Palladium Print #3 ~ New Portfolio

The new portfolio is beginning to shape up. Besides the 8x10 Gold toned Kallitype portfolio, this portfolio will be made up of 5x7 palladium prints. A number of the images are scenic images shot in Oregon, some along rivers, a couple at the coast. This would have been the project I would have loved to do thirty years ago when I began printing hand coated images.

The print tests with palladium is helping me to come to know what the image should look like during a visual inspecting during printing. As I wrote in the last post, the longer the density range, the more of the image is needed during printing. Using a negative that would print on a commercial silver gel paper, the "whisper" of an image might function. With a negative having a density range of log 1.8, that whisper will need to be about half the image showing up for the highlights to be printed in. As noted before, this is an intuitive learning curve, coming to understand your negatives, and their density range, as well as what that looks like during the printing phase.

This print was a seven and a half minute print. It could have used another two minutes, perhaps a skosh more. I'll know next print run. This run was close, leaving what I want to be zone 7, closer to zone 8, with little detail. Another two minutes in the sun will print that in nicely. I have negatives that are closer to 1.0 that would print better in north sky, indirect sunlight. Doing so increases slows printing time and increases contrast. The high intensity from direct sunlight affects the highlights more than the lower densities, thereby speeding up the printing and flattening the image more than if it were printed in north sky light.

This image was printed in full sun ~ 7 1/2 minutes
Developed; ammonium citrate

Palladium Print
"The Orchard" ~ 5x7 ~ 1/5
Eugene, Oregon

New Palladium Print

After a year of all out efforts to secure a full logistical system capable of scanning positives & negatives both roll film and large format, for re-scaling to 8"x10" negatives printed on acetate film, with the ultimate intent of making 8"x10" hand coated prints. The narrative of that adventure reads like a Dave Berry story. The irony of it all being I am currently making 5x7 palladium prints using the negatives I had hoped to scan. For now, they do just fine at their current size.

Being relatively new to palladium printing, I am finding it to be to my liking. A great deal of the liking part. Thirty years ago when I was making salted silver prints I was dreaming of making palladium prints. I am in the testing phase of palladium printing, learning the subtle differences related to Kallitype printing, which for all practical purposes is the very same process using different metal salts. The process and development procedures are identical. As is the relationship of the density range of the negative to the visual cues of the image appearing, during printing. That "whisper" spoken of in platinum/palladium printing, is a description of a softer negative. Using a negative with a density range up around log 1.8, that "whisper" becomes more akin to the "vague image" of a Kallitype, during the printing. The more density range, the more of the image can be seen during printing. I am finding my negatives are very close to 1.8, and I want to see the image up to about zone 4, at least, with the fuller image just beginning to form up nicely.

Another subtle difference between Kallitype & palladium printing is the Kallitype image is literally instantaneous when the developer is poured over the print. A palladium image is almost instant, with a slower uptake of the image, say a few seconds. I am currently using the ammonium citrate developer, as it is touted to render the image more of a neutral black, than the warmer image derived from the more traditional potassium oxalate developer. The image is still a 'warm' image. Just not as brownish.

This image was printed 6 1/2 minutes; full sun (It's monsoon here so there is little 'pure sun', usually always a bit of wispy clouds.) Predicting exact print times isn't a mathematical formulation, but an intuitive one, mostly by visual inspection of the image during printing. That of course demands trial and error until one gets the connection between the density range of the negative, and the how much of the image appears during said visual inspection. This is why it is so important to know your negatives, the density range, and assuming the negative development is constant, then the density range should be sufficiently constant for successful printing.

As the previous image, developed in Windish pyro/OH, this negative also was developed in this formula. Being a fully compensating developer, there is detail and texture in the lower tones in the image, deep shadow detail, as well as texture in the extreme highlights around the window and door of the bar image. There was a five stop different between zone 3 and what I wanted to be zone 7. Being the negative was to be printed in the salt paper process I didn't do a compaction of the shot, but instead developed it for the normal time, the pyro held back what would normally have become blank white area near the window, to a textured zone 7. I would like to add perhaps one minute to the print time of this image, just to bring the highlights down slightly.

