Playing with alternative photographic processes: The process of experimentation from photograph to photogravure

The brilliant blue of glacial ice is so vibrant I struggle to describe it. Think bubble gum, blue heaven flavouring, blue jelly cups, and blue Curaçao liqueur. When you're standing within an ice cave, with the sunlight streaming through from above, it appears to glow. It is a contradictory sight, both from nature and seemingly an unnatural colour. 

Original colour

Black and white

 

What to do about the blue?

The (un)natural blue is overwhelmingly 'other', both distracting and enticing. I wanted to focus instead on what is trapped in the ice: the sediment, the dirt, and the holes and tunnels created by the melting of the glacier. The first solution was to remove the colour and allow the higher contrast of black and white to highlight the texture of the ice and its inclusions. But I felt like something was lost with the removal of the blue completely, it no longer had that connection to the glacier. My concerns were confirmed by others who questioned if they were looking at microscopic images of plants or cells - glacial ice certainly didn't spring to mind! Now you could take a Neil DeGrasse Tyson view on this - "We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically." and this confusion between the macro and the micro, between biological and geological just adds to the layers of meaning that might be extracted from this series. But I really feel like the blue is an important marker for the work and ties it back to where it was made.

Testing and adapting ideas

I suppose the most obvious question is - why not just create the look you're after in lightroom or photoshop and hit print. And that is one possibility that I could come back to for sure, but right now that feels too easy, and I'm not learning anything that feels new with that process.

The first photographic printing process that sprung to mind for me was Cyanotype. What subject could possibly suit the cyan colour more than this?! But the results were too blue, and too abstract. Without the contrast of the black shadows and dirt in the ice the whole image appeared very flat. I'm not even going to include it here as it just looked rubbish. 

But I didn't want to give up on the cyanotype blue completely, so I coated some paper with different washes of the mixed chemicals. Layering the washes to give it a more 'colour field' or watercolour wash effect.

I thought perhaps I could print the black shadow areas, over the top of the cyanotype colour field, to achieve both the colour, contrast and detail I was aiming for. There are a few options when it comes to overprinting, I planned to test both ink-jet and a more traditional printing process - the photogravure. 

Cyanotype colour fields

A timelapse of one of the cyanotypes exposing. Held up to catch the last hour of sunshine. What appears to be a darker patch is where the chemicals had not dried before exposure - this will actually be the lightest area on the page after washing and…

A timelapse of one of the cyanotypes exposing. Held up to catch the last hour of sunshine. What appears to be a darker patch is where the chemicals had not dried before exposure - this will actually be the lightest area on the page after washing and drying.

Exposure complete (technically a little over exposed). After washing and drying the tones are basically inverted, You can see the result in the image below. The is the Berger COT320.

Exposure complete (technically a little over exposed). After washing and drying the tones are basically inverted, You can see the result in the image below. The is the Berger COT320.

If you've made a few cyanotypes before you'll quickly realise that the quality of the paper you use, the humidity of the environment, the pH level of your washing water, and strength of your sunlight (time of year and day)/uv box all contribute to different final blue outcomes (not even mentioning the variables that occur within your chemical mix).

Cyanotype colour fields L-R 300gsm canson watercolour paper pad (has a light texture) [used in Test 3], Berger COT 320 (made for alternative photographic processes with no chemical additives to the paper. Not used in this testing printing round), cheap cartridge-like watercolour paper [used for Tests 1&2]

I used to counsel my students that they should leave their perfectionism at the door when working in alternative photographic processes. Now this isn't completely true of course, if you minimise your variables, test regularly, keep meticulous notes, and practice, practice, practice - you will certainly create the best environment for success and repeatable results. In the case of the cyanotype colour fields, I'm not looking for perfect even colour, I deliberately played with paper types, layering washes of chemicals, brushes and glass chemical pusher application, leaving some areas wet during exposure, and adding in variables such as salt for texture. 

Photogravures

With the over-printing of photogravure on cyanotype not giving me the result I had envisaged. I moved on to testing out some different black, blue and combination printing inks.

Test 3.1 and 3.2 are the first two plates that were made. Slightly different print settings when making the plates (aiming for a deeper black) and also a different black ink.

Test 4.1 inked up and its resulting print 4.2 sought to create a similar effect to printing on top of blue paper - but in reverse. The black ink beneath a thin layer of blue ink rolled over the top. A great idea, but it just muddied the fine details of this image.

[Test 5] A custom mix of blue and black inks (thanks to Silvi at The Baldessin Press for mixing this perfect tone!) on etching paper. Happy very with this tone. I think it finds the right balance of icy-blue without overpowering the image.

Suppliers

Cyanotypes: Gold Street Studios (Cyanotype chemical kit; Bergger COT320 paper; glass chemical pusher)

Photopolymer photogravure: The Baldessin Press and the expertise of Silvi Glattauer. You can book your own workshop with Silvi here. The site also has a great video of the process of making a photopolymer plate with Silvi's pioneering direct-to-plate method which eliminates an entire step (no positive film required for exposure) from the more traditional process. It's also worth noting that the polymer plates etch in water (not acid), making it a significantly more environmentally friendly process. For both the earth, and the artist.