"The Stone House" ~ Palladium toned Kallitype

 The last post I made was when I had finished a gum print, and had begun preparing the paper for another, which was finished with final touches, today. Three weeks to create that print, which will be posted tomorrow. While it was knowingly finished, I took the liberty to make a palladium print of the Stone House at the Grand Canyon, Arizona, during a visit there in June. A regular focus of photographers who come there, even a watercolor painting my wife painted some years ago.

This print continues the 11"x17" format printings, using digital images I captured on my Canon 20D over the years. Still around and working as designed, although, now, a great-grandpa of cameras. Like me. I have spent so many years editing the image as I capture it, exactly what I want, corner to corner, there is no nice way of making an 11x14 out of it, or other standard size, without losing the image intended. I have attempted to correct for this, using a quick re-edit pull-back of about 10% wider, to accommodate for the area lost when cropping back to an 11x14 format. Don't like that though. Just not normal.

This print was shot in RGB color, of course, with a pre-negative printing adjustments to include one of the few 'apps' that comes with Print Shop Pro; The Time Machine; the black & white negative, leaving a long scale tonal range, just like in a black & white negative. Not doing so, leaves intact the RGB information, and colors on the negative. That has an affect on printing. Green inhibits printing in the upper tonal range, and can be laid over a negative image, in a layer over the image, and that is the same as adding a density curve to the negative. Works quite well. Assign a -40 value in the hue bar, shifting it green, and that negative can be printing in sunlight.

As I have been doing more recently, I am making "poor man's palladium prints". That is, toning a silver image in a palladium toner. The more noble metal [palladium] completely replaces all the silver salts in the image, leaving only metallic palladium, instead of metallic silver to look at. A process with long historical roots, dating back to the turn of the 20th century. It's an honorable way to make palladium, or platinum prints, without the cost of printing in platinum, or palladium today. To keep it honorable, I always disclose on the Certificate of Authenticity of it's providence being a palladium toned Kallitype. The prices of each have sky rocketed in the past couple years.  I made this print on the Revere Platinum paper I have been using for years now. Really like that paper. For me, it is equal to Arches Platine paper. Perhaps that's just me.

Palladium toned Kallitype

"The Stone House" ~ 11"x17"

Grand Canyon, Arizona

 

"Morning Ritual Pair" ~ Gum Dichromate Print

This particular gum print was made strictly for my wife. The original "Morning Ritual" print was a beloved female cat named Zoey. These two monkeys, in kitty suits, are brother and sister, taking over the morning ritual, when the weather permits. 

My recent gum prints have been very light handed, as I refer to it. Falling just slightly into the paper, as a softer image, compared ot a more boldly printed image. The early morning light was what I was after when making this print, always printing for the reciprocal density zone of the negative; for print time. I find my printing is affected by my take on the image to be printed. Each image having some sort of emotional connection to the printer, which can be said to be why it was chosen. The soft touch images have their place, but I find myself wanting a richer depth of color, something I will be working on with the two images I am working on now. Each one has its own challenges.

This gum has eight print layers, using thirteen colors. More than two weeks in the making, including paper preparations, of five days. After years of printing gums, there are still things to be learned. The only boundaries of this process, are within the printer.

Gum Dichromate Print

"Morning Ritual Pair" 8"x10"