I miss old school printmaking. But more than that, I'm becoming increasingly fascinated by the Really Old School processes that are today euphemistically called "Alternative Processes". These include: Cyanotype Kallitype (including Van Dyke brown) Platinum prints etc.
What is interesting to me is that virtually all of these are contact print processes. Now not a lot of people are shooting large format film today. So what's up with the revival in interest in "Alternative Processes"? Well, digital has done wonders for "old school" contact printing. You can now print out large format "digital negatives" on transparency film using ink jet printers. The larger format the printer, the larger the transparency (negative) that you can produce. You probably already have a great library of images that you could work from. Images that could take on a whole new life as a Platinum print, or a Cyanotype, for example. Some of these processes can even be used on fabric, meaning you could make some gnarly t-shirts to show off your own images. For those interested in learning more, I recommend: http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/processes or the f295 forums: http://www.f295.org/Pinholeforum/forum/Blah.pl (scroll down to the forums for "Hand Crafted, Historic Process, and Non-Conventional Images") Ron Reeder is one of the recognized experts in creating digital negatives. His process (used by many) is outlined in this inexpensive eBook: http://www.lulu.com/shop/ron-reeder/digital-negatives-for-palladium-and-other-alternative-processes/ebook/product-17429855.html -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
