New Images ~ New Prints

Carrying the 20D around over the past week of a family visit bore fruit with new images to be made into platinum/palladium prints. Before I make those prints, however, I will fill out the current portfolio of gold toned Kallitypes using some of the new images. These prints will comprise print number 1 of an edition of 5. These prints will then be offered for a very favorable price to the buyer, stimulating sales, thereby opening up for print number 2/5, and that print will be a platinum/palladium print, making said print more desirable for sale. What I believe to be the collectable avenue of photographic art.  Something I expound upon in tomorrow's article.

One of the stopovers of this past week was Tombstone, during a week day, which turned out rich in subject material and very little interference with tourist presence. That gave me almost straight up images ready for printing without need for any clone brush work to remove infractions to a period image. This type of shooting is also a bit invigorating from the normal scenic or study. Street shooting, with the focus on the certain people. In Tombstone, those people are dressed in period attire, acting out for the cameras and viewers behind them western themed actions and events, like the shootout at OK Corral.

The sample shot below was a momentary event, quick and instinctive. I heard the booted steps behind me on the wooden walkway, and I had the 20D set on aperture priority at f.8, ISO 100, auto focus, using a 28mm-135mm lens. From realizing the sound of the footsteps behind me, through quickly turning and looking for the bottom right corner anchor point, to clicking the shutter took place within three seconds. I wasn't sure I had got what I had hoped for. Turns out I did, and with a bit of tweaking in Lightroom balanced the tonal range more appreciably. The remaining distraction to the image is the girl and partial man behind the cowboy on the right, as well as the SUV passing across the street in the background.  Removable artifacts using the clone brush.

For the Kallitype print to come I will apply a softened version of the platinum/palladium <Curve> adjustment. Then on to a digital negative for printing. The hand coated print will of course add to the textural quality and depth of the print image. The platinum/palladium version will be the richest. After three weeks of interruptions it will be sweet to be back in the darkroom again.

To be Gold Toned Kallitype
"Three Cowboys in Town"
Tombstone, Arizona