Photo Technique 20120304

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THE BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: 21ST CENTURY TINTYPE STUDIO
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
IN CUBA WITH THE
FUJI X100
The Afghan
Masking Part III Box Camera Project
Digital Tools for B&W Digital Image Editing
Darkroom Contrast Control with DxO Software
Alan Ross
MASTERING
THE CAMERA
PORTFOLIO HISTOGRAM
Tadas Naujokaitis
AMAZING BIRDS
Exposed:
Mike Mitchell Ilford MG Art
MUSINGS ABOUT 300 Paper
LIGHT & PHOTOGRAPHY David Vestal
Three Color
March/April 2012 Gum Printing with
ClassicINSTA App
phototechmag.com
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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND
Photographs shown by Kat Kiernan, Lisa McCarthy and Igor Kraguljac. See their portfolios at phototechmag.com>galleries.
_________
See some amazing work by emerging photographers...

The next photographer featured might be you!
Submit your portfolio at phototechmag.com
underexposed [emerging photographers]
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pg. 8
Image Mark Schacter
Technique
CONTENTS: 8 Digital Image Editing
From Potential to Impact Using
DxO Software
Mark Schacter
Feature
30 Masking Part III 12 Mastering the Camera
Using Digital Tools for Black and White Histogram for Better Exposure
Contrast Control in the Darkroom A Basic Tool Easy to Put Into Practice
Alan Ross David H. Wells
34 Ilford MG Art 300 Paper

With Wit and Wisdom
Road Test David Vestal
40 On the Street 44 ClassicINSTA App> Three Color

Journalistic Photography in Cuba Gum Printing
Using the Fuji X100 Camera A Vintage Craft Gets a Digital Twist
Steve Anchell Tom Persinger
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Image Steve Anchell
pg. 40
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On Photography
5 Lucas Birk and the Afghan Box
Camera Project
The kamra-e-faoree in Afghanistan
Robert Hirsch
The Business of Photography

21 The Tintype Today
A 21st Century Traveling Studio
Paul Sergeant
Portfolio pg. 5
Image Lucas Birk
16 Musings About Light &

Photography
Human Vision & Interpretation
of Photographs
Mike Mitchell
25 Amazing Bird Photography

Building an Outdoor Studio for Birds
Tadas Naujokaitis
Gear, Apps & Good Stuff

24 Take a Workshop With One
of Our Writers
Steve Anchell
Tillman Crane
Alan Ross
Image Steve Anchell
Harvey Stein
David H. Wells
Postagram
The Modern Way to Send Postcards
on the Run
Page 48 Charles Mason
On the Cover
Tadas Naujokaitis
Image Tadas Naujokaitis
Marsh Tit 2
___________________
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FROM THE EDITOR March/April 2012 Vol. 33 No. 2
Publisher S. Tinsley Preston III
The Vernal Equinox arrives on March 20th in the Northern Hemisphere Editor Wendy Erickson
and likely not a moment too soon. More daylight hours are welcome, as Creative Director Lisa Cordova
are warmer temperatures and the return of all things green sprouting from
Production Roberta Knight
the Earth.
Online Content Coordinator Bree Lamb
All things being equal, youll find a nice balance of traditional and digital
Newstand Distribution
technique in this issue. For those of you craving some wit and wisdom
Curtis Circulation Company
in your darkroom, David Vestal does not disappoint with his review of
730 River Road, New Milford, NJ 07646-3048
new Ilford MG Art 300. Youll even get a dose of photo history at the 201-634-7400 Fax: 201-634-7499
same time. Alan Ross provides the third installment of his Masking series,
this time demonstrating digital imaging tools for contrast adjustments in Retail Distribution
the darkroom. And our friend Tom Persinger gets hands-on with another 6600 W. Touhy Ave., Niles, IL 60714-4516
historic process, Gum printing. 847-647-2900
Mark Schacter joins us from Canada writing a Digital Editing how-to Advertising Sales Manager
using DxO Software and David H. Wells gives plenty of good reasons to Roberta Knight
use the histogram on the back of your camera. Steve Anchell road tests the rknight@prestonpub.com
______________
Fuji X100 in Cuba, is it the street camera for you?

List Rental
Rickard List Marketing
Who better than Robert Hirsch, to interview Lucas Birk on vanishing
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street photographers and the kamra-e-faoree in Afghanistana fascinating 631-249-8710 x 118
living history of photography. Paul Sergeant returns with a new take on the
21st Century Traveling Tintype Studio. Subscription Service
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Tadas Naujokaitis, a young photographer from Lithuania, wrote to me a P.O. Box 567, Selmer, TN 38375
while back asking if Id like to see his photographs. Im so glad he did.
Tadas sets up his stunning photographs well before he ever releases the Subscriptions:
shutter, crafting beautiful feeding stations from natural materialsthese U.S. - 1 Yr/$29.99; 2 Yr/$49.99
Digital Only - 1 yr/$19.99; 2 Yr/$29.99
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If youve never tried photographing birds, why not try it this spring? For new subscriptions, renewals or change
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Mike Mitchell shares musings about light and photography, with inspiring, circulation@phototechmag.com.
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and a friendly place you can call homeover the next few months youll
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What a great time of year to find some balance in your own photography.
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LUKAS BIRK AND THE AFGHAN BOX CAMERA PROJECT ROBERT HIRSCH
Lukas Birk and

the Afghan Box
Camera Project
Robert Hirsch
From photographys earliest days, enterprising practitioners
realized they could take their services directly to the people.
This lead to the horse-drawn wagons called Daguerreotype
Salons and then to portable, darkroom tents that allowed
wet-plate photographers to make pictures outside. As tech-
nology advanced, the tents morphed into a single apparatus
that combined both camera and darkroom, which allowed
photographers to work anywhere. Afghanistan is one of the
last places where street vendor photographers still use such
a hand-made, wooden camera called kamra-e-faoree or
instant camera. Observing this practice lead Lukas Birk
to undertake the Afghan Box Camera Project. The following
are highlights of our email conversations.
Robert Hirsch: What is the projects mission?

Photographer Asad Ullah holding work in his studio in Kabul
Lukas Birk: The purpose is to provide a record of the
kamra-e-faoree, which is on the brink of disappearing
in Afghanistan. We tell the personal stories of these to research tourism in conf lict zones, resulting in a
photographers who make identity portraits on the book, two films and a traveling exhibition: Kafkanistan
street, many of which were trained by their fathers. (lukasbirk.com).
__________
Our information is based on a visit between April and

June 2011 that focused on Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif, RH: How did the project originate?
plus previous visits and ongoing research. Also, the
website provides instructions and videos on how to LB: I encountered the Afghan box cameras in 2006
build a kamra-e-faoree, how to tint and hand color and I built my first one in 2008. Since then I have
prints, background data about the camera and pho- constructed four different cameras with internal and
tography in Afghanistan, plus photographer portfolios external focusing systems and started experimenting
and links to additional resources. Our online materi- with them. During this process Sean and I decided to
al, afghanboxcamera.com is open-source so anybody go back to Afghanistan to document the last active
can utilize it. box camera photographers.
RH: Tell me about your background. RH: How did you fund your work?
LB: I was born in 1982 in Bregenz, Austria where I LB: The project was funded via kickstarter.com. I re-
trained and worked in journalism and radio before ceived $6000 in donations and we funded the rest.
studying media art in London. After meeting Sean
Foley in India in 2002, we began collaborating. RH: What differences do you see between portraits
I provide the visuals and Sean, whose background is in made with a box camera and those done with a digital
anthropology, writes. We went to Afghanistan in 2008 camera?
phototechmag.com 5
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ON PHOTOGRAPHY
Box camera portrait of photographer of Baba Sher, Kabul, Box camera portrait of photographer of Abdul Satar, Kabul,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, 2011
LB: The box camera portraits have a limited contrast and another with fixer, as well as a light tight box for
range, rough edges, and the handling of chemicals the unexposed paper. After developing the paper in
and paper produces an image with a feeling from a the camera, I take it out and wash it in a separate tank.
different time. Digital portraits are clean, precise, de- Then I place the paper negative on a holder in front of
tailed and more attached to reality. the camera and repeat the process to produce a posi-
tive. Finally, I fix and wash the pictures.
RH: Describe your camera and its operation.
RH: What is the state of photography in Afghanistan?
LB: I have a 20 x 12 x 12-inch wooden box. I cut a
hole in the front to fit the focusing part of an old LB: When the Taliban ruled, photography was pro-
Ernemann Rapid plate camera to a Carl Zeiss lens hibited and makers destroyed or hid their equipment.
so I could utilize an aperture and shutter. I use a Now Kabul has dozens of studios with small digital
grade #3 or #4 photographic paper with an ISO of cameras for portraits or identication photographs.
5. Therefore, I work in bright, outdoor light, giving People use personal cameras to take photos of families
me an exposure of about f/5.6 at 1/30 of a second. and friends.
Photographers without a shutter lift their lens cover
and count to 1 to make an exposure; in the winter RH: Tell me about the hand-colored portraits.
they count 1- 2 - 3 and then cover the lens.
LB: Hand coloring is regarded as high art and most
I cut a round 4-inch wide hole in the side of the box photo studios display examples. Unfortunately, we
that is covered with black cloth, which allows me to did not find a single photographer in Kabul who now
put paper into the camera for exposure. In the back of does the process. In Mazar-e-Sharif, we worked with a
the box I installed glass to put photographic paper on photographer who still had these hard-to-get materials
top of, along with a tray containing Kodak developer and we made a how-to-hand-color video.
6 photo technique M/A 2012
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LUKAS BIRK AND THE AFGHAN BOX CAMERA PROJECT ROBERT HIRSCH
RH: What about women in photography?
LB: Women are photographed, but their images are

not displayed. Photographers visit homes to take fam-
ily photos. Women wear a headscarf rather than a
Burqa (full face veil) for identification or family pho-
tos, except for passports where international standards
require an uncovered view.
I have not encountered any female photographers.

