Manly retouching without photoshop

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Take a look at this video. Borut Peterlin retouches a collodion glass neg and make an albumen print.




https://youtu.be/XaBWMAPjrgQ

 

[trythis]

Thanks for the link, i was surprised by how acceptable it was to see the retouching where p-shoppers usually try to make it look like it wasn't.


Typos made on a tiny phone...

 

[blansky]

A classic case of love of process over any standard of acceptable results.

 

[Hatchetman]

I found that fascinating. The first print came out great I think. Not so sure about the second one. but he was happy, which makes me happy.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Just think. Borut Peterlin's processes is not dependant on copyrighted or patented technology. He doesn't have to upgrade computers nor software. It requires skill to shoot collodion glass negs, retouch and print on the albumen process. The skills he learns doesn't go obsolete either. Mr. Peterlin's process finds beauty in imperfections though he's retouching some areas to bring out the darker areas. For disclosure, I don't work strictly in analog, but I do use digital cameras, computers and ink jet printers.

 

[blansky]

Just think. Borut Peterlin's processes is not dependant on copyrighted or patented technology. He doesn't have to upgrade computers nor software. It requires skill to shoot collodion glass negs, retouch and print on the albumen process. The skills he learns doesn't go obsolete either. Mr. Peterlin's process finds beauty in imperfections though he's retouching some areas to bring out the darker areas. For disclosure, I don't work strictly in analog, but I do use digital cameras, computers and ink jet printers.

I've retouched a few hundred negatives and prints long before digital technology.

But firstly he needs a decent neg which he doesn't have, ( I get the parent thing, but this is not great) and secondly his retouched negs are not great to say the least which makes his final product an interesting exercise but a pretty bad result.

As I said, love of process over quality of subject and outcome.

Just because a process is antique does not make any result from it some sort of art revelation. The same standards apply to every process. The outcome is either good or it isn't.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

In the video, he said he went to a 3 day workshop on retouching negs. He offers a beginner's perspective and his excitement appeals to me. He's an artist working with a medium that may or may not look pretty. I don't work in collodion so I really can't comment on the quality of his collodion negs. Watching him retouch his negs reminds me of the stories I hear about George Hurrell's portraits and how he had an army of retouchers working on his 8x10 negs.

 

[Ian Grant]

I'm inclined to agree with you Blanksy, I've done a lot of conventional retouching and the approach in that video would be unacceptable in the real world even in the wet plate days.

Ian

 

[removed account4]

fun to see how retouching with leads on a film negative could be translated to be done
on a collodion negative. the images he used were fun. i am sure the more he does it the better he will get.

i never realized you could leave tracing paper on the negative and print through it without problems ..
and bone dust, i don't think my apothacarist will be able to get me some of that stuff ...

that stuff said, i agree with blansky ..

 

[Ian Grant]

Having been out and about (beer) I realised that maybe it wasn't the best choice for Borut to use as an example. Retouching is not as difficult as it might first appear and the chosen negative was just for the Video.

It was contact print so tracing paper would have little effect.

I have one print that needs a lot of retouching, shot underground in an abandoned Manganese mine, it was a multiple flash set up and painted with light but some let of the flashes at the wrong time (probably to make their own images) and my arm/flash-gun appears a few times on the negative as I lit a side tunnel.

The bottom line is over 25 years later no-one has realises how much retouching was involved.

Ian

 

[Bill Burk]

I enjoyed the video, it was peaceful and calming to watch him work and to hear the story about his daughter making a treehouse.

Perhaps it makes sense to me because I know a young woman who is rehabilitating an old treehouse (see my gallery photograph Dangerous Treehouse).

Or maybe it's because I love a good story.

But to me... This is the kind of art I find beautiful.

 

[David Brown]

A classic case of love of process over any standard of acceptable results.

There's a lot of that going around ...