Eighteen Percent Grey

By any other name

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:10 -0400

This one's for Randi. I went to see James "the amazing" Randi give a talk today here in Toronto. Joined the local CFI while I was at it. You can see one of his earlier (highly entertaining) talks here from the 2007 TED Series.

Blades of Glory

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:56 -0400

I can only assume this is used for the funerals of vanquished knights at the local Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament.

Staring Contests

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:57 -0400

Goat, Holga. Cat, Yashicamat.

Animals always seem to like staring at my clunky cameras.

Unrelated: Picked up tickets to see James Randi give a lecture here in Toronto on the 27th. Excited!

I want this lens

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:59 -0400

I got to take Sean's phenomenal 58mm lens out for a spin on my Chamonix the other week. I just popped this one off relatively quick (for 4x5 at least) as we were getting ready to call it a night, but I'm just floored by the rediculous angle of view. I'm amazed I could pop this on without switching to a bag bellows -- no real movements possible, but who needs movements when the lens just captures it all?

8JDC3PBNZVJY

Goodbye Summer

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:57 -0400

So labour day has come and gone, and just like that I'm suddenly having to wear a hoodie whenever I go outside. I really was built for warmer climes. Any companies out there in California want to H1B me down to the sunshine state, say... before November?

;-)

No, seriously.

90mm Super Angulon at F8, Chamonix 4x5

Pine Cone, Platinum Print

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:48 -0400

8x8 Platinum print on Bergger COT320 paper. Sean Galbraith came over earlier this week and brought along his Jobo, got to demo some E6 processing and I showed him pt/pd printing. You can find the image I printed here on his flickr stream.

Sherbourne Common Splash Pad Building, Platino-Palladiotype

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:35 -0400

The building and splash pad / skating rink area at Sherbourne Common, shot on Ilford HP5 4x5 and printed at 8x10 on an 11x15 sheet of Revere Platinum cotton rag paper. This is my first platinum/palladium print on the relatively new Revere Platinum alternative process paper from the Cartiere Magnani paper mill in Italy. This paper has sparked a bit of controversy due to some rather varying results from those who have tried it so far. I printed some ChartThrob wedges on this paper a few weeks ago when calibrating my process and got some really weird mottling, so I expected this print to be a failure but wanted to give it a second chance. This time around I skipped using any Tween in my sensitizer and the results were great. Nice smooth tones, no blotchiness that I can see like with the chartthrob wedges. Looks like its best to avoid the use of tween with this paper.

Some front rise, rear tilt and swing were employed for this shot. This is my favourite photograph from the negatives I have managed to scan so far from my outing last weekend with with Sean, Natalie, Nancy and Eldon (sorry, no URL). We started off at Sherbourne Common and made our way over to Sugar Beach, where I got to try out Sean's mind-blowing 65mm f4.5 lens. The shot I got off wasn't the greatest, but I'll have to post it just to show the massive field of view on the thing. I love my 90mm Super Angulon, but this puppy was crazy. I can't recall if it was a Rodenstock or the Super Angulon version, but I'm surprised I was able to even mount it with my bellows. Nothing in the way of movements available, but thats definitely props to Chamonix that the 45n1 could handle it without having to switch to a bag bellows.

Who tows the tow truck, Platino-Palladiotype

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:06 -0400

This was my first properly calibrated pt/pd print after using the techniques I learned in Ron Reeder's new book on creating digital negatives with quadtone RIP.

I'll post a follow-up on achromatic observations in the next day or so, illustrating the difference that standardization and calibration makes when creating alternative process prints like this.

Potassium Oxalate developer, 900 seconds UV exposure.

Cherry Street Marina, Kallitype

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:30 -0400

Happy world photography day! What better way to celebrate world photography day than by going back to the very roots of photography. This 8.5"x3.5" kallitype is printed on Arches hot press paper and was shot on Ilford FP4+ 4x5 film on my Chamonix 45n-1 and 90mm Super Angulon. The kallitype is a UV-sensitive, "develop out" silver nitrate siderotype (iron based) process that dates back all the way to 1889.