However, I taught photography to 20 women, aged 16
25, at the Center for Contemporary Art Afghanistan
in Kabul.
RH: What do the women you taught like to photo-

graph?
LB: They photograph Afghanistan as it is Now and
Images Lukas Birk

are preparing an exhibition about its dark side. For in-
stance, single mothers with three children in the tent
cities around Kabul juxtaposed to sparkling stores
where rich women shop.
Box camera portrait of photographer Abdul Samad,
RH: What responses has your project gotten from the Kabul Afghanistan, circa 1960s.
locals?
LB: The photographers were kind and patient, appre- RH: What else do you hope to achieve?
ciating I wanted to record their history. While photo-
graphing on the street with the box camera I was met LB: The research is finished and I plan to return to
with curious eyes. Afghanistan in the near future to revisit the photogra-
phers. The project deserves exposure. I want to tour
RH: What have your learned from your work? with the camera, exhibit the images, and set up work-
shops. These cameras are easy to build, fun to use,
LB: I experienced hospitality and generosity. Asad and can help people understand how photography
Ullah, a photographer in his late 60s, gave me an In- works. Ultimately, I would like everything to go to a
dian Vageswari plate camera without accepting any- museum.
thing in return. All he said was, If you make a book
about Afghan photography bring me a copy. I am RH: What should one consider when making photo-
currently taking pictures with it! What more can I say? graphs?
LB: Ask yourself, Why am I making this image and

what for?
Robert Hirsch is author of Exploring Color

Photography: From Film to Pixels; Light
and Lens: Photography in the Digital Age;
Photographic Possibilities: The Expressive
Use of Equipment, Ideas, Materials,
and Processes; and Seizing the Light:
A Social History of Photography. Hirsch
has published scores of articles about
visual culture and interviewed eminent
photographers of our time. He has had
many one-person shows and curated
numerous exhibitions. The former executive
director of CEPA Gallery, he now heads
Ghayas Uddin and Lukas Birk, Kabul, Afghanistan, 2011. Light Research. For details about his visual and written projects visit:
Kausar Hussain. lightresearch.net. Article Robert Hirsch 2012.
phototechmag.com 7
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TECHNIQUE
Image Editing:
From Potential to Impact
Mark Schacter
While the fun of taking photographs is the thrill of
the huntthe search for promising materialthe fun
of editing is translating the promise into images that
have impact.
Figure 1 - VFW Post 3943, Woodland Beach, Michigan For my book, Roads, published in 2010, I shot about
10,000 photographs, of which 160 appeared in print.
For my forthcoming book, provisionally entitled Sweet
Seas, A Portrait of the Great Lakes to be published in Oc-
tober, I again shot about 10,000 photographs of which
about 200 will probably appear in print. In order to
go from 10,000 to 200, I had to decide which of the
10,000 had potential to be compelling images, and
realize that potential through editing.
Gathering material for the books required thousands

of miles of travel around Canada and the US. On some
days I might have taken 300 photographs. Each night
in my hotel room I reviewed the days photographs,
discarding about two-thirds of them. I was confident
doing this cull directly from my camera because even
Figure 2
on the small screen I could spot two things I was look-
ing for in each shot: good bones and a story.
Bones is about structure, or composition. I discard

photographs where everything isnt in the right place.
I want the photograph to be welcoming to the eye; to
entice the viewer to a main point of interest, then in-
vite the eye to wander around before returning to the
entry point. Im not worried about fixable f laws: a
crooked horizon or a distraction that can be cropped
or cloned. I dont care about non-major exposure er-
rors because they too can be fixed. But if the bones
arent there then forget it: digital editing cant rescue a
photograph from bad or mediocre composition.
Story is important toobecause a photograph can

Figure 3 be boring even if well composed. I want photographs
that engage the viewers mind as well as the eye. Al-
though it would be asking too much to look for a full-
blown story with a beginning, middle and end, I do
want to produce an image that hints at a story, leaving
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IMAGE EDITING: FROM POTENTIAL TO IMPACT MARK SCHACTER
Stone, Petroleum Coke and Salt, Lackawanna, New York
the viewer wondering what happened/is happening place for military veterans. Irony and pathos jumped
here? or what does this mean? or what was the out at meit seemed a compelling visual commentary
photographer thinking? on how well (or not) we honor and remember military
men and women.
While still on the road I would have reduced a typi-
cal weeks output of 1500 photographs to about 500 The scene also had robust compositional bones:
semi-finalists that would in turn yield about 30 fin- the poles vertical lines beside the strong horizontal
ished images. The 500 were reviewed again on a large roofline and the slashing diagonals of the utility wires.
screen at homesame elimination criteria, but with The texture of the painted cinderblocksmultiple rec-
higher standards. The idea was to limit precious edit- tangles within the larger rectangle of the walladded
ing time to shots that are serious contenders. more stark geometry. The crowning touchgiven the
military story line that interested mewas the Ameri-
Example: a shot of Veterans of Foreign War Post 3943 can flag. (It was a calm day; I had to wait for a puff of
in Woodland Beach, Michigan on Lake Erie, 30 miles air to extend the f lag!).
from downtown Detroitone of about 200 photo-
graphs I took that day. Figure 1 shows the original My first processing step was to use DxO Optics Pro
photograph direct from my memory card, before edit- to convert the RAW image file to a 16-bit TIFF. DxO
ing. At this stage it is a shot with potential, but is still Optics Pros powerful feature is its capacity to correct
several steps removed from being a finished product. the unique optical distortions inherent to your own
What caught my eye as I drove past that scene was the particular combination of camera body and lens. And
story: the stark, lonely, forgotten-looking meeting it does a lot of other good things too.
phototechmag.com 9
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TECHNIQUE
Gulls, New Buffalo, Michigan
I decided that color was a distraction in an image that s)CLONEDOUTTHEDISTRACTINGCARINTHEPARKINGLOT)

was all about hard shapes, lines and shadows, so I cloned out sensor dust.
converted it to black and white with DxOs FilmPack
add-on that emulates the look of 62 different black and s ) BOOSTED CONTRAST IN THE LOWER LIGHTER PART OF THE
white, color positive and color negative films. I used image with a curves adjustment.
FilmPacks emulation of Polaroid 672 black and white
film, together with FilmPacks digital red filter. s)BRIGHTENEDTHE6&7SIGNANDTHESMALLERFLAGBE-
hind the stars-and-stripes with levels adjustments.
I made further adjustments with DxO Optics Pro:
Figure 3 shows the final product.
s ) USED THE hLENS SOFTNESSv ADJUSTMENT TO COUNTERACT
the inherent tendency of lenses to distort what the eye Gulls and Sailboat are a few of the other photographs
sees as sharp points into small blurred circles; this to be published in Sweet Seas. All images were created
feature of the software makes images look remarkably with RAW conversions, and initial image adjustments
crisp without the tell-tale halos typical of the unsharp were made with DxO Optics Pro. Final adjustments
mask. DxO Optics Pro corrected the softness unique were done using Adobe Photoshop.
to my combination of a Canon 1Ds Mark III body and
a Canon 24-105mm EF L lens. It also automatically
corrected chromatic and barrel/pincushion distor-
tions specic to that body/lens combination.
s ) ADJUSTED GAMMA AND LOCAL CONTRAST AND STOPPED Mark Schacter lives in Ottawa, Canada.
down the exposure slightly. His current book, Roads, is available
through bookstores and online booksellers
worldwide. Visit his website at
Figure 2 shows the black and white image produced www.luxetveritas.net.
by DxO Optics Pro. Now working with the TIFF file
produced by DxO Optics Pro, I made final adjust- Resources
Websites: dxo.com
ments with Adobe Photoshop:
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IMAGE EDITING: FROM POTENTIAL TO IMPACT MARK SCHACTER
All Images Mark Schacter

Sailboat, Toronto, Ontario
________________
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TECHNIQUE
Histogram of Route 95
that histogram is on the back of your camera, on

your computer screen, or elsewhere in the world of
digital imaging.
RAW vs JPG
A couple important caveats when it comes to histo-
grams and exposure. The art of making a good histo-
gram applies only to making good RAW files. This
is because, in many ways, JPGs are a lot like slides!
A JPG is a processed file where the original RAW
colors and tones have been processed, tweaked,
adjusted, clipped, reworked and generally degraded
Route 95 to fit a universal file format. The good news is a pro-
cessed file can be viewed by anyone with a computer.
The bad news is much of the best image data has
Mastering the Camera to be thrown out in that same process. In the best
of all worlds, a perfect JPG, like a perfect slide, can
Histogram for Better sometimes be a thing of beauty.
Exposure But most of us live and photograph in the real world,

which is where RAW files are important. A RAW
file lets us work with the RAW information, as it is
David H. Wells right off the digital imaging sensor and then adjust it
as needed. We can correct for mixed light, less than
Histograms and digital imaginghearing those ideal exposure, etc. This is done BEFORE the RAW
words puts most photographers to sleep, which is too information is turned into a nished or processed
bad. With a little attention and practice, any photo- le. This same processing usually means a lot of
grapher can understand and use histograms to give valuable information is thrown away.
us the best exposure possible for digital image files.
RAW files are like negatives! The smart photographer
A histogram is a graphical representation of the dis- works to get as much information as possible in their
tribution of data, commonly used in the world of RAW files. Like in traditional analog printing, you
statistics. It is, according to Wikipedia, one of the make the best negative (RAW file) possible and then
basic tools of quality control. make the image you want in the final printing during
post-production.
In photography, it serves the same purpose, with the
horizontal axis telling us how the tones of our images Each cameras imaging sensor has a given number
from solid black to solid white are distributed. The of pixels (or picture elements). The actual number is
vertical axis tells us how many tones there are in determined by some simple math. For example, a
the same image. The information in the histogram sensor that has 12 megapixels actually has 3000
graphs the colors and tones in our photos whether pixels on the vertical axis and 4000 pixels on the
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MASTERING THE CAMERA HISTOGRAM FOR BETTER EXPOSURE DAVID H. WELLS
Missoula Club Burgers
horizontal axis. Thus 3000 x 4000 equals 12,000,000

and since each 1,000,000 pixels is one megapixel, we
have a 12 megapixel sensor.
Each pixel is usually made up of one red, one blue and

two greens sensors, a so-called Bayer array, used
because human eyes are twice as sensitive to green.
Each sensor does not literally measure color. There
is a colored lter over every sensor because they
ONLY measure brightness! Pixels are little light
meters measuring brightness (not color). Those fil-
ters over those sensors and some pretty fancy com-
putations turn those brightness readings into the Histogram of Missoula Club Burgers
RAW data that ultimately become final images.
Since the RAW information has not been processed The secret to good RAW files? Understanding how
into a finished file, cameras automatically make a to evaluate the histogram on the back of the camera
tiny JPG that is embedded in the RAW file, seen as get in the habit of using the image area that you see
an image on the back of the camera. to judge framing, focusing and composition, but not
phototechmag.com 13
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TECHNIQUE
All Images David H. Wells

