Salgado Serra Pelada Gold Mine

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Was reading a very interesting account by a former director of Magnum Photo's London office of Salgado's photographs of Serra Pelada gold mine and found this rather enigmatic statement on Salgado's technique: "I’m not qualified to talk about advances in optics, or development of film chemistry, or Salgado’s nine-bath film processing methodology." Any idea what this 'nine-bath film processing methodology' is?

Sebastião Salgado: Gold - 1854 Photography

As Taschen republishes Sebastião Salgado’s classic reportage from the Serra Pelada gold mine, a former Magnum director recalls the day it first landed on his desk

www.1854.photography

 

[Ian Grant]

Nine baths/steps could be

1 Pre-wash, 2 Develop, 3 Stop Bath, 4 First Fixer, 5 Second Fixer, 6 Rinse, 7 HCA, 8 Wash, 9 Wetting Agent

Or it could be simpler just Dev, Stop, Fix, then 5 changes if water, and the 9th water & wetting agent.

Ian

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Thanks Ian, both are plausible and I can add a couple of more possibilities, but I wanted to know if anything is known about the mentioned methodology from authentic sources (e.g. interviews/articles/books which I might not have checked or have access to).

 

[blee1996]

I read that Salgado's main secrets are in the printing of his negatives.