This is the shot that I recently lamented about on twitter. I ended up having to take my Chamonix apart to dry out after I got caught in the rain and water got between the ground glass and fresnel screen. This was the only shot I managed to take before having to run back to the car.

Brickworks at Night, Platinum Print

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:58 -0400

This was a two minute exposure at F16 on my YashicaMat. Platinum/Palladium print on Arches Platine.

Having a hard time getting nice scans of my pt/pd prints, it seems rather difficult to get a nice representation of both the tonality and the detail on the screen vs a straight negative scan.

Taraxacum Seedhead, Cyanotype

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:00 -0400

My first cyanotype using Dr. Mike Ware's New Cyanotype process. Printed on Arches Hot Press, six minutes UV exposure. "Developed" in dilute vinegar for 1 minute before rinsing in order to boost dmax. Love the rich blue tones, I think it really suits this type of flora study.

Three Shells, Platino-Palladiotype

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:37 -0400

Testing out my recently acquired 90mm Super Angulon's macro capability. Massive bellows extension, this was a 17 minute exposure at f32 in a bright room using available light -- those are tiny snail shells. This is a square crop of the original 4x5 shot, printed on Arches Platine with Potassium Oxalate developer. I'm really loving the warmer golden look of the oxalate vs the ammonium citrate cool tone developer.

I haven't posted much in the last little while, been calibrating my platinum printing process with digital negatives and quadtone RIP using Ron Reeder's new book. Highly recommended! I picked up a UV exposure unit with a vacuum frame for a song a few weeks ago and I figured it was time to standardize so I can get consistently repeatable results and a pleasing full range of tones in my prints. So far I'm pretty please with the results.

Broken Heart, St. James Town - Platinum Print

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:00 -0400

This is a platino-palladiotype I made for our friend Kathtyn last night of this photograph. You can see compared to the negative scan that there's a lot more detail in the shadows, but the highlights are a little blown out. I figure another ten or fifteen minutes of exposure and I'll capture all of the detail in the highlights too. So while I'm still getting my exposure down for platinum printing, but I was pretty pleased with the results from this print nonetheless.

I’m starting to really see why people rave so much about the veritable platinotype. I’ve been getting some really beautiful results from both the argyrotype and kallitype processes, but even these humble experiments in getting the platinum exposure times down are coming out just jaw-dropping in rich detail and tonal range. Seeing really is believing for me in this case. Looking at them on a computer screen just doesn’t compare.

Tunnel Vision, Bay and Bloor

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:30 -0400

Feed Mill, Morganston Ontario

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:29 -0400

Under Construction, Bay and Davenport

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 09:56 -0400

Bike, Campbellford ON

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:26 -0400

Not much in the way of updates this week, been very busy moving my company to a new office space. Thank god that's over with.

On the up side, my work is sponsoring me to decorate the office with some of my prints. Time to get making some argyrotypes. Although I've got some kallitype and platinum chemicals coming in the mail for next week, so I may hold off until I can start playing with some new processes! Really excited to hone my skills on the kallitype in order to start making some nice platinum/palladium prints.

Cross in Wilds, Argyrotype

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:13 -0400

Printed this the other day when the humidity got up around 55%, caused some really cool neutral tones on all of my prints for the day. 7x7 argyrotype, untoned.

Car and Maple Seeds, Cabbagetown

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:25 -0400

We used to call maple seeds helicopters when I was a kid, on account of the way they would spin and flutter on the way down when they fell.

Chair, Campbellford Ontario. Rough Print Comparison.

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00 -0400

This is a comparison between the straight black and white image and my first test print of the same image as an argyrotype on cotton rag paper. I have a full write-up entitled Digital Negatives and Alternative Process Printing on a Budget, that discusses the process over at my tumblr weblog.