View of buildings inside the fort in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
to evaluate exposure. Use the histogram to evaluate of the tones are to the right of the midpoint in the
your exposureknowing this often means ignoring same histogram.
what look might appear like overexposed images on
the camera monitor. For one-time film shooters this is enormously im-
portant. With film, the steps from solid black to solid
HISTOGRAM MATH white were equal in value. In digital imaging they are
Why is this? Lets go back a bit to the mechanics and not equal. Again, 25% of your tones are to the left of
especially the mathematics of the histogram. All of the the midpoint and 75% of the tones are to the right of
colors in any image are made up of some combination the midpoint. Repeat that to yourself a few times if you
of red, green and blue tones. An image of a gray card are a former film shooter like me.
will in fact be made up of 128 red tones, 128 green
tones and 128 blue tones. An image that is mostly red So how does that play out in getting the best exposure?
(or green or blue) will have a higher number of that First, it means that the tones to the left of the midpoint
one color and lower numbers of the others. That is how are best thought of as bad tones since there is more
we get the colors in our images, by mixing varying space between them (since only 25% of them are on
amounts of red, green and blue. that side but they take up 50% of the histogram). The
gaps between the bad tones result in coarse trans-
Now go back to the histogram itself and remember itions in your final image. For example, instead of the
that the left to right axis measures the spread of the red tone going smoothly from red to slightly brighter
tones. Then throw in the idea of the red x green x red, that transition looks coarse and obvious.
blue calculation. What that means is that because of
the mathematics, only 25% of your possible tones are On the other side of the same midpoint, the opposite
to the left of the midpoint in the histogram and 75% is true. 75% of the tones are crammed into 50% of the
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MASTERING THE CAMERA HISTOGRAM FOR BETTER EXPOSURE DAVID H. WELLS
Histogram for image

on the left
This is a representation of the actual histogram, pulled from

Lightroom for illustrative purposes. It looks just like what you
see on the camera but is not from the camera.
real estate of the histogram, so those are good tones, the image, be spread across the image with a bias to
where you have less space between tones, resulting in the right (the better tones) and have as little clipping
smoother tonal transitions in your final prints. on either side as possible. Other than that, any shape
is as good as any other.
Also, the space between tones on the side with the bad
tones, to the left, exaggerates any noise, especially The point is to get a good exposure for a RAW file,
if your image is underexposed and the histogram is even if it looks too light as seen on the back of your
pushed far to the left. A key to reducing or eliminating camera. Do this to avoid a combed histogram,
noise is to expose your RAW file properly, which in which results when you take a digital file that looks
most cases yields a histogram as far to the right as good but it is in fact underexposed. In that file you are
possible, as long as you do not cut off tones. The wasting the best tones (the ones to the right). In order
mantra or rule to repeat over and over is expose to to get a good print with a full range of tones you will
the RIGHT! have to go into a program like Photoshop, spread the
tones out and push them to the right. As you do that,
Cutting off tones or clipping is a problem if you cut off gaps are created as you spread the darker tones apart,
many tones. This applies to both ends of the histogram, moving tones that were to the left into the middle or
whether on the dark side to the left or on the light side right side. The resulting gaps between the tones result
to the right. On the other hand, if the only tones that in the dreaded combed histogram and a print with
are cut off are small and obviously pure white, such coarse tonal transition, bad colors and noise.
as car headlights or bits of shiny chrome, that is not
a problem. Digital imaging is the classic example of garbage-in
garbage-out. With a little care, any photographer can
While the horizontal axis measures the quality of use histograms to get the best exposure possible for
tones, the vertical axis simply measures quantity. If by their digital images. The two parts of the screen on the
chance the histogram goes upward and off the chart," back of your camera are like apples and pickup trucks.
nothing is wrong. It means that your image has a high On one hand, they have nothing in common. But like
quantity of tones and that the histogram display you on an apple farm, knowing what to do with each one
are looking at is not big enough to show that. makes the whole thing work for the best.
THE GOOD HISTOGRAM Editors Note: The histograms for the images shown are for the FINAL
This leads us to what a good histogram looks like. images made with well exposed RAW files that have been processed to
look the way they are in the article. Those histograms are NOT the
There are many shapes that your histograms can be, original histograms of the capture RAW files. Check out the link to Davids
most of which are equally valid. There is no single podcast on Histograms, featured on our website at phototechmag.com
perfect, typical or required histogram. A histogram
David H. Wells is a freelance documentary
Photograph baileyphoto. com
with two spikes, one to the left and one to the right photographer affiliated with Aurora Photos.
with few or no tones in between, is probably a sil- See his work at: davidhwells.com. He
specializes in intercultural communications
houette (or a close up of a zebra). A histogram with a and the use of light and shadow to enhance
giant spike of middle tones but no blacks or white is visual narratives. Twice awarded Fulbright
fellowships for work in India, his photography
something that is a middle tone in color and has lots of regularly appears in leading international
bits of texture, like grains of beach sand for example. magazines. A frequent teacher of
photography workshops, his blog, The Wells
A perfect histogram should represent the tones in Point, appears at thewellspoint.com.
phototechmag.com 15
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PORTFOLIO
Imagine a species of life vastly more evolved than human beings. Imagine it as a completely
different ordering of life, so cognizant that knowledge itself is the very tissue of its body.
Imagine it cares to tutor you, show you what it knows. Now close your eyes. When you
open them again you will see this being in front of you. It is everywhere, it is light.
My photographs in the last six years have all been experiments. Lets see what happens if
I do this...or this...or this. Lets see what happens if I set up conditions in the studio where
light is always changing. Lets see what happens if I eliminate optical representation of
the material world. Lets see what forms just might be bred when sheer consciousness
encounters unmitigated light.
These images are descendants of a single photograph that was the very climax of a
mystical experience I had in 1969. Recently I was sitting in a cluster of river birches by
the Potomac River mentally revisiting that experience in view of what Ive been learning
about the brain. Some scientists would have us believe that what we call God is only an
artifact of complex neurological processes. Just then I heard a Harley approaching on the
road behind me. I reflexively turned toward it just as a portly guy in the passenger seat
aMTTML\WUMI\\PM\WXWNPQ[T]VO["/WLQ[ZMIT ;QVKM!![]KP\PQVO[PI^MPIXXMVML
to me a lot.
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MUSINGS ABOUT LIGHT & PHOTOGRAPHY MIKE MITCHELL
Lumi-Gnosis 1, 2005
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PORTFOLIO
Human vision develops by building what science calls a formative visual imagination,
a kind of mental lexicon of forms and associated meanings. It continues to grow for our
whole lives. This accounts for why one person can look at one of these photographs
and ask if theyre looking at a flame while another laughs and says unequivocally thats
Daffy Duck. I sense that there may be yet another way to engage this imagery. The Quaker
tradition speaks of opening to light, a practice that may require silencing cognitive
associations and like the Quakers, waiting until something else enters awareness.
One evening last July, I was sitting in the front row of the auction room at Christies in
New York. When the final hammer came down the room erupted into applause and cheers.
During the entire auction Id been saying to myself this is really happening and its
really happening to me! Six years earlier Id realized it was time to do the real work of
my life no matter what the cost. I refinanced my house to do it and the images on these
pages are the result. It was devastating when I later lost the house to foreclosure but
that evening Christies completely turned my life around yet again when they auctioned
prints of photographs Id done of the Beatles when I was only 18 years old. Resurrecting
those images had more than financial value. Id come to realize that my own sensitivity
to light actually began at a Beatles concert in 1964 when there was no choice but
to take my cues from what light was presenting to me. Ive also learned something
inexpressible and profoundly humbling about the way life can work.
In its infancy photography was considered the litmus test for reality. Photography has
come so far but not nearly as far as reality. From the study of light, some thinkers have
concluded that there is no objective reality apart from the consciousness thats observing
it. Doesnt that make reality a purely local phenomenon, a kind of soft-edged sphere
with consciousness at the center? So couldnt it be said that consciousness is always
moving from reality to reality? Could the ultimate reality weve always looked for be this
movement of consciousness which Ive come to call transality? But what if consciousness,
like photons, can be in more than one place at the same time? What if theres a stage of
consciousness that is at once within and beyond all realities? I suspect we can approach
such questions as we come to embrace the other major paradox of light, its relative speed.
The speed of light is 186,282,397 miles per second. Einstein proved that even if you are
traveling at, lets say 185,000,000 miles per second, a beam of light that goes past you, is
still going 186,282,397 miles per second faster than you are!
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MUSINGS ABOUT LIGHT & PHOTOGRAPHY MIKE MITCHELL
Lumi-Gnosis 4, 2006
phototechmag.com 19
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PORTFOLIO
Lumi-Gnosis 9, 2006 Lumi-Gnosis 16, 2008
Photographers have unique advantage over theoretical physicists when it comes to

approaching the mysteries of light. We can let light speak for itself.
Mike Mitchell is a fine art

photographer living in
Washington, DC. His work along
with his intriguing life story
can be seen on his website at
mikemitchell.us
________
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BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Half-plate being varnished
The Tintype Today

Paul Sergeant
The tintype is a 19th Century photographic process, in which uses glass instead of metal, the tintype quickly
which a photograph is produced on a piece of lacquered caught on in America as the photograph for the mas-
iron. The process, also known as a melainotyope and ses. It was fast, cheap, mobile and much more durable
ferrotype, was popularized in the mid 19th Century than other processes available at the time. A tintype
as a sort-of first version of the instant photograph. In can be coated, sensitized, exposed, developed, fixed,
recent years, as photographic technology continues to
develop in alignment with the digital age, the tintype
and other 19th Century processes have gone through
a resurgence. Since starting The Tintype Studio this
past summer, Ive come to realize, through its history
and social context, that the tintype process is as
relevant today as it ever was, not only as a portrait
medium, but also as an artistic one.
The Tintype
The tintype process was first conceived by Adolphe-
Alexandre Martin in 1853, shortly after Fredrick Scott
Archer invented the wet-plate collodion process, and
was later patented in the United States and Great
Britain in 1856. Almost identical to the ambrotype, Tintype Studio
phototechmag.com 21
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BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
the sitter and the physical photograph. It is one of only

a handful of photographic processes where the fin-
ished object was in the same space with the individual
getting photographed. Most photographs have a gen-
erational loss, where the tintype is made directly from
the light reflecting from the sitter. This is why tintypes
were and still are cherished more than a standard
photographic print. If the tintype was of a lost family
member, the keeper of the object could have solace in
the fact that the piece of metal they were holding was
in the same room as their loved one and captured their
likeness for all eternity.
The Tintype Studio

