The time honored craft of photographic print making has largely been replaced with the convenience of modern digital imaging. Digital imaging is ever present in today's society and while it's speed and convenience is great for modern applications and I do use it for some commercial work, I have much preferred to stick with the traditional hand crafted methods used for generations when making fine art prints. Just as the craftsmanship is valued in a piece of hand made furniture, pottery, blown glass, or painting, I feel it is also valued in the creation of traditional photographic prints.
In today’s modern world of high-tech equipment, I use what some people would regard as very basic photographic tools. All my photographs are taken with mechanical and manually operated film cameras and then hand-printed using traditional methods of Darkroom wet printing.
In the Darkroom, every print is individually made, which makes it a unique original. Each print is a one-off as the nature of the process ensures that every photograph made from the same negative possesses subtle differences. There are too many variables in traditional darkroom printing to allow exact reproductions.
All my photographs are processed to archival standards using Fibre Based Silver Gelatin Photographic paper, which is in keeping with the recognised standard in the Fine Art photographic market. Fibre Based paper has been in existence for well over 100 years and properly processed prints made from these times are still in good condition today. Therefore, Fibre Based Silver Gelatin paper has been proven to be the most stable photographic paper available and this fact has been proven through generations of its use. For added protection I tone all my prints in selenium, gold or sulfide toners. Purchasing one of my prints ensures that not only you, but your children, and their children can enjoy viewing it for years to come.
At no time is any part of the process done by a third party. I undertake all stages right up to mounting the photograph.
LITH PRINTS:
In addition to making traditional black and white prints, I also have a love for Lith Printing.
Lith printing is a very creative darkroom process using special photographic papers and developers to create unique prints ranging from beautiful warm colours to cold graphic images. The process is so unique that no two prints will ever look the same.
The archival aspects explained above also apply to my Lith prints.