images from Highlands, Skye and The Lakes

PHOTOGRAPHIC HAND-PRINTS
A specific space to further develop methods to produce large scale black and white imagery, through experimental techniques.
Current interests with a recent portfolio of captured photographs, take hand-printed imagery to 4ft x 6ft.

EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE
Printing to 30inches by 36inches
M y previous body of conservation-related photographs took four years of experimental development.
A technique of creating an inter-negative (a 5x4inch negative from original 35mm) on a graphics panochromatic film is currently undergoing further experimentation. Creating the enlarged negative allows images to be printed at a size of 30inch by 36inch. The main problem is to overcome the direct black and white contrast of the graphics film and keep the middle tones of grey in the final monochrome print.

A technique has proved successful by using a diluted developer in the processing of the film and has been applied with tests to a back catalogue of imagery in keeping with the working creed and the production of conservation exhibitions and out'stallations. What is interesting is the unpredictable nature of this technique. It seems ever dependent on the original negative, and equally necessary to document the exposure times when going through the internegative stages. Tones of gray vary due to grain explosion.

From the inter-neg printing has been tested on a variety of papers from Fotospeed and Kentmere. Work prints on resin coated paper of a smaller scale allow the extent of the negative to be examined before finally printing at the larger scale on both resin coated and fibre-based (which have proved harder to handle when in large sheets). Quite often the results do not match, further supporting the unique aspect of this technique.

The final results of wolf-related imagery and landscapes are available as a full catalogue of the results.

My favourite aspect of the imagery is the texture that has been created from exploding the grain through the process. These textures, at times, come across as pencil sketches; charcoal drawings "which evokes a sense of the ancient and foreboding". link to review