The Tintype Studio is a re-creation of a 19th Century
traveling photo studio. It is a collaborative effort be-
tween four friends and Ontario College of Art and
Design graduates, Miles Collyer, Stuart Sakai, Greg
Snow and myself. After receiving my BFA, I went on
to complete my Masters in Photographic Preservation
and Collections Management from Ryerson University.
It was while at Ryerson that I learned about the tintype
process. Soon after, the idea to recreate a tintype
studio came to me, and was realized when shared with
Girl with blue eyes my soon-to-be partners while sitting around a roaring
fire on the shores of the French River.
washed, dried and varnished in less than 10 minutes.
This nearly instant form of photography became ac- We decided that our first baptism by fire would be
cessible at outdoor fairs and carnivals to those who the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition at City Hall. The
couldnt afford to get a photograph taken in a private months leading up the TOAE were spent perfecting
studio. The tintype was the most common photo- our craft. This involved testing lighting set-ups, chem-
graphic process until the creation of the gelatin based istry recipes, branding and fabricating our own tent
processes introduced by Kodak in the late 1880s. and worktables. Our main goal was to recreate the
19th Century traveling portrait studio, right down to
There are inherent characteristics of the tintype pro- the chemistry recipes and the 19th Century box cam-
cess, which make it a unique and coveted medium. era replica.
First is that a tintype is one of a kind. There is no
negative produced that can be used to create endless Although our techniques were of traditional means,
reproductions of the original. Each plate is used to we did have to introduce a few 21st Century elements.
produce a single image that gains value beyond the These were the physical plates that the photographs are
representation of the subject itself and gravitates produced on and the lighting. 19th Century tintypes
toward the actual handheld object. It is also an ex- were created using a lacquered piece of iron. Instead
perience that is alien to individuals of time, where con- we use trophy metal. These thin pieces of aluminum
trol, ease, flexibility and economics are paramount to have a bright black surface, which works perfectly for
producing photographs. Where the digital age has the process. Its readily available, can be cut to any
allowed for total manipulation of the photographic size, and has a protective layer of film that is removed
medium and ignorance of how it works, the tintype just before use. The other element that needed to be
process allows the sitter to take a step into the physical updated was the lighting. Since we were attempting
process itself, and get a feel for what it was like to have to produce plates over a three-day span, at an open-
a portrait taken in the 19th Century. air festival in which over 100,000 people attend, we
couldnt rely on daylight. We needed a light source
Another reason why this process is unique from other that would produce consistent results. To achieve this
photographic mediums is the direct contact between we used strobe lighting, which gave us instantaneous
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THE TINTYPE TODAY PAUL SERGEANT
All Images Paul Sergeant

Two views of Jon Nicolaou
exposures with the added bonus of are now expensive and require a
not needing to worry about sub- great amount of knowledge and
jects moving during exposure. The equipment to produce, people are
TOAE ended up being a great more than willing to pay for not only
success. We fought off the 12-hour the tintype, but also the experience
days of extreme heat and produced itself. In the brief amount of time
over 100 plates. Since then, we have weve been doing this Ive found
gone on to produce tintypes at the that people really understand and
Sunnyside Art Fair, The Wedding appreciate its value. This is what we
Collection Exhibition at Stephen want to achieve with The Tintype
Bulger Gallery and our first indoor Studionot only producing a unique
portrait session. product, but a unique experience.
_________________
Since its invention over 150 years

Paul Sergeant studied
ago, the tintype has allowed the at the Ontario College of
general public access to inexpensive Art & Design where he
was the recipient of
portraits. Before the creation of the the prestigious
wet-plate process, the photograph photographic art medal
in 2006. He has his
was an expensive object that only Masters in Photographic
Preservation and
the affluent could afford. It also ex- Collections Management
posed the common person to the from Ryerson University.
This allowed Paul the
photograph, and the experience of opportunity to study and work at the George
having your photograph taken. Fast Eastman House International Museum of
Photography and Film, in Rochester, NY. He is a
forward to the 21st Century, where founding member of the Tintype Studio, a Toronto
people have hundreds of photo- based team of wet-plate collodion photographers.
Paul is also the Archive and Print Manager for
graphs taken of themselves every Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky.
year. Despite the fact that tintypes tintypestudio.tumblr.com
phototechmag.com 23
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GEAR, APPS & GOOD STUFF
Workshops
TAKE A WORKSHOP WITH ONE OF
OUR WRITERS
Did you know that many of our writers and contributors
offer Workshops in photography? A workshop is a great
Image Dan Smith

way to recharge your creativity. Here is a small selection
of upcoming workshops in 2012. Visit each website for
more information.
Steve Anchell
Large Format and the Digital Negative Tillman Crane setting up a view camera for a demonstration at Turnbridge
June 10 15, Condon, Montana Church in North Dakota
Steve also offers private workshops ongoing throughout
the year in Salem, Oregon.
steveanchell.com
Download & Send
Tillman Crane
Spirit of Structure: Western Remnants of the Erie Canal
April 15 20, New York POSTAGRAM APP
Spirit of Structure: Abandoned Farms of North Dakota Heres a new spin on sending
May 13 18, Rugby, North Dakota photos. Make a photograph
Extraordinary Images in Ordinary Places, with your phone using the
July 15 20, Maine Media Workshops Instagram
_________ App, edit it as
needed, then download the
Platinum Printing in the 21st Century Postagram
__________ App and send a
July 27 31, Peters Valley Craft Center, Layton, NJ printed postcard of that image
tillmancrane.com to anyone for 99 cents!
The postcards are printed on

Alan Ross thick, high quality paper, printed
Ansel Adams Yosemite: The Art of Seeing at 300dpi and are mailed and
April 17 21, Yosemite National Park delivered anywhere in the world.
Alan also offers private one-on-one workshops in black They are personalized with
and white photography. the instant profile photo of the sender, an optional 140 character
alanrossphotography.com message and the Instagram photo (which can pop out of the
postcardits perforated!)
Harvey Stein
Peru Photo Workshop POSTAGRAM ASSIGNMENT:
May 26 June 4, through photoexperience.net Wed love to see YOUR Postagrams! Well feature
Lighting for the Portrait, 100 of the best Postagram images we receive on
Two weekends, May 12 13, 19 20, icp.org the photo technique website! And, well pick three
lucky winners at random from all the submissions,
Coney Island: Day & Night for a one year print subscription to photo technique!
July 9 13, icp.org
Photographing People The THEME for this Postagram Assignment is:
July 23 27, icp.org NATURE
harveysteinphoto.com DEADLINE: Postagrams must be received
by April 30th
David H. Wells
Address your postagram to:
Introduction to the Photo Essay POSTAGRAM
March 2-4, Brooks Workshops, Santa Barbara, CA c/o photo technique Magazine
Light, Shadow, Night and Twilight 6600 W. Touhy Avenue
June 11 15, International Photo Center, Niles, IL 60714
Helsinki, Finland
davidhwells.com/workshops/index.html Include your name, email address and phone number in the body of
the message, along with anything else you want to write!
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BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY TADAS NAUJOKAITIS
Bird Photography Near Feeders

Tadas Naujokaitis
Willow Tit
When I started photographing birds, my primary goal was to get as close

as possible. Later I realized that background and lighting are even more
important. All this makes bird photography truly challenging. Nevertheless,
the internet is already full of beautiful bird images, so its time to make
something different. This is not an easy task, but by using feeders for bird
photography, even the most difficult ideas can become reality.
phototechmag.com 25
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PORTFOLIO
The Setting worked as protection from the northern sparrowhawk

Before enjoying bird photography, some preparations (a nimble bird of prey) providing a shelter for my
are needed. First of all, choose a location for a feeder: feeders visitors. One time this allowed me to see the
decide which species you want to photograph and predator from very closewhile chasing lesser birds,
nd an area where they live. Dont look for a distant the sparrowhawk flew into my blind!
locationyour backyard can be the perfect place.
Forest birds had long interested me, so I chose a local The Feeder & Food
forest. When searching for the exact setting, I mainly A feeder is the place where the main action is. Its best
consider the amount of light and the quality of back- to set up a platform feeder because later you can easily
ground blur. For a soft background, its best to nd a put diverse perches and decorations on it. I generally
location with distant bushes or trees and try a few test use hulled sunflower seeds as food; there are a variety
shots using manual focus at about 14 feet. of other fine choices too. Whatever you pick, keep in
mind that the food you choose must be healthy for
The Blind birds, so that salted, smoked or tainted products must
Once you have found the place, you need a blind. not be used.
Although various temporary blinds can be used, I
prefer a permanent blind since birds understand it as Equipment & Camera Settings
a part of their environment and I dont need to wait Bird photography usually requires expensive cam-
while they get used to it every time Im there. eras and massive telephoto lenses, but you will get
fine results with any DSLR, a 200mm or longer lens
Build your blind from whatever materials you prefer. and a tripod. To avoid blurry images, shutter speeds
I used branches that I found around and they also should be no slower than 1/50 even in the worst
lighting conditions. With more light available, increase
the shutter speed to 1/250 or 1/500. Choose the largest
aperture possible to get the best background or when
there is little light; close it a bit if its difficult to
get the whole bird in focus. While the lower the ISO
the better, increase it if needed. Always shoot in
RAW because later you can easily adjust white
balance, colors or exposure in the computer. If your
feeder is set up in a low light situation, shoot
a series of images to increase your chances of getting
a sharp photo.
Envisioning the Image in Your Mind

