First Salted-Paper Prints

After months of reading and then gathering of materials, I spent yesterday afternoon and evening in my dimroom making my first salted-paper prints. I made four prints total; two each from two different digital negatives.

My very first print (a 15 min exposure)

One from the second negative (18 minute exposure)

I followed, quite closely, the method outlined in the "Creating Your First Salted Paper Print" section of Christina Anderson's book "Salted Paper Printing. A Step-By-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists".

My 4x5 inch digital negatives were made using the curve shown in Anderson's book. However, I used my own digital negative 'recipe' otherwise (i.e. I did not follow the instructions in the book). This is the largest deviation I made from the above cited instructions.

I salted the paper by immersion in 2% (w/v) saIt with passive drying on a screen.

I coated Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag paper with silver nitrate using a cotton square I found in the cosmetic section of the drug store. (Not a place this geezer spends much time!). In a deviation from the above cited instructions, I used a two-stock sensitizer. Part A is 30% (w/v) silver nitrate and part B is 6% (w/v) citric acid. These were mixed in a 1:1 ratio just before coating the paper. The paper was, again, passively dried on a screen.

Exposures were made using my homemade blacklight LED unit. The processing of exposed paper was exactly as described in Anderson's book except that I omitted the gold toning step. The prints were washed in non-running water; five trays and ten minutes per tray. (Only time will tell if that is sufficient!)

I have a series on nine images from this Missouri River bottom homestead in central Montana that I am hoping to eventually print as large-ish (11x14 inch) salted-paper prints.

Hi, Frank:

Wonderful images....not bad for a first timer (actually any timer.) Subject matter is perfect for salt prints too.

So what was the exact cotton thingy that you used?

:Niranjan.

Nicely done!

those are beautiful !

Excellent!

Thank you all for the nice comments.

It is hard to describe the felling of satisfaction I felt on seeing that first print appear.

It was fairly easy to transfer my experiences in making cyanotypes to salted-paper printing. The mechanics are the same so there was not learning curve on that aspect. The clear instructions in Anderson's book made the rest straightforward.

@niranjan... I used cotton squares sold for removing makeup. I got them at my local supermarket (Shaws), I think that I bought these, or something very close: https://www.instacart.com/landing?product_id=167044. I had them around from another project.

I tried them because Anderson mentions using cotton balls to coat as one option and I did not have a brush that had not been used for cyanotype handy. I also thought that they might not shed as many fibers as a plain cotton ball. I don't know if that is true but I had no trouble with shedding.

I folded the square in half or quarters to start but it ended up as just a lump. (I wore gloves while coating.)

They soak up a lot of sanitizer, but I was able to squeeze out the pad onto the last sheet of paper I coated and not lose too much solution overall. I've not tried these yet with cyanotype but I just might do so in the future.