"The Cannoneers" Palladium toned Kallitype

 The printing has been disrupted, greatly. I have begun printing once again, with a dedicatd portfolio of images to be printed next. The images are from a Civil War Reenactment week in Salem, Oregon, in 1990-91. All the images are entirely period setting. I bivouacked with the several hundred rreenactors. Union camp, actually. I was mostly video taping the scenes, up close, on the battlefield, with the lens filled with actions. The photography mostly came during down time, when the different camps were bustling with activity of the day.

What I was after, wasn't so much photographing the actors, although that was done. My eye was looking for the personal touches of the actors, their tents, mascots, weapon stacks and cook fires. For me, the interesting part is seeing negatives I haven't laid eyes on for thirty years. It's befitting they be printed in hand coated methods; palladium prints, gold toned Kallitype and gum over palladium, prints.

I am pretty much printing these days on Hahnemuhle paper for the Kallitype/Palladium printing. Fabriano Artistico 140lb for the gum work. This image was developed in sodium acetate, then toned in 5% palladium toner. For those not familiar with palladium toning Kallitype prints, or any silver print, the palladium, being a more 'nobler' metal, replaces all the silver salts of what was a silver print, leaving only palladium salts in their place. A century ago this was the mainstay of platinum/palladium printers, being those two elements were as expensive then as they are now, relatively speaking, to botch a platinum print would have been a disaster for anyone other than someone with lots of money to  spare. They were referred to as a 'poor man's platinum~palladium.

I am asked, often, why I don't just refer to the prints as palladium prints, being they are. Simply because I issue a certificate of authenticity for each print I make. I have portfolios of platinum/palladium and palladium prints, printed in both raw materials. I differentiate duly for disclosure for the buyer. They should know exactly when the print was made, and how. But that's just me.

Palladium toned Kallitype

"The Cannoneers" 11"x14"

Salem, Oregon 1990-91