Now, the creative process begins. Before photograph-
ing, its a good idea to pre-visualize the image. Conceive
something simple or try to visualize a picture you have
never seen before and determine what you need to
do to achieve it. Photographing a bird sitting next to
other little wonders of nature while showing the birds
natural environment seemed like an interesting idea
to me, so I began a hunt for mushrooms and lichens in
the same forest where my feeder was situated.
After you find the things which are needed for your
photo, set them up. This depends on your particular
idea and might be as simple as planting a few flowers
in the yard and strewing some seeds nearby. Still and
all, its more convenient to use the previously built
blind and the feeder and to put a piece of grass or a
big moss-grown stump on the feeder. Then make a few
holes and hide some sunflower seeds there. To take a
My Feeder
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Nuthatch
picture of a bird on the top of a smaller rotten stump, My ideas are often very simple, such as a tit on a fall
merely set some food where you cannot see it through colored twig, a nuthatch on a mossy forest floor or a
the viewfinder; it can be the feeders platform or the greenfinch near a few flowers. Its up to you to decide
other side of the stump. Lastly, if you want a bird to sit what photos you want to create. Some of them will
on a twig, place it above food. come quickly while others might take several days
or weeks, but the process isnt likely to be boring.
I found a branch with a nice lichen and a piece of Since its difficult to set up perches and other objects
moss with two mushrooms. I needed birds to sit in perfectly on the first try, dont forget to review and
the exact position to make it work. This was fairly analyze images on location. Make a few changes if
easy: using adhesive tape, I fixed the branch above the results dont satisfy you. Simply experiment. Time
some sunflower seeds and later in my camera screen flies, believe me.
I saw what I had imagineda willow tit and the lich-
en next to each other. In the second setup, I put a Light & Composition
handful of seeds by the mushrooms. After a while a Before going outside and putting all this into practice,
marsh tit landed on the moss and I pressed the shutter there are a few more things to remember about light
button. It looked like the bird was pretending to be the and composition. Soft lighting makes morning the
third mushroom! best time to photograph birds. Evening is no worse in
phototechmag.com 27
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Green Finch
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terms of light but birds are less active

then. Its easier when the sun is behind
or in front of you; however, I prefer
side lighting when trees or clouds dif-
fuse the light. In this way, its possible
to photograph softly-lit birds even dur-
ing the midday hours.
Together with light, good composi-

tion is the key to a captivating photo.
Sometimes its best to trust your
feelings, but keep in mind that birds
are fast creatures so they need space.
Its usual to leave some more space in
the direction the bird is looking. In
addition, try to be at its eye level when
making photos. If the background of
your shots looks dull, you can frame
your pictures by fixing some twigs
around the perch. Finally, avoid dis-
tracting elements and use the effect
of shapes and colors. Just a few red
berries can add so much to the image.
Escape the Routine

Whether you set up a feeder in an
ancient forest or in your own backyard,
its visitors will likely give you not only
wonderful photographic opportunities
but also many unforgettable moments.
In todays world, where everyone is in
a hurry, the days spent surrounded
by marvelous nature bring peace of
mind. That is why bird photography
near feeders fascinates me. I hope you
will like it too.
Tadas Naujokaitis
was born in Lithuania
in 1994. He started
watching birds when
he was eight-years-
old. His father had an
old Zenit TTL camera,
and in 2004 his father
taught him how to use
it. Since then he has
photographed birds.
His work has been

published in Amateur
All Images Tadas Naujokaitis
Photographer, Paukiai and urnalas Apie Gamt

magazines and he has won awards in Europe for
his work. To see more of his work visit his website
at tadasphotography.com.
Resources
Camera: Canon EOS 50D; Lens: Canon EF
100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens
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FEATURE
Bay Window, Animas Forks, Colorado, 2009. The final, straight print utilizing digital Selective Masking techniques. All dodging and
burning for this print are incorporated into mask layers.
Selective Masking Part III

Computer Techniques for the Traditional Darkroom
Alan Ross
Part I (Nov/Dec, 2010) introduced an inexpensive, low-tech All three articles explain how to make a variety of masks
technique for hands-free dodging and burning of an image by to achieve controlled results while printing conventional neg-
using pencil or markers on mylar masks placed above the atives on silver halide photographic paper in the darkroom.
negative in a traditional darkroom. Part II (March/April, Other important requirements: These masking techniques re-
2011) introduced the use of Photoshop or Elements to create quire use of a diffusion enlarger or contact printing, a special,
masks on inkjet transparency film to make hands-free grad- inexpensive, negative carrier, a computer with Photoshop or
uated-burns of skies and other areas. Part III expands on the Elements, a scanner that preferably will scan film, an inkjet
use of the computer in the traditional darkroom for making printer capable of printing on transparent media such as
prints with multiple contrasts on variable-contrast paper. overhead projection film available at most office supply stores.
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MASKING PART III ALAN ROSS
One of the greatest technological advances for the higher contrast mask for the room, with the windows,
darkroom enthusiast was the introduction of variable- etc, being clear. That would let me reduce the contrast
contrast papers. Not only were they great for the bank in the enlarger to offset the now mask-increased
account, since one package would suffice for any contrast in the room. That, in turn, would cause the
given size instead of three to six, but it became pos- windows to get more exposure than the rest of the
sible to have more than one contrast in a single sheet image, AND at a lower contrast.
of paper. Some of the procedures typically relied upon
for multi-contrast printing, while ultimately produc- Since I already had a 300dpi grayscale scan of the
ing the desired result, require the use of special aux- whole negative, I didnt need to pull the negative from
iliary printing filters or enlarger settings which have the carrier and take time to make a mask scan. As I
to be changed for one action, then reset to original always do, I started out by making a Reg Marks Layer
status for subsequent prints. Time consuming at best, (See Part II) indicating the image corners. Because it
and occasionally aggravating. takes color to make a contrast change on VC paper
I next converted the file from grayscale to RGB
So far, we have applied Selective Masking techniques (File>Mode>RGB, do not f latten Layers).
ranging from a low-tech I just want to make these
rocks a bit lighter to computer-savvy methods for a My approach to this mask is exactly the same as for
smooth, graduated sky-burn. Now its time to take the samecontrast masksthe only difference being
techniques discussed in Part II to the next level. We are that instead of a Black Layer modified to gray, I will
now going to go from Grayscale to RGBkind of like use a color: magenta to burn in with a lower contrast,
the BW-to-Technicolor segue in the Wizard of Oz. or yellow to burn in at a higher contrast. In this case
it will be magenta. Just as with the examples in Part
Simple Multiple-Contrasts II, the areas to be burned in will be in appropriately
separate Layers with the target areas painted or filled
in with white.
Since, just as with the Black Layer in the earlier

examples, we can adjust opacity from 100% to Zero,
we want to make the base Layer 100% magenta. Click
the foreground box color in the Tools window and a
Color Picker will appear. In that window, you will see
boxes for C, M, Y and K with some numerical entries.
Enter 0 for C, Y and K, and 100 for M. Click OK.
The foreground box in the Tools window will now be
magenta (see Figure 2).
(Figure 1) First rough print
I adjusted exposure and contrast to get the room

interior to look the way I wanted, the terrain outside
the windows became mostly paper-white, as did the
glare on the window frame and floor (see Figure 1).
Since I have dealt with this sort of situation before, I
had a pretty good idea that a burn-in at the basic print
contrast would produce a rather harsh quality rather
than the more delicate, dreamy quality I wanted. I
would need to burn the highlights in using a lower
contrast than the contrast for the interior. Keeping in
mind that Selective Masking is controlled dodging,
meant that to accomplish this I would need to make a (Figure 2) Selecting 100% magenta
phototechmag.com 31
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FEATURE
Create a new Layer and position it just above the

Background Layer. Select All and choose Edit>Fill
>Foreground Color. You now have a Layer that is
pure magenta.
Next, well do a burn Layer for the windows; Ill do the

window frame and floor spots in a separate Layer so I
can control them separately. I made the Background
Layer active and used the Magic Wand to shift-select
the windows, getting them all in the same selection.
In the Quick Mask mode I could then see all areas that
needed additional selecting or deselecting (see Figure
(Figure 4) Test files made with magenta and yellow patches set
3). Exit Quick Mask. at various opacities. The patches were then compared to a set
of color printing filters to estimate the approximate color
correction values.
With my enlargers V54 cold-light lamp, 20M has

about the same contrast shift as 30-40Y, so to make
the print I removed the 20M and then put in 35Y.
This mask, (Figure 5) in conjunction with some pen-

ciling on a mylar sheet (Part I), to dodge some of the
deep shadows to left and right of the window, allowed
this complicated image to now be printed with only
the push of the timers button.
(Figure 3) Initial window selection with the Magic Wand
I then created a new Layer called Window Burn and

filled the selected areas with white. Next, I did the
same thing with the window frame and floor spots,
creating a new Layer called Floor and Window Burn.
I wanted the floor elements to burn in a bit less than

the windows, so I dropped the white opacity of that
(Figure 5) The final mask
layer to about 80%.
In order to make an approximation of how to set the In summary:

base magenta opacity, I referred to a sample printout s)FYOURNEGATIVESCANFILEISINGRAYSCALEconvert it
I had made with varying opacities of magenta, then to RGB and dont flatten layers in doing so.
compared the patches to a set of color printing filters.
Refer to Determining Opacity Densities in Part II and sMagenta dodges highlights more than blacks
also Figure 4. this results in an increase in local contrast.
My original enlarger filtration for my basic test print sYellow dodges blacks more than highlightsthis
was 20M. It happened that magenta set at 50% opacity results in a decrease in local contrast.
with my inkjet film and printer was approximately
20M so that was my initialand very happily my final s 2EMEMBER THAT 3ELECTIVE -ASKING IS CONTROLLED
mask setting. (This doesnt always happen!) dodging! If you need to burn-in an area, you need to
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MASKING PART III ALAN ROSS
All Images Alan Ross Ansel Adams and Georgia OKeeffe, Carmel, 1976.
This is an image from 35mm that I was never able
to print successfully without getting into multiple
contrasts. There was a great deal of flare coming from
the window behind OKeeffe. If I got the contrast right
for Ansel, everything else had way too much contrast.
If I got OKeeffe right, Ansel was just a dark gray mess.
This mask essentially allowed me to make the print
using four different contrasts. The sky area printed at
the basic contrast set in the enlarger. Magenta dodges
whites more than blacks, so contrast was increased
in that area. Yellow dodges blacks more than whites,
so contrast was decreased in that area. The mix of
magenta and yellow simply dodged that area without
much change in basic contrast. I still had to do some
traditional burning and a bit of pre-exposure, but the
mask gave me the contrast control I needed.
Ansel Adams and Georgia OKeeffe, Carmel, 1976
increase your exposure to get the burn-in value you ative carrier with a piece of opal-glass or diffusing plex,
need then dodge everything else via mask. he could have taped a piece of mylar over the image,
added a touch of pencil density and been master of his
Having used Selective Masking in one form or another printing desires!
for maybe 25 years, I have to say that it has completely
changed my approach to printing. I can control the And now its your turn to deal with troublesome
densities of multiple areas, small and large, that I images you could never master before! Have Fun!
could never dream of dealing with before.
Editors note: You can find Part I and Part II of Alans articles on
phototechmag.com
Ansel would have loved it, too. When we were making
prints for his Portfolio VII in 1976, one of the images Photographer and master printer Alan
Ross has been Ansel Adams exclusive
was Cemetery Statue and Oil Derricks. It was basic-ally printer for over 36 years. His experience
includes operating a commercial studio
easy to print, but the statues face needed a slight with projects ranging from ad campaigns
bit of dodging. As much of a master printer as Ansel
Image Barbara Higgins
to murals for the National Park Service.

