Tutor: Brittonie Fletcher
This course provides an introduction to alternative photographic processes, and will enable you to grasp the basics of hand-mixed and hand-coated emulsions and chemistry techniques, with an emphasis on developing your skills of perception application and craft.
During the course you will have the opportunity to create a series of prints from a number of materials, personal or found images and objects; contribute to a class project; and have the opportunity to develop your own personal project. While the course objective looks to the past, there’s also much to be learned from the present state of photography and we will discuss a wide selection of photographs from photography’s inception over 160 years ago through to its current state.
This class is taught to all levels and experiences however, students are expected to bring their own negatives or objects for printing as the focus is on the processes, connections, and histories. It is recommended you bring or wear suitable clothes for darkroom use and/or an apron, smock, or lab coat.
Companion classes of interest in the lead in, during or after are: Out from the Darkcloth: Intro to Large Format Photography
Course Outline
Overview of processes covered
• Health and Safety
• Lab set up
• Chemical prep and mixing
• Discussion of Assignments/expectations
• Personal projects
• Suitable materials to print from
Make blue-prints from various materials and existing images. We will use a few different techniques and tools for applying chemistry. Excellent skill-building starter process.
• Different paper coating techniques
• Print from materials as photogram
• Print from Paper Negative
• Discuss how handmade and haptic photography adds an extra dimension to our work
This session we will make prints from negatives created for the process. We will have the opportunity to see the difference in tailoring the negative to the process and examine the different aesthetics provided. We will also use a number of different toners to change the colour of the cyanotype.
• Print from digital negative / Xerox Transparency
• Toning prints – when we don’t want just blue.
• Discuss how materials, textures, tones and contrasts change the reading of an image
• Combine Cyanotype with VDB
• Discuss the similarities and how one salt changes a process.
This session provides another two related processes where we will be able to examine the benefits of using or not using surface sizing and discuss other options.
• Size paper in albumen
• Coating Salt and Albumen papers
• Print from contact(s) of choice
• Print from contact(s) of choice and begin to see differences in negatives to print relationship
• Discuss other sizing options and look at other closely linked processes with a chance to compare these prints to other historic processes including soil chromatography, photogenic drawings, calotypes, and direct positives. We won’t be making some of those later but there will be some in class for you to handle and compare to what you’ve learned to make and how they are connected.
• Final printing session
• Presentation
• Discussion/critique
Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation.
Please read our cancellation policy before booking.
Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.