Printed on Revere Platinum paper ~ 6 1/2 minutes ~ Full sun
Developed in ammonium citrate

Palladium Print
"Paul & Jerry's" ~ 5x7 ~ 3/5
Jerome, Arizona

Palladium Print Test

The interesting saga of actuating a working scanner continues. The hoped for remedy of the new scanner became illusionary, only adding to the variables involved with software issues, as in not talking to either OS system I have, both Windows 10 and Mac's Yosemite 10.10 OS. Now the chase is on for finding software that talks to a Plustek scanner from one of the OS I have.

The post is about palladium printing, so I'll stay with that. The first trials demonstrated that the UV light put out through my UV printer is not quite that of printing into north light sky, which is much slower than printing right into the full sun. It is a way of controlling contrast in a contact printed hand coated image. The higher UV concentration from full sunlight affects the highlights more, proportionately than the lower tonal ranges, thus flattening the image some, compared to printing the same image in shade, facing north sky, usually metering in the range of 20-30 foot candles/lumens, as opposed to off the scale reading anywhere near facing the sun. The lower UV light, and longer print time needed to print in zone 7, has the affect of increasing the contrast of the image. The shift would be something like changing from grade 2 to grade 3 commercial paper.

Until I have worked out the optimal density range of digital negatives scaled for palladium printing, I will be making the prints using the 5x7 negatives I have, all of which were developed in a pyro/OH formula I rejiggered from the original Windish Pyro formula. This particular image was one of the first images I developed in this pyro formula, beginning with a 50% increase in developing time. I increased the developing time from 13 minutes to 18 minutes, in increments, over the course of a full portfolio of prints, all printed as salted silver images at that time. I still have that portfolio in the custom wooden presentation case that was built for this portfolio. Interesting story, that.

The palladium test prints forthcoming will be printed using the sun. What a concept. Until digital came along, that was the only way I knew how to print hand coated images. Once the printer makes the intuitive, visual connection between negative density and the printing outcome in the chosen medium, it becomes much easier to predict print times and developer choice. The print time controls the light/dark aspect of the image and the developer controls the basic color of the print image. Using the traditional potassium oxalate developer leaves a warm toned palladium image. Using a ammonium citrate developer renders a more neutral black. For the Kallitype the developers would be sodium citrate and sodium acetate respectively.

This test print is the first of three images to be tested, printing in direct sunlight, to test the various density ranges of the negatives. I have some negatives at or close to log 1.0 and many closer to 1.5 to 1.8. Once I get the feel of each, I will be able to predict fairly accurately a print time. Then I will be able to begin printing a portfolio in palladium. This image was one of the gifts a photographer may acquire from time to time. I set up this shot using my Burke & James 5x7 flatbed view camera, as a test shot, using this new pyro formula that was a fully compensating developer. I wanted to see if I could hold in the highlight area, as well as show some detail in the lower tonal range, when shooting into direct sunlight. Just as I clicked the shutter, I heard the putt putt of an engine. Turning a bit I see this small sailboat come out of seemingly nowhere, just about to move right into my scene. This was the second time the inner voice went from "He's going to sail right into my scene!".... to "He's going to sail right into my scene!!".. I was able to flip the film holder over for this shot, then pull that holder out and insert another to capture the sailboat up the canal about halfway to the horizon. That image later. I have one version of this as a diptych, first image over the second of the sailboats.

Negative; 5"x7" Kodak 250 Super XX ~ rated (ASA)125
Developed; Windish Pyro ~ pyro/hydroxide ~ 13 minute development
Palladium solution #3 ~ Ferric oxalate #1 12 drops/11 drops (Bostick & Sullivan)
Printed on Revere Platinum paper ~ 3 minutes full sun
Developed; Ammonium citrate

"Sailboat on Canal" ~ 5x7 ~ 2/5
Veneta, Oregon

New Kallitype ~ Portfolio II

Slowly I am adding to the new portfolio; Portfolio II. For now. I am still waiting the arrival of the new scanner, and until I can begin scanning negatives again, I am limited to the images I am able to print at this time. One of the realities of digitally captured images is their format; 8x12 instead of the film standard of 8x10. I shoot edge to edge, only including what I want in the final image, cropped for the structure and flow of the image. Lopping off two inches of an image does bad things to the image structure. If I were a Photoshop type a guy there is always potential for expanding the canvas size then filling in the two inches on either side of the image for re-cropping. You haven't seen my efforts at this, over several attempts. Best to keep that to myself.