Since 1993, he has devoted his energies
was, we probably threw out half of the prints he ex- to his personal work, teaching and work
posed! The Los Angeles sky behind the statue was a for select clients, including Boeing, Nike,
IBM and MCI.
clear blue (!!!!) and a fraction of a seconds hesitation
in moving the dodging wand resulted in streaks in His photography hangs in collections
and galleries throughout the country
the sky. A second of lingering too long with the wand and internationally, and he has
over the face resulted in a sickly pallor. If I had only lectured and led workshops in locations from Yosemite to China. For a
more in-depth discussion of Ross masking process, visit his website,
thought to replace the back sheet of glass in the neg- alanrossphotography.com.
phototechmag.com 33
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TECHNIQUE
Bridges and ramps, Bronx NY 2/1994
Ilford MG Art 300 Paper

David Vestal
I must start with results or it will take too long to get Multigrade Fixer or Hypam diluted 1+4: one part
there, as it did in my darkroom. Heres most of what stock fixer plus four parts water. Another way is to
Ive learned about Ilford/Harmans new Multigrade fix for just 2 minutes in Multigrade or Hypam fixer
Art 300 black and white paper. It is a whole new kind diluted 1+9, but when I tried that, thinking it was
of printing paper, technically inbetween conventional conservative and safe, it got me into trouble. Except
fiber-base and RC papers. It comes up quickly in the for this papers persistent tendency to stain, and to
developer and the prints wash more quickly than produce bleached areas within the picture in spite of
what Ilford now calls baryta FB, but not so quickly careful handling, I feel I almost have it under control
as RC papers. now. About one print in every four or five still shows
such defects in my darkroom for no known reason.
Conventional FB processing, although with luck it The paper seems somewhat temperamental. Or it
works, is no way to handle this paper. I had to learn might be any of a multitude of unknown variables.
an approach thats new to me. After development and
the stop bath, it works best with quick fixingjust My guess is that these defects may result from new-
one minute in a strong, non-hardening rapid fixer. product bugs that need to be worked out, as happened
The directions that come with the paper specify Ilford around 1970 with early RC papers. Mating a radically
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ILFORD MG ART 300 PAPER DAVID VESTAL
new all-cotton art paper base to Multigrades triple

emulsion (low-contrast, high-contrast and curve-con-
trol) might well pose unforeseen problems.
What Its Like

This is a thick, stiff, all-cotton paper, flexible but slow
to curl. I couldnt tell the emulsion side by touch or
surface appearance under safelight, but never got it
wrong. The emulsion side is the concave side. It is light
in weight, and getting it into a vertical print washer
takes some doing. Placed edge-down in the tank, it
pops back up so that inches of each print stick up out
of the water. These floppy tops curl and stick together
while wet. Its not easy to get them all separated and
held down in the water, and the recommended wash
times (30 to 45 minutes, no more), may anyway not
be long enough to ensure complete washing in such
a washer. Wash them one at a time in a tray. The
emulsion has a mildly warm tone and the paper base
is a warm white.
Its not a fast paper (ISO 100 and 50 with Multigrade Manuel Alvarez Bravo in studio, cropped, Mexico DF 7/1987
filters, 200 without) and printing dense negatives can
get you into reciprocity-failure extended times that to the eye. Its a rough-textured matte paper, much
make life difficult. I gave up on an otherwise promising like what Kodak used to call tapestry, and has a
negative when its test exposures got up to several sort of subtexture, an eggshell sheen that helps the
minutes. The tones come up quickly in development, blacks look black. It looks and feels like a thick, rough
at about 12 to 15 seconds, and development proceeds watercolor or charcoal paper. This texture seems to
normally. There is considerable dry-down. If in doubt, have been chosen for its artistic character after a
you could use Ansel Adamss shortcut by drying a survey to find out what art photographers want. Im
test print in a microwave oven and comparing it to a not one of them. When youre drawing in charcoal
similar wet print. a definite tooth on the paper is useful. In a photo
print it has no function. Its a cosmetic vanity. My Art
Processing each print by itself from development 300 prints show me that this conspicuous texture is
through its final wash in a tray before starting to tolerable in light prints with no large dark areas, but
process the next print is easy and relatively safe, and, of interferes annoyingly with dark prints. That texture
course, time-consuming. MG Art 300 is not designed competes for the viewers attention against the photos
for batch processing, as I learned when trying it got dark details, which, in effect, it largely wipes out. For
me in big trouble: for instance, five prints, all good me this is quite a good paper for light prints, but poor
when they went into a water-filled holding tray after a for dark ones. Other things being equal, Id much
first fixing bath, were all badly stained, and some also rather have MG Smooth 300, which doesnt exist
showed bleached white areas a little later, when I took but probably could. I dont know what new problems
them out to put them through their second fixer. such a change might bring, but to me the prospect of a
smooth semi-matte paper, on this thick base and with
There was no warning and no way to save them. This this emulsion, and just enough shine so it doesnt kill
taught me to use rapid fixer at 1+4 for just one minute, the blacks, is more desirable.
and to process each print by itself without delay. Not
convenient, but any good print deserves all the time History enters here. Around 1900, photographers such
and care it requires. as Alfred Stieglitz, Clarence White, Edward Steichen
and Gertrude Ksebier were anxious to win recog-
Although the papers D-Max is a low 1.4 (as against nition for photography as an art medium. The public
MG IV FBs approximately 2.0), its black looks deep perception was, and largely still is, that photography is
phototechmag.com 35
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TECHNIQUE
Swamp near Layton NJ 1990
a chemical and mechanical process that cant possibly than as a historical record. FSA photos look just like
be art. In truth, as someone accurately said, Anything what they are, not a bad thing for any art form. That
can be art, but very little is. The photo artists of that was The Photo Depression.
time fought back by inventing The Photo Secession.
Their tactics included making photographs that look- In 1969 there was a breakthrough: Lee Witkins new
ed like handmade drawings or etchings. It may have photo gallery in New York had an Ansel Adams show
been Steichen who once got such a photo accepted in that sold out at $150 per print, and suddenly photo-
a general art exhibition, until the jury found out it was graphy was Art. Other galleries opened, many run
a photograph and rejected it in horror. The Photo Seces- by art dealers who knew nothing of photography.
sionists imitated other media to get their pictures past They wanted and got photos that dont look like
the art museum door. Some of their best workmuch photos, conforming to the familiar esthetic of 1930s
of its really goodnow sells for millions of dollars. camera clubs: tricky and artistic. And now The Photo
Recession is very big. Some excellent work is done in
In the 1930s a few photographers concerned with this mode, and many of todays art dealers, curators,
social problems fought poverty by showing the public critics and collectors prize it far above most straight
what Lewis Hine said had to be corrected. The US photography, as do many art photographers. I feel that
Department of Agricultures Farm Security Admin- its good for them and for me to differ in our tastes.
istration, directed by Roy Stryker, sent some able
photographers out to show how bad things were on In short, MG Art 300 is made for Photo Recessionists
dustbowl farms. The pictures were given free to the but not for me. I like photos that look like photos. In
press, so people saw them. Conservative congressmen testing this paper I printed pictures that I felt could
hated them, just as they would today. The FSA work survive in spite of its artistic texture. Im sure that
of those few photographers is now prized more as art many whose letterheads say Fine Art Photography
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Manuel Alvarez Bravo at home, Mexico DF 7/1987. This image shows the difculty I encountered with MG Art 300 in the darker areas of the
print image.
will love MG Art 300 just as it is. I wish them well and chemical along with it and requires considerable drain
often enjoy their work, but I dont expect to use this time before the next chemical. Count the drain time
paper often. If it had a more photo-friendly surface, after each chemical, say 20 seconds for an 11x14-inch
Id use it more. Its excellent for a few of my photos, print, as part of its processing time. Heres a sequence
but not for many of them. Incidentally, one test report that works for me:
on MG Art 300 says it doesnt scan well because of its
surface texture, which the writer otherwise adores. His Development, 2 minutes or more with constant agitation
problem may be with his scanner. For me it scanned in Bromophen; 3 minutes or more in Warmtone. Most
quite nicely in spite of a surface texture I dont like. other paper developers should work as well.
Processing Acid stop bath, 30 seconds (the directions say 10 sec-

Do it all at 68F/20C plus or minus 4F throughout. onds, which is nonsense, considering the necessary
Agitate constantly whenever possible. Remember that drain time).
this paper likes short wet times. One writer says that
MG Art 300 works better for him with longer develop- Rapid xer 1+4, 60 seconds, no more, including drain
ment than the recommended two minutes in Bromo- time. (I did a 1+4 clearing-time test, which showed
phen 1+3. I saw no difference that mattered between 2 that this paper just barely clears in 30+ seconds; but
and 3 minutes in Bromophen and between 3 and 4-1/2 this is complete fixing, unlike Ilfords also recom-
minutes in Ilford Warmtone 1+19, so Id choose the mended 2 minutes in 1+9 rapid fixer.) Ilford says
shorter time with either one. that 2 minutes fixing at 1+9 produces prints with
good permanence for commercial use, or some such
Wear rubber or latex gloves to protect your hands words: in photography, commercial permanence is
and the prints. This thick paper carries much of each an oxymoron.
phototechmag.com 37
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TECHNIQUE
and dry flat. Use only photographic blotters that are

never used for incompletely washed prints. Or you
can just squeegee or wipe water off your prints and
hang them up on clips to dry.
All that is for one print at a time. Its difficult to process

two or more prints together, and you might lose fewer
prints to MG Art 300s mystery defects, if they occur
in your darkroom as they did in mine, by processing
your prints one at a time.
Processing for Stability, Including Toning

All of the above, plus selenium toning. I must warn
you not to selenium tone prints in the initial washing-
aid if they have had only the recommended 2 minutes
in rapid fixer diluted 1+9. They are then incompletely
fixed and selenium toner will stain them. (I took a long
chance, thinking that Ilfords chemists must surely
know the fixing and toning of this paper better than I
ever could. In this case, apparently not.) Ilford neither
recommends nor warns against selenium toning in the
washing aid of MG Art 300 prints that have had only
their recommended two minutes in rapid fixer 1+9:
they dont mention it.
One minute in rapid fixer at 1+4 gives barely complete

