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?
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