I printed this image some months ago, when I was working with palladium toned prints, toning this image in palladium, and immediately realized it wasn't the right treatment for this particular image. What I though it needed was developing in sodium acetate to form the cool black and white image I was after, then toned it a straight gold toner; 5ml gold chloride ~ 5g citric acid ~ 1000ml DH20
I will be trying out gold/thiocyanate toning formula that purports to replace most of the silver salts with gold, leaving a near gold plated image. Worth trying out.

This print is a gold toned Kallitype; developed in sodium acetate then gold toned. The image was made from a digital negative and printed on Pictorico Ultra Premium OHC acetate film.

Gold toned Kallitype
"Lilies" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tucson, Arizona

The Writing Side of Photography ~ Books

I've mentioned more than once that I began printing again early last year, writing articles on the printing processes I've been working in. What I haven't mentioned much is what I spent my time doing before that. When I retired from commercial photography in 2010 I began writing, another deep seated desire I held, even studied during the college years, yet not something I was able to entertain until after the world of work had ceased.

At this time I have eight books in print, and as mentioned in the last article that last book was the one on the black & white negative, and photo chemistry. I have another interest with books that I've used before when needing a photo-quality book, photographic coffee table books. I have made these for clients as the output of the images I shot during an event, one being a Quinceanera I photographed. The client was more than pleased with the results. They can be a very valuable tool for a client.

The book I just put together was for me. For my shelf. I will be producing an "10x8" hard bound photo book for each portfolio I print. When I have what I want, I will combine them all into one "13"x11" hard bound book with portfolio sections. For my shelf. Although these books will stay on a server for some time. The paper in this book is the premium gloss paper well suited for photographic images. The book represents the fourteen prints available in the Tombstone Portfolio.

Production Update

There was a time when purchasing a scanner was fairly straight forward. That was then. After weeks of searching, I found the golden scanner needed, made the purchase from the manufacture and waited. When there was no arrival I came to find out the order was mysteriously cancelled. Another find of the scanner on the internet was from a Canadian company, but they don't sell to gringos. There's a pattern here. Through the courageous efforts of a very nice man at the scanning company found a link to an Australian site that sells the upgrade to that scanner, for less than I could buy the old scanner here. It's on its way.

There will be some printing in the meantime, as I will have to rely upon digital images, and being digital format come out 8x12 instead of 8x10, which matters being the process I have in place works with that format. Cropping out two inches of the image isn't easy as when I shoot I crop as to be used in the finished print. Tight cropping to encompass just those elements I want in the scene. So cropping 20% of the image does terrible things to the images. It should be noted that the 1% gold chloride and a bottle of palladium & matching ferric oxalate has been shipped from Bostick & Sullivan and is also on its way.

I will continue to make the Kallitype prints for the next two portfolios, many of which will be gold toned using the thiosulfate formula. It uses the most gold chloride but also replaces most of the silver salts, thus leaving a much more thoroughly coated/saturated print. That will, in some form alter the original tonal hue, and experience has shown that to be a rather cool but neutral black and a fine gray in the middle tones. This is a top down toner, meaning it begins affecting the whites first and works its way to the blacks. One of the ways for split toning is using a top down gold toner, toning until reaching the middle tones, then pull and rinse the print and finish toning in platinum for deep rich blacks and palladium for warmer tones and neutral blacks.

What I will begin is a portfolio of 5x7 prints, printed in palladium. As I noted earlier, I have a collection of 5x7 negatives of Oregon scenics ready for this very portfolio. Printing those negatives in palladium was only a pipe dream thirty years ago when I printed that portfolio in salted silver prints, which I still have in the custom wooden presentation case they've slept in those many years.

When I began hand coated printing early last year, it was happenstance that connected me to PJ's darkroom and the ability to make a print again. It was not long before that time my book came out, on the black and white negative and photo chemistry. I was preparing to write the second book, this one on the salted paper process, when the chance meeting took place. The ensuing re-connection to the process begat building the new darkroom, necessitating building a new workshop to accommodate all the tool in the darkroom space, and other mind numbing steps to finally be able to print again.

The energy flow has finally smoothed out and I am finding a steady rhythm of production. There will be prints as I find suitable digital images to debase with cropping. I have also begun the second book; Alchemist's Guide; To Salted Paper Printing. Thus far it is coming along nicely, with the cover design finished along with the title pages and much of the front of the book. I take a bit different approach to writing about how to do a process. It isn't sufficient to merely describe the procedural steps, in order of production and let it go at that. There are so many questions one would have if they don't already know the subject. One of the best devices I've found for showing what you are saying is through drawings of the thing itself, what it looks like, before and after. Conceptual learning.