All Images David Vestal
fixing, but the prints selenium tone without trouble

after theyve been completely washed, and toning im-
proves them visually as well as protecting them chem-
ically against oxidizing gases. The blacks deepen and
the contrast in dark tones is increased.
Clearing-time test strips, MG Art 300 fixed in Hypam
and developed 3 minutes in Bromophen diluted 1+3. Here I ran into ambiguous instructions from Ilford.
(Left) Hypam 1+9. (Right) Hypam 1+4. Both a December 2001 bulletin, Processing B&W Fibre
Base Papers, and a May 2011 one, Multigrade Art 300,
Pre-wash, 5 minutes in running water with constant recommend selenium toning, for prints fixed 60 sec-
agitation and several changes of water: dump and onds in rapid fixer at 1+4, in the 10-minute washing
rell the tray several times. aid bath that follows the 5-minute pre-wash, with
toner added to the desired dilution. But a 2007
Washing aid, 10 minutes with constant agitation: I used bulletin, Harman Selenium Toner, says Prior to toning,
Heico Perma Wash: Ilfords or Kodaks washing aids your print should be properly fixed and fully washed....
will do as well, as will a 2% solution of sodium sulfite. [my italics]. After my several disasters with MG Art
300, I chose to tone only completely washed prints
Final wash, 5 minutes in running water, with constant and had no trouble. To end the toning, put the print in
agitation and frequent water changes. Residual hypo running water for 2 minutes; then wash it thoroughly.
testing shows that theyre clean at 5 minutes, but I To my eye, the toning improved every photo, both at
wash for 10 minutes to make sure. Then the print is 1+20 toner dilution for 4 minutes, which they say is for
ready to dry or to tone. protection with little or no color change, and at 1+5
dilution for 4 minutes. My choice is to tone at 1+20,
Drying: I squeegee all water drops off both sides of since I see no signicant difference. And then I ran out
each print and put it between clean blotters, which of paper, so I havent tried toning in the rst washing-
I change frequently. Unhardened prints on Art 300 aid bath. However, that should work as well as toning
stick lightly to blotters at rst, but peel away cleanly after complete washing, and should be less tedious
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and inconvenient. The toner is especially toxic, so

handle it with care in a well-ventilated room, and wear
protective gloves.
For toning after complete washing, I diluted my toner

in a fresh Permawash bath (1.5 fl oz PW concentrate
in 64 fl oz water). 65.5 fl oz divided by 20 = 3.275, so I
made my 1+20 toner by adding 3.25 f l oz of Harman
Selenium Toner to the PW bath. And 65.5 divided by
5 = 13.1, so I made my 1+5 toner by adding 13 fl oz
of toner to the PW bath. Mix well before using. Toning
with constant agitation was rapid and even. If you are
toning for color, as I am not, keep an untoned print
in good light where you can compare it with the Editors note: We re-scanned Davids photos made on MG Art 300 and
indeed also had problems with artifacts from the surface. Best scanning
print in the toner. Otherwise its very hard to judge. was achieved with Descreening turned on- perhaps this is a good thing for
I tone mainly to raise dark-tone contrast and I accept photographers who use this paper- its like a built-in watermark making it
difficult to copy the original silver print.
whatever color comes. The added stability is a bonus.
After toning and the 2-minute rinse to stop it, I repeat

the 10-minute treatment in washing aid without any
David Vestal is a photographer and teacher
toner, then wash each print for 10 minutes before whose publications include The Art of Black
drying it. Each time I add a print to the blotter stack & White Enlarging (1984) and The Craft of
Photography. His photographs are exhibited
I also change the blotters. As I said, you can just hang internationally and are found in numerous
your prints up to dry, the way I hang damp blotters. private and public collections.
Resources
When I print again on MG Art 300, Ill try toning in
Websites: ilfordphoto.com
the initial washing-aid bath, one print at a time, from
development to drying. But before that, once I have
the print exposure, Ill expose four prints, one after
another, then process them one at a time.
Four prints, because if you make just one, something

happens to it; and if you want one for yourself you
have to start over. Four prints, one to keep, three to
give away or exhibit or sell. Four is a handy number
for photo printing.
To sum this up: for me MG Art 300 is a potentially

excellent paper that can probably become much bet-
ter. If it does, Ill surely buy and use it. If you like its
texture and dont mind its chemical antics, consider it
____________________________________
excellent right now. In decent prints its tones are rich
and beautiful, and not like those of any other paper I
know. It is unique, and it offers something special that
dees description. You feel it when you see the prints.
To my mind this papers problems are a) chemicalthe

stains and bleaching and b) visualthe unfortunate
surface texture. I hope that both problems will be
solved, and the sooner the better. More than most
photo companies, llford has always been a friend to
photographers who care for quality, and I like to see _____________________________
them doing well.
phototechmag.com 39
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ROAD TEST
Woman in Room
On the Street: Fuji X100

Steve Anchell
It takes practice to paint a realistic picture. It takes In 1981, at the suggestion of photographer David
practice to play a guitar. It takes practice to capture Scheinbaum, I decided to see what could be done us-
the decisive moment with a camera. And just like with ing a hand held 35mm camera. At the time, I was using
painting or guitar playing, while you can use almost a Nikon F with a Photomic meter. It did not take long
any brush or guitar, it helps to have a good-quality to realize the limitations inherent in using a single lens
sable brush for oil painting, an electric guitar for rock- reflex camera (SLR) for hand-held street photography.
n-roll, and a viewfinder camera for street photography. These include mirror shake; losing sight of your sub-
ject with each exposure, if only for an instant; they
I began street photography in the 1970s using an are loud due to mirror slap; and the singular fact that
8x10-inch Agfa-Ansco large-format camera. I would an SLR camera is big, bulky and threatening to the
set my Majestic tripod up on a sidewalk in downtown photographic subject.
Los Angeles and take formal photos of the street.
Occasionally, I would ask someone to stop and allow In 1982, I purchased a Leica M3. Leica invented the
me to make a portrait of them, other times I just 35mm camera. The early models were viewfinder cam-
photographed the ebb and flow of the city. eras with a rangefinder focusing system. The range-
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ON THE STREET: FUJI X100 STEVE ANCHELL
Vintage Car
finder system juxtaposes a second, shadow image of None of this means that the viewfinder is a camera for
the subject in the viewfinder. When the subject is all reasons. Like any tool it has its limitations. One of
in focus the shadow image disappears. As a result, the major limitations of the viewfinder is that it is not
Leica M cameras are usually referred to as rangefinder able to accept lenses much longer than 135mm in a
rather than viewfinder cameras, but they are still 35mm format as the barrel of the lens would obstruct
within the viewfinder family. the viewfinder window. If you were photographing
Alaskan Brown Bears I would recommend using a
When using a viewfinder camera you look directly Nikon D3 with a 600mm prime lens. Otherwise, you
through a window in order to compose the image, might end up as a brown bag lunch.
not through the lens, as with an SLR. The window
is sometimes located directly above the lens but quite With the advent of digital photography, there have
often it is found above and to the left of the lens. been several attempts to create a viable viewfinder
camera. These include the Epson RD-1 and the Leica
The advantage of using a viewfinder over an SLR in- M8 and M9; the M9 being to viewfinder photography
cludes no mirror shake, allowing handheld exposures what the Leica M7 still is to film. Most recently, Fuji
at slower shutter speeds (I am able to photograph has introduced a promising viewfinder camera in an
hand-held at speeds as slow as second); small and attempt to fill the niche, the Fuji X100.
inconspicuous (read: non-threatening to the subject);
lightweight; and quiet. But most important, because When I first heard about this camera, I hoped that I
you are looking directly through the viewfinder and had found a digital replacement for my Leica M3 and
there is no reflex mirror to obscure your view for even M7 film cameras. Then reports from users began to
an instant, you never lose sight of your subject. This is creep in, especially reviews I read on the web. Most
critical for capturing the decisive moment. If only for of these extolled the virtues of the super sharp, crisp
this last reason and no other, the viewfinder system is, Fuji lens while lamenting how slow the camera was in
in my experience, the best for street photography. practice. I decided to find out for myself. As it happens,
phototechmag.com 41
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ROAD TEST
Ferry
I visit Cuba twice a year for humanitarian purposes may take some practice, I told you that at the begin-
and while there I usually find time to photograph. ning of this article, but try to get used to watching your
What better way to test a street camera than to take it subject in realtime through the optical viewfinder.
with me on my next visit?
Within the optical viewfinder only enable the shutter
The X100 is compact, lightweight, quiet and unob- speed, aperture and ISO, along with the exposure
trusive, all-important attributes for a street camera. mode and exposure compensation. Anything else will
Unfortunately, the image buffer is small, around eight simply interfere with your visual connection to your
frames using RAW; the write time between exposures subject. You do not need any other distractions in the
is slow; and there is a slight delay when the shutter is viewfinder window.
released. It also has more features and functions than
just about any camera I have ever used. Many of these Turn off ISO Auto Control and set the Fn Button for
come configured as defaults. ISO Sensitivity. The ability to change ISO at random
is one of the most important innovations of digital
I found that when I reconfigured the X100 to turn off photography. To be able to do it on the fly, using the Fn
all the bells and whistles it worked more efficiently Button, is a blessing for streetphotographers.
and by the end of my trip I was racking up a higher
percentage of fine images than in the first few weeks. Finally, digital cameras live off battery power. And
If you are interested in using this camera to capture while everything should be done to save on battery
the decisive moment then the following are the settings usage it is important not to do so at the expense of
and controls I recommend using. speed, focus or capture. For this reason, turn off the
OVF Power Save Mode and enable Quick Start Mode.
First, only use the optical viewfinder. It may be tempt-
ing to use the enhanced electronic viewfinder (digital Capturing the decisive moment and having it in-focus
viewfinder) in low light but it will slow you down. Yes, it is what matters most to a street photographer. For
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ON THE STREET: FUJI X100 STEVE ANCHELL
All Images Steve Anchell

