baryta, and paper support. Gelatin silver paper is the paper of choice for most fine art photographers working in traditional analog photography today.

Bibliography:

Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic Prints by James M. Reilly

Kodak Publication no. G2-S, 1986

The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Third Edition, by Christopher James, Cengage Learning, 2016

Wikipedia

Stay safe,

Michael

On March 2^nd I participated in a panel discussion for photography students at Bucks County Community College as part of activities related to Monalog’s show. There was a good crowd on hand and it was a lot of fun. I spoke, as I’ve written here, about how important the “journey” has been for me when making photographs … the experience itself, the people I meet and the relationships I develop.

Perhaps the most important moment for me was when fellow Monalog member Gary Samson talked about his many years in photography. He spoke about the many photographs he’s made during his long and esteemed career that in a way have served as a diary to his own life.  When he looks back at his body of work it tells him a lot about himself.  Similarly, when he photographs, he also learns much about himself, just as he does about his subjects and the environments in which they live.

Gary is absolutely right and yet I had never thought about this important point.  But the more I thought about it the more I realized this concept went hand in hand with the importance of the “journey”!

The journey, the making of meaningful photographs. and learning about myself as a result …  damn!

Think about this. Let your photographic life enrich the rest of your life.  Trust me … it will be worth it!

Stay safe,

Michael

I spent a pleasant afternoon gallery sitting for the Monalog Collective Show at the Hicks Arts Center Gallery, Bucks County Community College.  The gallery space was truly beautiful and so was the show.  The quality of the work was first class and I was truly proud to be a part of it.  The Monalog Collective is unique and special. Members only produce fully analog-based black and white images for their personal and exhibition work.

As I looked at the silver gelatin, platinum, carbon transfer, albumen and tintype prints I thought about what I wrote last week regarding the easy way vs. the hard way.  Finally, it struck me. It’s more than that. What we’re really talking about is convenience vs. craft.  Digital is really about convenience and speed. And why not? That’s what we look for in the rest of our daily lives, from fast food, to home delivery, to zoom meetings.

Easy and convenient go hand in hand.  It seems to be what most want in working and personal lives. But let’s face it, we know that easy and convenient doesn’t always work out, or produce the best results, let alone the most satisfying outcomes.

Somewhere there needs to be a place in our lives for something that isn’t easy or convenient. There needs to be a place in our lives for something that is hard and inconvenient.  For me it is my photography, how I go about creating my work and the craft of it.  The ends justify the means and I am truly happy. I have a similar approach to listening to music. Only vinyl played through tube electronics.  Very inconvenient but the results are sublime. My wife does her best to understand me (I suppose my vinyl habit is a bit much), but many others who know me think I am a little obsessed and just a bit out there when it comes to my non-working life.  That’s all right because I know what’s important to me … and I think to many others … that is the satisfaction that comes with doing it the hard way, the longer way, the right way, through proper craft.

Laugh if you will, but I’m convinced I live a charmed life.  I have a great balance between my family life, my work life and my creative life.  If I chose to live my creative life based on convenience it might make things a lot easier, but it just wouldn’t be the same. I wouldn’t be satisfied with the results and my life as a whole would not be so special.

In the end there are very few shortcuts in craft, and nothing really good is easy.

Stay safe,

Michael

A very good photographer I know recently told me he is phasing out of making traditional silver gelatin prints in the darkroom in favor of those he can make using an ink jet printer.  He will still use film, but have his negatives scanned into digital files that in turn can be easily and quickly produced. He told me that with the current state of software technology, he could no longer tell the difference between a digital black and white print created with a hybrid process and the real thing.

So I spoke to a number of other equally fine black and white photographers in the know about this and they respectfully disagreed.

The question for me is whether I should feel bad about this, or simply not care?

Well, after some thought, I’ve decided I do feel sad and I simply don’t care! Why? First of all, I think you can tell the difference between a finely executed black and white silver gelatin print and an inkjet print. Others I respect feel the same way.  And don’t even think about a comparison between black and white contact prints made with platinum, albumen, carbon transfer, or tintypes, etc.  So I feel sad that someone who has worked for years to create an important body of top-notch black and white analog work will no longer be creating such work.  It’s a loss in my opinion and I’m disappointed.

On the other hand, so what!  There are plenty of those who understand the beauty of a purely analog black and white print and the work that it takes to make one.  And there are plenty of those, especially young people that are embracing analog as proper alternative to digital.  It’s not just the way the final image looks … yes that’s important … it’s everything that goes into making it a reality.   So if you want to do it the easy way, knock yourself out.  That’s your decision, but don’t tell me it’s the best way for black and white. Not for your personal work, or work you wish to exhibit.  I’ll give you a pass for commercial and color work.

