All images and photographs © Scott Nichol. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
here are two images i decided to print yesterday from my trip to Rossland, BC. i wanted to print them in the dark room and chose to do them as salt prints rather than palladium because in some ways, its quick and easy (despite a 20 minute exposure time). the chemistry is simple and the results look wonderful.
Stephanie Anne - Corner Light, Salt Print, 9x11 inches
Rhus - Ferns, Salt Print, 12x8.5 inches
In August 2010 I had the opportunity to travel to Rossland, BC to meet up with some old friends and make some new ones. Our host, Michael Cordiez was instrumental in bringing everyone together including two truly inspirational photographers, Dave Aharonian and Ron Skei. The times we spent talking about our craft and philosophy of artistic photography will provide continued inspiration.
I hope not too much time passes before i get to see my new friends Doug Doyle, Jeany, and Michael’s wonderful wife, Row.
And our work would not be complete without the dedication and tireless work of the models who endure so much of our crazed inspirations. Getting up at 5:30 am to shoot in a freezing lake is not something that many people i know would endure. But the results are always beautiful and full of graceful serenity.
The friendships that emerge from these collaborations are something that I will cherish for a lifetime. And it is always difficult to say good bye, especially when the next meeting is usually uncertain. The times shared with these friends calms my soul and nourishes my inspirational drive. Excitedly looking forward to what comes next.
scott
27 august, 2010
vancouver, BC
well after about a full day of curve design and some tweaks this morning, i finally got a curve that produces a fairly linear curve for salted paper prints. the salted paper process was invented by William Henry Fox Talbot, known as The Father of Modern Photography, in 1833 while he was on his honey moon. the kit that i am using from bostick and sullivan uses a solution of Ammonium Chloride and Sodium Citrate as the salt sensitizing agent. a Silver Nitrate solution gives you the metal base to create the image. the paper is coated with each solution and then exposed to UV light to create the image. after the exposure is complete, there is no development per se. the image is already formed on the paper. you’re only left to wash away the unused silver and then the print is fixed in regular photo fixer (Sodium Thiosulfate). the result is a print with blacks that are kind of dark chocolate, but toning the print in a gold chloride solution gives the prints a more neutral, almost eggplant tone that’s really pleasant.
this scan is of one of my first artist proof prints and the tones are about right. its cropped not exactly how i want it, but rather to match the size of the coatings i’d done. as i write this, i’m waiting for a few more 8×10 inch sheets to dry and i’ll make a one or two more prints tonight. with a 20-minute exposure time, it take a while to make each print, but they’re quite worthwhile!
enjoy,
scott
Kiera - Beltzville, Frame 6. 5x7 inch Salt Print, toned with Gold Chloride
film: Ilford Delta 400 at ISO 800
model: Keira Grant
i recently revisited a few images from a session i did with a friend Olivia. we spent an few minutes at a workshop i was teaching working with a very simple lighting setup. a single, large softbox over head and close to the wall where Olivia was posing. when i went to finish these images, i started to play with a much lower-contrast look than i’m normally accustomed. and i was really thrilled with how well this look conveyed the emotions of her poses.
Olivia - Workshop Low Contrast #1
Olivia - Workshop Low Contrast #2
Olivia - Workshop Low Contrast #3
a little while ago i ventured back into the darkroom armed with some new ideas for tweaking my palladium printing techniques. i wasn’t happy with the prints that i’d made before. there were issues with clearing the prints and the density of the blacks wasn’t exactly where i wanted it to be. i’d read on an APUG thread that, while the developer lasts almost indefinitely, it does need to be replenished and that a little bit of fresh potassium oxalate should be added before each printing session. there were also recommendations for clearing baths – using disodium EDTA and adding some sodium sulfite to the tetrasodium EDTA. so i ordered some new chemistry from Art Craft Chemicals and had another go at it. right from the first couple of test prints it was obvious that the process was working much better than anything i’d done previously.
the following images are scans of the palladium prints made that weekend. the enlarged negatives were made from scans of the original film frames, printed on Pictorico OHP transparency film with a custom Quadtone RIP profile. the prints are about 9×11 inches, printed on 11×15 sheets of Arches Platine paper. they are available for purchase.
Stephanie Anne - Clay Frame #2
Stephanie Anne - Clay, Frame #3
Stephanie Anee - Clay, Frame #5
Maria - Reflection at Ringing Rocks
the reflection in this shot is not photoshop trickery again. this was a pool of still water that we found out at ringing rocks park. the mirror like surface is just what came through the lens!
shot on Ilford Delta 400, pushed to ISO 800. 1/8th of a second at f/5.6 if i recall. scanned from the negative.
after having some of my work featured on the Lensbaby galleries, it kinda reminded me that there was an experiment i wanted to do. Lensbaby makes a soft focus lens that has an interesting aperture ring. its got a larger hole in the center, then smaller holes around the rest of the ring. i assume that with the soft-focus optic this enhances the soft focus effect. but i’ve been wondering what would happen if you put this aperture in one of their other optics, say the double-glass optic.
low and behold, magical things started to happen. notice the out of focus highlights and the really cool rippling effects going on? that’s all optical kids. no photoshop skillz required.
models: Katlyn and Sweet Romance
enjoy.
my days with you
flow lazy hot and languid
Your sunshine eyes always end in lies.
Model: Katlyn
Katlyn - Untitled in Afternoon Sunlight
Untitled with Afternoon Sunlight
this chaos is killing me
just a few frames from what turned out to be the last roll we shot that day. shot on Ilford Delta Pro 400, pushed to ISO 800.
Ruhs Brutalis - Ringing Rocks, Roll 4 Frame 3
Rhus Brutalis - Ringing Rocks, Roll 4, Frame 9
and with 2 of them dry, i was able to scan a few frames last night. this was shot out at beltzville again with Keira Grant. i think we were at 1/30th or 1/15th of a second with a mild breeze. so, there’s some motion in the young ferns.
Keira Grant with Ferns, Beltzville