Platinum and what is "not enough contrast"

[MDR]

In a world full of contrasty pictures a lack of contrast or pure whites and absolute blacks is sometimes like a vacation. Many of the really greats made Platinum Prints that are far from contrasty and absolutely beautiful. The beauty of many alt. processes is their subtlety as opposed to the high contrast look that seems to be the fashion. Also if you are happy with your work and how it looks it is the only thing that matters unless you make the prints for a third party that is. You have to be happy with it. The rps has some very good photographers in it's row but they are rarely judges.

 

[Ian Leake]

Platinum, and to a lesser extent palladium, tends to lack the deep blacks that are fairly easy to produce with silver gelatin, and trivial to produce with inkjet media.

Personally I think that this is only problematic in three circumstances:

1. The print is displayed next to another one which has very much deeper blacks. This tends to leave the platinum/palladium print looking washed out.
2. You have a client who demands deep blacks.
3. Your subject and composition demands deep blacks.

The first is usually easy to avoid, and the second is only relevant if you’re making prints for other people. That leaves the third, which is wholly subjective.

In my opinion, the starting point for any artistic media should be its natural characteristics. In other words, don’t use watercolours if you want the look of oils. (Although having said that, the whole multi-coating and gum-over topic is fascinating, and I applaud people like Bob and David who are/were working on this. Pushing the boundaries is always interesting.)

Platinum, platinum/palladium and palladium prints can be exquisite, even with a relatively low Dmax. There are some things you can do to boost your blacks but they’re hard work and it’s easy to get carried away chasing something that can be very elusive.

Learn to love your medium; everything else will follow.

 

[calebarchie]

Are you talking about David Chow btw, I was working on something with him and sadly he left us.

Yes, I am speaking of David. I followed his blog actively, the only blog I have ever followed such a shame.

 

[Bob Carnie]

David had a deep , deep fascination with Pt Pd and of course Mr Penn's multiple hits.. As do I.
He informed me about the new PT Pd printmaking device before it was even launched.
I was preparing some true silver step wedges for his work - as most users are using inkjet if not in camera film.

We gravitated in our conversations about all levels of fine art printing , just as I have with Ian Leake, Sandy King and Ron Reeder. - this is not mentioning everyone
but for me multiple hit work David and I talked regularly as it was very dear to him and I.

I agree with MDR and Ian about the beauty of Pt Pd and I too have the same feelings about putting a silver print and a PT PD beside each other. The true
connoisseur will appreciate both presentations for what they are and live with it... The less informed person will start picking faults with one or another rendition.

My tri colours over pt pd or multiple colours are not everyone's cup of tea. I hope to take a booth at one of the art fairs(paris foto fever) to show my printing.
some people love them and others just say that their inkjets are much more realistic. I smile and do not argue as in fact they may be right.

But when you see one of these , properly matted and framed they become IMHO breathtakingly beautiful.

 

[Ian Leake]

I hope to take a booth at one of the art fairs(paris foto fever) to show my printing.

If you're able to do this then please let me know. The TGV is direct from Basel to Paris and I'll come by. i'd love to see these in the real world.

 

[ced]

Not sure if the "paris" mentioned is the Paris we generally think of...
So the TGV might need an airport.

 

[pdeeh]

Not sure if the "paris" mentioned is the Paris we generally think of...
le:

No, it is

 

[ced]

Eh-hm...

 

[Skiwi]

Thanks again for the comments. Re-reading my original post I'm not actually sure exactly what I was asking, but there are a lot of very helpful thoughts here and I think most of the answers I was seeking. I went into printing in Platinum in large part because I was drawn to the softer and less contrasty images I could get than with digital/inkjet prints. I think partly I needed a bit of reassurance that it was quite possible I was right to like my pictures, lower contrast and all, though also possible I could develop further. The gum over platinum sounds very interesting. The printer who's been advising me for a while from afar did suggest I should trust my own judgement, so maybe I should do a bit more )

 

[calebarchie]

Glad to assist in some way, I think at least some pictures of your prints is in order

 

[doughowk]

I'm still very much a novice, but I've noticed a couple of things with pt/pd printing. I prefer good detail so print on a hard paper with a gelatin sizing [Bergger COT320]. But the image can appear somewhat flat since the coating rests on top. So, while coating, I heat the paper to about 120f [glass plate sitting on a heating pad]; and the coating thereby gets absorbed into the gelatin layer. Seems especially effective during our cooler months. Just a thought.

 

[Skiwi]

I shall post a print or two shortly ... )

 

[Skiwi]

So I'm not sure these scans really show what the actual prints look like, but I've tried to make them as close to the physical prints as possible tonally!

 

[mooseontheloose]

I'm not an expert in platinum/palladium in any way, but I really like your prints, especially the last one - I think it has beautiful tonality.

 

[Skiwi]

I'm not an expert in platinum/palladium in any way, but I really like your prints, especially the last one - I think it has beautiful tonality.

Thank you

 

[calebarchie]

Usually a photograph of the print gives a better indication rather than a scan. But otherwise they look great, I wouldn't worry about these whatever-they-are-called people. Just do what you like and do best.

 

[Doc W]

The door is a wonderful photo, full of mystery. The more I look at it, the more I like it. I love photographs that imply a hidden narrative and this one does in my opinion. It raises questions (and I don't mean technical questions). The next two do not grab me in the same way and I think the hardware store photo does lack contrast. The train tunnel again has that air of mystery and both this and the door print are rich in contrast while remaining subtle, at least to my eyes.

 

[Skiwi]

Thanks again for the feedback. I think this whole process has made me take a step back and think about what I actually want to be shooting and what I want my pictures to look like. I think the door pane is one of my favourite images at the moment and I think it is exactly the mystery of it that made me take it in the first place. The hardware store picture actually doesn't really work. I know from being there that it isn't a hardware store any more, and the store behind the front is an empty space with vertical blinds in the windows (the whole town is a almost ghost town now), but I didn't tell the story of that very well (at all) in the picture. (the train tunnel is a classic tunnel to nowhere that was built but never used; it sits above the town where the hardware store is.) I think I've always had a tension in my mind between wanting to be original and my own judge, but not being so arrogant that I'm not willing to listen to what others think of my pictures ...