Eventually, there will be five books in the series. The original one on the negative &  photo chemistry, this one on salted paper printing, third one is on the Kallitype print, fourth one on palladium printing and the final book will be on the gum print. Each book will be roughly the same length as the first, about 150 pages. Enough for a thorough layout of the process and all the hoops that affect things without being a tome. I also like to design the book as a lab book, leaving formulas in the final pages for easy access. There will be discussions on scaling up a black and white negative, and the formulas to do so, as well as a section on the digital negative, and the basics therein

Seeing the resurgence of photographers and beginners once again embracing black and white film, and historical alternative processes is titillating to say the least. I thought it was only me. Look forward to seeing more prints forthcoming. Mostly after my new scanner arrives and I am able to work with the images I've been waiting a long time to print. There are many. I can't wait. Good energy to your own work.

Systems and Outcomes

Yesterday's printing sessions, both negative & print, returned both good and bad messages. The bad part of the message was that I didn't end up with a  usable print. The good news being one of the reasons for the first two tries was negative density related. First negative printing offered up a negative so thin you could literally read a newspaper through it. The following adjustments to the image in Paintshop Pro printed a negative so dense it was at the edge of printability. Further readjustment of the image densities (eliminating one of the added adjustments) rendered a negative that was right where I had wanted it to be. The problem, was every time I print this image, large areas in the print become solarized. No other image does this. This one is driving me nuts.

From that, I learned two valuable things. First, my printer is capable of inking the acetate film more than is needed. Best news of all for me. The second learning point is that, for whatever reason, the same images do not look the same from a Mac Book Pro to a PC laptop. Tiff files. That theoretically shouldn't happen. If variant systems display an image in the same manner, with perhaps some variations due to different monitor settings and other variables, but certainly not with different information. Hence, I am having to relearn what a negative should 'look like' to make a printable negative.

As I've mentioned more than once, I am all but color blind to "reflected" red/green colors. And yes I can see transmitted red/green as in traffic signals. Just not so much with more subtle colors on paper. Even taking that into account, I am certainly capable of seeing green on an image presented on a good flat screen monitor. I had been using Lightroom 4 to prepare negatives for printing, learning what an negative image should look like in density, with the spectral density added. Pretty much getting a good print each run, while printing the Tombstone Portfolio. Having now switched over to the PC for imaging work now, things are different.

It is the case now that the negatives I have already prepped in Lightroom, with said green tone, change dramatically when transferred to the PC for viewing. The green is gone and the added densities are no longer there. I can't count the number of hours staring at the ceiling at night pondering this. This isn't supposed to happen. Right? It isn't dementia or the Arizona heat. The reality being I am relearning how these negatives look for printing, on the PC.

And that brings up density curves again. Lightroom and Paintshop do not work the same. In theory or practice. One can of course arrive at the same negative image, if and when one knows how both work. I'm working on that. Paintshop Pro x9 was a $47 upgrade download for my original x3 version. I would categorize Paintshop Pro as Photoshop for digital photography. It has all the elements of Photoshop; layering, masking, same full wrack of imaging tools and options. For digital photographers wanting to print digitally, this is the program. The full program without upgrade is still under $60.

Not so much a plug for the software as to the variance between platforms. Sure would love to see comments on this one, as all are welcome. The bottom line being that after thirty years of working with this craft there is always more to learn. Adapting digital imaging with hand coated printing is a new branch of the old photography tree. New technological means of reaching the same outcome of printing "black and white" images, using historical printing methods. The process works exactly the same, by applying new technology to control the process. From chemical manipulation of the negative to digital manipulation of the negative. Same negative when laying it over precious metals. They don't know the difference.

Soon, there will be new high resolution scans of the 5x7 negatives I have, that will be printed for the next two portfolios to come in 8x10. The density tests have been completed and two developers have shown to be excellent choices for the density range I'm looking for to print on palladium. The 5x7 is ready for the field and my eye is on the Old Barrio of Tucson. Those images will likely also make up a separate portfolio. That's the way it goes. Build a body of work that demonstrates the breadth and depth of one's skill as a fine art printer, using archival methods and museum standards for art. Then, and only then, will there be a chance that the work I produce will see the light of day, and perhaps even generate buyers, if they like what they see. That's the theory, and that's the goal.