“We got stars directing our fate…Seleniuuummmm!!!”

 

Ok, so it’s not the EXACT lyrics to the song but not many words rhyme with Selenium so waddya gonna do?

Anyway chums, I’ve taken the foil off the photography cake, poked it to see if it’s still fresh (and it is), got the plates ready and am ready to serve up another slice of “Darkroom Vs. Digital”.

If you recall, in Part 1 we delved deep into cyanotypes, cross processing, infrared, tilt & shift and finished off with a smattering of diptych & triptych (it still sounds funny when you say it out loud!). If you’re reading this wondering what I’m talking about, well shame on you for not reading Part 1. Take a good hard look at your life and when you’re done, CLICK HERE and take a good hard look at Part 1. And then come back. And all will be forgiven. And you can have some more cake. Mommy loves you really…

So chums, lets start. Take your plate and I’ll give you a slice of gum bichromate. Mmmm….gum…..

Sounds all ‘chemically’ doesn’t it – ‘gum bichromate’…like you’d only find it on the back of a shampoo bottle or tube of toothpaste, hidden away amongst the other ingredients like fluoride and Phenofloxisetaloxabutanollythingy. Oh look – there is it…(apologies for the rather obvious edit!)

Here comes the science…

Gum Bichromate is a light sensitive chemical that can be printed on a variety of papers and other surfaces. Development of an image can take anything up to 30 minutes depending on the UV light source. After one layer has dried, the paper may be re-coated and exposed again.

The digital version of course, needs no exposure to UV – just a few clicks and tweeks from our old sparing partner Photoshop and ta-dah…a digital gum bichromate in just a few minutes.

Here’s my offering..

Have you finished your slice of gum bichromate? Or are you still chewing? No worries. You can wash it down with a nice glass of liquid emulsion…

Ah, liquid emulsion. What can I say that hasn’t already been said….?

What do mean “everything?”

Oh yes, that’s right. I haven’t said anything yet have I? Silly me…

Well, before you start jumping to conclusions and thinking it’s just a fancy name for a tin of paint for the back bedroom, it’s not. It’s a little bit more sophisticated.

In the photography world it is almost the same kind of emulsion you get on ordinary photography paper, but in a liquid form. So by using this way, it allows it to be painted on various different surfaces. Clever eh?

In the digital world, Mr Photoshop once again comes to your rescue if you don’t have access to the real thing. The same effect can be imposed onto various objects that in the real world, would take one hell of a lot of painting!

Move over Picasso, here’s my Photoshop liquid emulsion –

Now that’s what I call ‘vintage’. Take that Urban Outfitters !!

Oh..I see your plate is empty. Have some more of this luscious photography cake. Tuck in to this delicious piece of Polaroid lift…

What is a Polaroid lift?  Well it’s not the name for the new model of Stannah stair lift that’s for sure…

It’s actually a really cool photographic technique, which involves soaking a Polaroid picture in hot water so that its top layer lifts off the backing paper. The layer can then be stretched and manipulated by hand into different shapes and then transferred onto another surface or other piece of paper.

There is a downside though. If you’ve taken a picture of a loved one or a family member, they are not going to like seeing themselves all distorted and bent out of shape in the new Polaroid lift…

Anyway, the digital Polaroid lift allows you to be a little more delicate with your distortion and a little bit more sensitive to your subject. Here is my digital effort –

 

We’re getting close to finishing this cake chums. There is only one slice left. I’m full so I think you should have it. After all, you’re the guest. Give me your plate and you can finish off with this slice of selenium.

Selenium you ask? Yes, selenium. ‘Selenium’ by L’Oréal.

No I’m joking!

Selenium is a toner used in black & white photography that was created to increase the life of photographic prints and reduce fading. It gives an image a purple, brownish tone. It does this by attaching itself to the silver particles in this image.

And yes, you’ve guessed it, Dame Photoshop of Adobe has bestowed upon us the gift of a digital equivalent and here is my offering –

Phew…that feast was hard going wasn’t it? Thanks for coming over and sharing this photography cake with me. I really couldn’t have eaten it all by myself. And don’t worry about that washing up. I’ll do it later.

Shall I call you a taxi or do you want to open these Street Photography cookies?

