| For the discriminating...a platinum
print. Platinum printing is
history's most beautiful photographic process. Platinum prints are
known for their permanence and delicate tonal scale derived from hand-coated
noble metals and printing on fine art papers. One hundred years ago
Platinum print was the most popular photographic medium among the finest of
artistic media, one of the most permanent of photographic processes,
Platinum is once again in vogue.
The platinum print is for people who
have the ability to see...
Modern black & white photographs are also
known as silver/gelatin prints where the image is formed with silver metal
in a gelatin emulsion. Almost all black & white prints are made by
using "factory-made" commercial paper. However, most platinum prints
are hand crafted. When one refers to a "platinum print" one may most
likely assume it includes palladium, as most prints have a combination of
the two precious metals in the sensitizer.
Platinum/palladium printing is truly an
art form, time and labor intensive. It begins with first mixing the
sensitizer, then coating the paper, drying the paper, printing it with
exposures in minutes rather than seconds, and then the final processing of
the print. The process can take anywhere from minutes to an hour or
longer. The goal is to produce a one-of-kind image of the highest
quality.
Landscapes and still lifes appear to
have an inner glow, portraits look alive.
Since the late 19th and early
20th century, master photographers have been using
Platinum/Palladium printing to create images of exceptional beauty:
- they are hand coated with precious platinum
and palladium metals embedded upon and within the surface of the paper.
- they have a long subtle scale unattainable in traditional Black & White
silver gelatin prints.
- prints amplify depth and surface texture and yield the most archival and
unmatched stable prints available today.
- prints have a depth and range of color.
- printed on a selection of fine art printmaking papers.
Although I enjoy working with color, black
& white has a timeless quality and when printed in Platinum/Palladium, there
is a physical tactile quality and "look" that has to be seen to be
appreciated. Once seen it will change the way you look at photographs.
The process is conducive to personal creative choices made by the
photographer, which incorporates emotion and intuitiveness.
Platinum/Palladium printing is enjoying a renaissance. More and more
discerning photographers are rediscovering the pleasure of working in this
process which Alfred Stieglitz once called "the prince of photographic
printing process."
For more information on Platinum/palladium
printing or links to more comprehensive sites regarding alternative
processes, contact:
John Kiersten - Photographer - (845) 651-1630 E-mail john@johnkiersten.com |