Showcase for Your HCWP's

[Sirius Glass]

New Zealand has more spectacular landscapes that all most any where on the planet Earth.

 

[AndrewBurns]

Another batch (I always print in sets of 4, but one image didn't work out).

 

[koraks]

These are great; you've really got this workflow down!

 

[AndrewBurns]

I had a go at coating one of my prints with Dorland's wax medium, as a way of protecting the surface for framing without glass. I quite like the results, gives a slight sheen to the print which makes it feel higher quality in person.

Here's two of the same print (on two different papers, which is why there's a significant colour difference between them). Coated on the right, plain on the left.





Here's the coated print framed without glass, my phone camera butchered the colours but you get the idea. I really like how it turned out, museum glass might give a similar result but compared to normal glass the lack of reflections and better contrast is really noticeable.

 

[KYsailor]

Andrew, really nice - even with Fluid HP paper and tannic acid I can't get mine to compare ( they get that bit of purplish/pink in the highlights - the shadows do get nice and black) I will just have to go get some coffee and try it as well. Been doing some gum bichromate, always a challenge for me - here are two from the same shot that came out pretty different - too much scarlet pyrrol in that orangish one and my base cyano was a bit intense on the other - but kind of interesting......I guess that's the fun of gum printing. - Dave

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[AndrewBurns]

I quite like both of those actually, just different interpretations. Probably the first one would work better in most scenarios. Very cool how the split-tone effect can trick your brain a little into thinking it's full colour.

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Dave and Andrew, nice prints!

 

[Patrick Robert James]

I'm happy to say that after my printer being down for almost a year, I finally got around to fixing the problems. Took a bit of surgery but it is back kicking. I am looking forward to making some prints again! Now I just have to find something worth printing. That is always the hard part...

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Got around to printing a bit this weekend. Had to try to remember what the heck I was doing. Didn't start off well, but picked up as I went. These are the only two that are decent of the bunch. I'll have to recalibrate my negs. They are a bit off I think. Oh well. Feels good to make some cyanotypes again. I really want to get back to Salt and Cuprotypes.

These are both on Hosho. Only paper I could get working for some reason. Even my old trusty Canson XL Bristol was kind of meh, and Bergger COT for some reason looked horrible. Strange how ephemeral alt printing materials can be. Just straight prints trying to get myself back in the saddle. The first image is the buttress of a church on the Turquoise Trail in New Mexico from 30 years ago. The second is just a window display on one of my evening walks. Both are from 35mm negs.

 

[AndrewBurns]

Looking good! Yeah it's amazing how much difference the paper can make, on the one hand it's great that there are so many options out there to try but on the other hand it can be frustrating when the paper you're comfortable with goes out of stock!

There's something very satisfying about holding one of these alt-process prints, they're way nicer to hold/feel vs. an inkjet print. I think that basically comes down to the paper, even matte rag inkjet paper still has the slightly sticky coating on top which makes it unpleasant to hold.

 

[KYsailor]

Yes I agree, my results are so variable based on paper ... here is one I made over the weekend on some 30# Kozo ( mulberry paper). I bought it on a whim in an art store, pretty difficult to coat but the results are really interesting. Need to fix my curve the highlights are a bit blown but not terrible. City gate, Gerace Italy (Calabria )

Nice prints Patrick. I really like the first one....

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Thanks Dave.

30# is pretty heavy Kozo! I've had some heavyweight Kozo in the past. These days I use Thai Kozo from Blick which is fairly thin but is pretty inexpensive and works great. It holds up well in the wash though it can kink sometimes. The Hosho can tear easily so I usually give the image a larger border. Sometimes I pick it up and the corner just falls off. I make small prints too so I'd imagine larger prints would be a big problem for Hosho. This time around I intend to make some larger prints. I have made some 12" prints in the past but just for shits and giggles. I think larger prints on Kozo would be nice. Wish I had a bigger printer and contact frame. 14x17 is my max for my contact frame but my printer only goes to 13, so realistically, 12x16.

When I coat Kozo I use a hard surface like a sheet of plexi and let the chems permeate the paper. It is easier that way. I've been thinking about using a roller as well but I haven't tried it yet. I use a roller when I make gum prints. The roller would probably waste a lot of chemistry for cyanotype though.

Andrew, yeah, paper! I've tried over 100 different ones at this point. Kind of stupid really but variety is the spice of life and all. I really need to get my pile down to a couple that I like and that work. Thinking about buying a bunch of paper before the prices skyrocket too. We all know that is coming.