Personally, I’m more interested in focusing on the work of those that want to make the effort, rather than doing it the easy way, or the way that emulates the look of a silver gelatin image made with a Tri-X negative, or the way that almost looks as good as a print produced in the darkroom.

This past week my friend and I finally finished the framing in on my basement project and this week we’re on to the drywall. They say that when you are finally putting up drywall you’re nearing the finish line. I hope so! Whenever we could use a screw to attach two by fours or two by sixes we did, and the drywall will be screwed into place as well.  When the project is done, no one will be able to tell whether I used screws or nails, but I’ll know.  I’ll know that it took longer, but it was built stronger and finished better.  I’ll also know that it was also built with pride, because I will feel it inside. Finally, I’ll know that it will stand the test of time, the walls won’t bow and I’ll never see a nail pop!

It’s the same way with making a print. I’m happy to do it the hard way, the better way, with pride in my craft. Maybe some won’t know the difference or claim they won’t, or care, but I will.

Stay safe,

Michael

It’s 12:15 on Sunday night and I’ve needed to write something different.  Please forgive me for any grammar mistakes.

I generally try to stay away from politics, but regular visitors to this site know that I have touched upon issues threatening our democracy during our recent darkest hours.  Now Ukraine, a sovereign democratic nation, still in its infancy, is fighting for it survival against Russia and its autocratic dictator Vladimir Putin. None of this should be a surprise. What else should not be a surprise is that Putin has received the support of his sycophant and autocrat wannabe Donald Trump, along with a number of what used to be the Republican Party.  Sad and pathetic!

It’s hard to write about photography, something so dear to my heart, when a proud democratic nation is fighting for its life while Trump and those that kiss his ring are heaping praise upon a ruthless fascist thug.  Of course, these are the same people that have been and continue to work to undermine the democracy of our own nation.

I shutter to think what the current situation would be here in the United States and in Europe had Joe Biden not won the 2020 election. But even with his victory the dark forces that would take away our democratic freedoms are still hard at work at home, while the individual many of them admire so much is directing the Russian march across Ukraine.

What Putin didn’t count on was the resolve of Ukraine’s people not to give up and the decision of America and its allies to stand together. Now that the world has seen Putin’s atrocities, those in the US that supported him and his actions should be judged accordingly.

My prayers and best wishes are with brave people of Ukraine, and those that are working to save our own democracy.

I look forward to discussing photography again next time.

Stay safe,

Michael

Periodically I take a look at several photography sites I have bookmarked to see if there’s anything new of interest. The ones I like the most are those that include written entries along with photographs (usually black and white). One I like very much is Leicaphilia, which can be found at http://leicaphilia.com.

Here’s a quote from an entry that appeared on April 7, 2021, entitled Significant Fact…or Insignificant Flicker?

“Having had looked at lots of it over the years, I’ve concluded there are three types of ‘Street Photography’: 1) photos of people on the street (go to any popular photo forum – and a lot of street specific websites – and you’ll see endless variations of this); 2) gimmicky photos of people in public spaces e.g. people caught in awkward poses or fallen in the street etc.; or 3) photos that attempt to say something about a person in the street, or something about the person’s relationship with someone else in the street, or something about the person’s relationship with the built environment. (It helps as well if it also has a pleasing or interesting aesthetic i.e. it’s not completely dependent on its subject matter to generate interest). It’s only this latter type that holds any real interest…for me.”

I do a lot of candid myself and I love the work of Elliot Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Myer and many, many others that have worked in the genre. I also see a lot of it by others, especially on the Internet, so when I read this I really identified with the message!

Let’s face it; there’s a lot of junk that’s put out, especially related to street.  Aim and shoot … or don’t even aim and shoot. Use a wide enough lens and fire away from the hip … literally!  These images simply will not stand the test of time (a very short time to sure!), let alone have any value other than being visual records of people that happened to be on particular streets at particular moments in time.

But why focus only on street?  There’s plenty of other junk out there to be seen containing dubious subject matter of questionable taste or just boring stuff. Perhaps the lamest pictures are the technically perfect snoozers. All of this can be viewed at galleries in supersize, which I believe is a means to somehow mask mediocrity. I know I have made that point before … sorry … but it remains the truth … at least for me!

So three things are of critical importance, especially with respect to your precious time: (1) don’t waste it looking at this stuff; (2) don’t waste it by creating it yourself; and (3) give your best shot (no pun intended) to your keepers in the darkroom, so you don’t have to print them over again!

Oh, and something else. Study the true masters. Go see their work whenever possible and buy books containing their images.  Then, when you grasp the essence of their vision and what makes their images so special, apply the lessons learned to your work.

Stay safe,

Michael