Speaking of which, if you noticed the new links up top you will already know I set up a tumblr site a couple of weeks back as an outlet to express my thoughts on (and examples of) silver and alternative process photography and printing. Head on over and check it out, at achromatic observations. If you would like me to submit your own silver-based or alternative process images for highlighting there, feel free to submit them using the submission form at my tumblr. Happy tumbling!

In Parallel, Bay and Elm Streets

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:00 -0400

I signed up for tumblr a couple weeks ago, and I'm really enjoying it. You can find my tumblr over at achromatic observations, feel free to add me to your follow lists. Cheers.

Tonka, Stingray, Wagonwheels

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:43 -0400

Going Down?

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:37 -0400

It's my birthday today, I'm 35. Supposedly its all downhill from here, hence the selection of today's photograph. However, if you look carefully you'll see this is actually just an upward-facing shot that's been vertically flipped. So I guess it's all just a matter of perspective whether things are looking down, or perhaps instead looking up.

Faces on Walls Diptych, Yonge Street

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:00 -0400

Woman on Bench, Wellesley Park

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:01 -0400

I don't make a lot of people photographs, so this rare occurrence is for this week's photo friday theme.

Open Windows, Yonge and Wellesley

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00 -0400

60 Richmond Street East

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00 -0400

Under the bridge, Argyrotype

Sat, 28 May 2011 19:55 -0400

Tried making argyrotypes last night for the first time and I'm already hooked on the process. This 4x5 argyrotype contact print is the second print I made during my session and the best of the three I tried. Printed using an old 1950s "photocrat" contact printer outfitted with a CF UV "black light" bulb. Exposed for 5 minutes on Moab Entrada rag paper that I tore down to size (its what I had on hand). Toned in selenium at 1:200 for a couple of minutes before fixing, but I'm not really sure if it had any real effect that I can tell due to my inexperience.

This makes me want an 8x10 camera now so I can contact print larger images. I'm sure Joanne would just love me carrying around an even bigger camera. I may look in to the "digital negative" process though, but right now my inkjet printer is on the fritz so who knows when I'll be able to get a new one.

The colony ship prepares for landing

Fri, 27 May 2011 13:30 -0400

This building reminds me of a Borg Cube from Star Trek, the Next Generation. Even moreso from this perspective.

I got my polaroid 405 back yesterday. Tested it out with some Fuji FP-100C. Great results, excited to get some B&W instant film to play around with on my field camera.

Proptotic Domestic Tree Frog (mup. kermitanensis), Amelia Street

Thu, 26 May 2011 00:19 -0400

Highrise and Walkway, Bay Street

Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00 -0400

Piggy's, Riverdale

Tue, 24 May 2011 09:30 -0400

Elm Street Diptych

Mon, 23 May 2011 02:04 -0400

Happy Victoria Day. Shot and souped these on Saturday, was such a gorgeous day I ended up shooting a lot more than I thought I would.

Mosaic, Cabbagetown

Sun, 22 May 2011 13:07 -0400

Balconies from Below, Bleeker Street

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00 -0400

Happy Victoria Day weekend to my fellow Canadians.

Broken Heart, St. James Town

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:01 -0400

Window, Rusted

Mon, 16 May 2011 18:44 -0400

Convergence

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:01 -0400

One of the buildings along Bleeker Street. Off to send one of my final frozen rolls of Kodak Panatomic-X to the folks at the Film Photography Podcast today. Hopefully it'll make a nice giveaway for someone, it really is my all-time favourite film.

Unrelated side note in the event anyone actually reads this -- if you've got a Polaroid 405 back you're looking to sell, give me a shout using the contact form on the about page. Cheers.

Toronto Racquet Club

Thu, 12 May 2011 00:01 -0400

On Bleeker Street. Love the shadows the trees throw in the afternoons. Submission for Photo Friday "shade" theme.

House Dispenser

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:01 -0400

One of the few shots from my backlog and my first submission to photo friday in years.