Darkroom Manipulation

Summer Van
This is an example of some of the work I do in the darkroom when I experiment with color negatives. This image was taken with expired Fujichrome Provia 220, ISO1oo, then I had it cross processed into a negative.

After doing test strips on color and exposure this is as close to the real colors I can get with the quality of the negative.

After going through the test strips and testing with some of the results that I really like I came up with the final version that's more yellow and magenta. I chose to go this way because it reminded me of old photos and movies from the 70's. I guess it was the quality of the chemicals during that decade but a lot of work done on film came out looking slightly yellow, and it developed into a recognizable style. I was trying to recreate that vibe with this image.

Experimenting

These pieces were when I was experimenting with Cyanotype, Van Dyke Brown and Gum Bichromate processes on 140lb watercolor paper. It's important to start with good negatives and the ones I made from the 35mm originals were not of the best quality. When the final product didn't come out so great I redrew back into some of the pictures with watercolor and pencil crayon.

When the process is done properly the results are amazing and can produce great texture, as well as experimenting with black & white and color. Black and white prints can be given a unique texture and depth of field from the process as well.

The lost art of coloring photos

It occurred to me that over 10 years ago I did all of my work by hand, and the invention of wondrous programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and all other related programs now has me working on the computer at least 90% for any project. Working on a computer is great; its fast, doesn't waste materials and all mistakes can be quickly corrected. Still there's something to be said about working by hand on something, the happy mistakes that happen and a larger area for experimentation that can produce unexpected results. One such experimental project was hand coloring a photo with various materials and seeing the different outcomes, many of which can't be replicated in a digital format.


Top row: acrylic ink & black pen, gel pens, watercolor pencil crayons
Middle row: traditional watercolor, various black & brown pens, acetone markers
Bottom row: Pebeo Vitrail paints and outliners, oil paint sticks, photo dyes