Collage / multiple imaging with contact printing

[jernejk]

Would it be possible to do something similar to Jerry Uelsmann work by contact printing alone?

Any ideas, pointers...?

 

[cliveh]

Would it be possible to do something similar to Jerry Uelsmann work by contact printing alone?

Any ideas, pointers...?

Yes, but I would think very difficult and you would probably have to work with at least 5" X 4". Making enlargements allows more intervention between light and paper.

 

[Bob Carnie]

No - floating boat with drop shadow on ground can only be done using enlarger and contact.

Keep in mind Jerry Uelsmann had a 12 enlarger setup with different enlargers and workstations for different blends and composition.

 

[removed account4]

one way you can do it with contact printing
is using liquid emulsion on glass.
you can coat one side, and contact multiple image on there
then flip it over, and contact another set of imageson there,
and then contact print the glass image onto another piece of paper ..
its and extra step and it was worth it when i did this sort of thing ..

not quite mr uelsmann-esque but still fun

 

[jernejk]

Wow, that liquid emulsion thing does sound interesting. I'm working with 5x7 so size is not a problem btw.

I've never worked with liquid emulsion, how does one contact print to it? On the "wet" side or? Doesn't it stick to the negative?

 

[paul_c5x4]

I've never worked with liquid emulsion, how does one contact print to it? On the "wet" side or? Doesn't it stick to the negative?

You coat the surface that you want to make a print on (be it paper, glass, or rock), let it dry, then make the print. As long as the emulsion is dry, it will not stick to a negative when making a contact print.

 

[removed account4]

hi,

sorry to miss your question,
paul_c5x4 pretty much said it ...
you need to coat each side of the glass separately.
when i was doing collage work like this, i coated one side with minwax polyurethane
and let it dry. i coated it with a thin coat of liquid light with a sponge brush
( you can use anything to coat with, pour it &c. i had an old conair hair drier that i put on "low heat"
it still got hot just it didn't glow red and maybe fog the emulsion.
when it was dry ( not tacky but hard and smooth to the touch ) i made my exposures. don't forget a negative will make
a positive on the glass and a contact print of the glass will be a negative again. you can also make paper positives ( regular prints )
and contact print THEM as a negative on the glass, so the final will be a positive ..( seeing you have the liquid emulsion if you want, you can
coat thin paper so it is easier to contact print ) ... once you get one side full of images you wash off the 2nd side of the glass
and repeat the process ... the glass will have images on both sides which you can then transfer onto photo paper ...
with the liquid emulsion on the glass you can coat and reexpose as many times as you want ... if you are using 7x5 sheets of film
you can expose things in darkness ( maybe reflective meter read? ) so you can doubl expose on the film or sandwich negatives &c ...
darkness = clear so it makes things easy that way ..

good luck !
john