No colours any more, I want them to turn black…

…..or cyanotype….or gum bichromate…..or infrared….or even solarised…..

No chums, I haven’t been at the absinthe or smelling the ether…..They are merely descriptions of various photographic techniques you can use either digitally or manually to create fantastical and wondrous images.

I’d better explain myself….

So there I am, sitting in my college class when my tutors introduce a new topic with the heading “Darkroom vs. Digital”. At first thought, I was thinking it was the latest Pay Per View on Sky Sports, but no – it was a different battle. A war between the paint and the pixel; the computer and the chemical; Steve Jobs & Bill Gates vs Edward Steichen & William Henry Fox Talbot…(although that last battle would have needed one hell of a team of doctors, some witchcraft and a tremendous amount of portable heaters).

So this topic was to find out which method was the best, which one could cut it, which would stand the test of time. The process would involve testing technology against alchemy and then standing back to admire the result. In the red corner, good old reliable Photoshop; maker of worlds, rescuer of blemishes, saviour of over exposures. In the blue corner, many concoctions of various (dangerous and sometimes noxious) chemicals, painted on blank paper and left in the sun…

There are quite a few processes to tell you about so I’m splitting these posts into two parts. Rather like an enormous photography cake. You would be quite sick if you eat the whole cake in one sitting and quite frankly, I’m not cleaning up your mess half way through, so here are the first few slices….

Lets start with a slice of cyanotype.

So what is it? Cyanotype is a mixture of ferric ammonium citrate & potassium ferricyanide (wow, look at me being all sciencey!) and mixed together. When painted onto something like water-colour paper and exposed to UV rays, it produces a strong blue image. This image is my Photoshop equivalent.

Next, let me tell you about cross processing. Not to be confused with cross dressing. Or cross contamination. Or even Criss Cross, the short-lived, pint-sized 80’s rap duo…..

Cross processing is the procedure of deliberately processing a certain type of film in a chemical solution intended for another type of film. Yes. You read it right. Deliberately. Now, before you start doing this –

the process is intentional because it produces unpredictable and interesting combinations of colours. Like this –

That’s cross processing. Pretty cool eh? I would imagine those of you familiar with Instagram (or “Instagramers” I believe you like to be called) are high-fiving each other right at this very minute….

Next, I’m going to peel back the curtains and let you into the world of infrared. Turns out, infrared isn’t just for the likes of MI6 and the C.I.A. You can use it to take some quite fantastic photographs! The human eye cannot see infrared so when you use it in photography, you open up a while new world, new colours that you would otherwise miss.

Here’s my offering –

BTW – he’s not laughing at you…rather than “with” you…

If I said to you “tilt and shift”, would you lean to one side and then move out of the way? Probably. But if you know your photographic terminology, you would know that I’m talking about the process that mimics miniaturisation. Some call it the “toy town” effect. But it gives you much more that just some fancy toys in your picture. It gives you some really quite good shallow depth of field effects too.

Now if you know your lenses, you will know that some tilt / shift lenses are V.Expensive but thanks to your old friend Photoshop, the effect can be replicated digitally and at a fraction of the cost. And now even smartphones are getting in on the act. Here’s my digital delectation –

A miniature Birmingham. Like a little toy town. Not sure if Noddy and Big Ears would get the same reception if they moved here though!

My last slice of this rapidly melting cake of part one deals with the somewhat comically named diptych & triptych. Now before you ask, they are not Slovenia’s entry for Eurovision 2015. Or indeed are they a couple of breeding Chinese pandas. I’ll explain..

A ‘diptych’ is a presentation of two images that have something in common or tell a story with their imagery. A ‘triptych’ is a presentation of three images that do the same. Simple. What’s that? You want an example? Oh, go on then….

A ‘diptych..’

And a ‘triptych..’

So there we are. Are you full? I certainly am. I couldn’t manage another bite. I’ll wrap the rest of the cake in foil and we’ll have the rest later. There’s quite a lot left. There’s some gum bichromate, liquid emulsion, Polaroid lifts and a bit fat piece of selenium!

But for now, I’ll settle for a cup of tea. I think it’s your turn to put the kettle on…..