Chamber Maid
that reason, my method is to preset my aperture for At the same time, my left thumb and index finger hold
the depth-of-field I need, within the limitations of the the f/stop dial surrounding the lens, ready to increase
ambient lighting conditions. I then rely entirely upon or decrease depth-of-field as needed.
the accuracy of the Aperture Priority mode and the
exposure compensation dial. This is the reason I like to While not making apologies for this camera, I
have exposure compensation appear in the viewfinder found that once I had configured it according to the
window, so I can keep track of any exposure changes guidelines above and became accustomed to using it,
without having to look at the dial. the delays in exposure enabled me to better anticipate
the decisive moment.
When using this camera I like to keep my thumb on
the exposure compensation dial. When framing an It does not take much to become a good street
image I move my thumb from the exposure compen- photographer. All you need is to practice and use the
sation dial and place it on the easily accessible AE/ right camera for the job.
AFL lock button on the back of the camera. Pressing
and holding the AE/AFL button locks in the focus on
the selected subject. Steve Anchell has been a photographer,
writer, and teacher for forty-one years.
Photo Marcia Brenden
He teaches both film and digital

At the same time, my right index finger is always on workshops both internationally and from
his home in Salem, Oregon. He leads a
the on/off switch. Usually I would leave the camera Humanitarian Mission for Photographers
on all the time and carry a pocket full of batteries. to Cuba twice a year.
However, the X100 powers off after five minutes and For more information, visit his web site at
it takes longer to turn it back on when this happens, www.steveanchell.com
why I do not know. I found that it was better to shut
it off completely and then turn it back on when the Resources
Websites: fujifilm.com
action begins to happen.
phototechmag.com 43
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TECHNIQUE
ClassicINSTA App>
Three Color Gum Printing
Tom Persinger
How do you proceed if you enjoy creating photographs you to choose one of four cameras, which provide
with your phone-camera, but are bored with inkjet the format, and easily swipe through eleven unique
output? While youd like to try a historic process, you filters such as black and white, saturated, toy camera,
dont want to sacrice full color for monochrome. sepia and many others. The many options offer great
Luckily, more photographic possibilities are now possibility for experimentation.
available than at any other time in history. With over
150 years worth of various techniques to explore, its a Contrary to popular belief three color gum is a simple
wonderful time to be a photographer. though somewhat time consuming process. At first
you may encounter a few small obstacles, but once
A few months ago, I introduced the Hipstanotype, these are hurdled, the results are wonderful.
a fun combination of the digital and handmade,
which merges the Hipstamatic photo app with the Id like to thank long-time F295 member and con-
19th Century cyanotype process. Here we will ex- tributor Dave Molnar whos currently an MFA student
plore the Classic INSTA app and create a final print in Photography at the Art Institute of Boston for
using what is arguably the most beautiful and delicate sharing his knowledge of the process. Im confident
photographic technique of the past 100 years, the my success wouldnt have come so quickly if it hadnt
three colored gum bichromate process. On their web- been for Daves kind sharing of information.
site, ClassicINSTA claims that their app turns an
iPhone into a perfect instant camera. It reproduces Creating the Digital Negatives
all features of an instant camera, from the operations The three color gum process requires three unique
to the results... It is more accurate to say that their negatives: one each for the blue, yellow and red layers.
algorithms alter images to reproduce the look and Applying a simple curve derived from Christina Z.
format of several classic instant films. The app allows Andersons method, will make the negatives more
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ClassicINSTA APP > THREE COLOR GUM PRINTING TOM PERSINGER
suitable (atter) for the gum process. Heres a summary

of the necessary steps to make your digital negatives.
Before starting, download and install the custom gum
curve (see resources).
1. Open your image in Photoshop.
2. Add a Curve Adjustment Layer. Load the gum_

F295.acv file.
3. Add an Invert Adjustment Layer.
4. Flatten the image.
5. Select the Channels palette menu and then choose

Split Channels. The image will now be open in three
separate windows, one grayscale negative for each
color in the separation.
6. Select print and in the print window, under the

Output drop down menu turn on Registration Marks.
Print each of the red, green and blue negatives on
transparency material. Take care to label each neg-
ative: Red/print blue, Blue/print yellow and Green/
print red.
Selecting Paper
Well be making three separate printsone for each
coloron each sheet. One of the most important
considerations is aligning (known as registering) each yellow and then red. I usually print one color per
new layer with the previous. A papers dimensional session and suggest mixing only as much chemistry as
stability can complicate this task. I recommend trying needed. The following ratios work well for 6x6" prints
300gm Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper; many (adjust quantities accordingly):
have had good success with the stability of this paper
without additional preparation. 1. Mix .25g of prussian blue with 2.5ml gum arabic
and stir until dissolved. Then add 2.5ml of the 13%
Sensitizer and Supplies potassium dichromate solution.
Create a 13% stock sensitizer solution of Potassium
Dichromate by mixing 13g Potassium Dichromate 2. Mix .5g of cadmium yellow with 2.5ml gum arabic
with 100ml of distilled water. Stir until completely and stir until dissolved. Then add 2.5ml of the 13%
dissolved. If stored in a brown bottle, it will last indef- potassium dichromate solution.
initely. NOTE: Potassium Dichromate is a known car-
cinogen and toxic. Its highly recommended to wear a 3. Mix .5g of alizarin crimson with 2.5ml gum arabic
respirator, gloves and apron. When handling it follow and stir until dissolved. Then add 2.5ml of the 13%
all warning labels and handle carefully. You will also potassium dichromate solution.
need gum arabic and watercolor pigments. Ive had
good success with Grumbacher brand in prussian Dip your foam brush into the emulsion and apply to
blue, cadmium yellow medium and alizarin crimson. an area of your paper thats slightly larger than the
negative. Brush on the emulsion until it becomes
Pigment and Sensitizer Ratios slightly tacky and then stop. Do not overwork it.
Creating a three color gum print generally requires
three printing sessions; one for each color. Common Let the paper air dry for five minutes. Then use a blow
practice is to print the blue layer first followed by dryer to dry it completely.
phototechmag.com 45
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TECHNIQUE
Place the negative on top of the sensitized paper, place Repeat the above steps for each subsequent color.
in a contact frame or between two sheets of glass, and When applying the second and third layers, the
then place under the UV light. Times may vary but to simplest way Ive found to register them is to align
begin try 6 min. for blue, 8 min. for yellow and 8 min. the registration marks on the negative with the ones
for red. on the print before coating with emulsion. A light
table makes this easier, but is not essential. When the
Gum prints develop in plain tap water. Fill a tray with negative is accurately positioned, attach it along one
water (~75F) and slide the print face down into the edge using Scotch brand Magic Tape and then fold
water, careful not to trap any air bubbles, so it floats. it away from the print area. Proceed to carefully coat
Let sit undisturbed (5min), gently remove the print with the next layer of emulsion and dry as before.
and submerge it into a fresh tray of water (5min), and
then move it to a 3rd tray and let sit (20 min.) At first, I suggest creating three or four of the same
prints with slightly different exposure times for each
Hang or lie flat face up on a screen out of direct light layer. Lightly pencil notes on the back regarding ex-
to dry. posure time, order, and pigment. This notation system
will make it easy to compare differences and will
expedite the completion of a satisfactory print as well
as provide invaluable data for future reference.
Editors Note: Tom has written and produced a series of inexpensive

Historic Process Quick Reference Cards. The 8.5x11" waterproof,
stain resistant, laminated cards are designed as a quick and concise
reference and facilitates early success. These inexpensive cards are
currently available through Freestyle Photographic and can be found
on their website.
Tom Persinger is an artist, photographer,

writer and the founder of F295, an
international organization that believes in
the value of a heterogeneous photographic
approach in which digital, historic and
All Images Tom Persinger
self-made methods are employed and

combined in the creation of a new 21st
Century Photography. Tom is also
currently working on a book that will further
illuminate this approach. Contact Tom at
tp@tompersinger.com
____________
Resources
Download the curve here: http://www.f295.org/site/?p=2094; App:
http://misskiwi.com/classic; Gum Resources: freestylephoto.biz
Final Gum Print
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Technique
Exclusive Subscriber Content - John Reuter exposes the hidden negative in Fuji FP100C
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Editors Blog
Guest Bloggers Portfolios
The Vault - Bryce McQuillan, Up-Close and Personal
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Page 48
Hannah in Dr. Who Mask, Charles Mason 2012
Well technically, I guess this is the mask of a Dalek, a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants, from
the British Dr. Who television series. The model is my daughter Hannah, who was seven at the time
the photo was taken in our yard in Fairbanks, Alaska. We were actually in the process of returning the
mask, as it was a birthday gift for her brother Zachary, but proved to be so uncomfortable he couldnt
wear it. I convinced Hannah to put it on for a couple of frames before I boxed it up. Thats about the
limit of her tolerance for modeling for photos. In fact, she says I actually paid her a $5 modeling fee
at the time. The photograph was made with my Hasselblad camera and 80mm lens on Kodak Portra
400 film, scanned on a Nikon 9000.
Charles Mason first picked up a camera in 1970, at age 11. He has rarely put it down since. Charles, along
with his wife Julie, moved from Virginia to Alaska in 1984. After several years at the local newspaper, and
then completing an Art masters degree in Documentary Photography, Charles was hired as the professor
of photojournalism and photography at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1990. He still rabidly pursues
his own work, along with teaching, and is currently working on two projects, one on zoos and one on kudzu.
Notable awards include POY honors, the Oskar Barnack Award at World Press Photo, and a Rasmuson
Foundation Individual Artist Fellowship. A recent publication of note is the cover of the bestselling book
Water for Elephants, which was shot at a small circus in Fairbanks. To see more of Charles work, check
out masonphotos.com.
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Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out For navigation instructions please click here Search Issue | Next Page

THE BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: 21ST CENTURY TINTYPE STUDIO

See some amazing work by emerging photographers...

Submit your portfolio at phototechmag.com

underexposed [emerging photographers]

34 Ilford MG Art 300 Paper

40 On the Street 44 ClassicINSTA App> Three Color

Image Steve Anchell

The Business of Photography

16 Musings About Light &

25 Amazing Bird Photography

Gear, Apps & Good Stuff

Page 48 Charles Mason

FROM THE EDITOR March/April 2012 Vol. 33 No. 2

Publisher S. Tinsley Preston III

Fuji X100 in Cuba, is it the street camera for you?

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. by St. Croix Press Inc.

Lukas Birk and

Robert Hirsch: What is the projects mission?

Our information is based on a visit between April and

6 photo technique M/A 2012

RH: What about women in photography?

LB: Women are photographed, but their images are

I have not encountered any female photographers.

RH: What do the women you taught like to photo-

LB: They photograph Afghanistan as it is Now and

Images Lukas Birk

LB: Ask yourself, Why am I making this image and

Robert Hirsch is author of Exploring Color

Gathering material for the books required thousands

Bones is about structure, or composition. I discard

Story is important toobecause a photograph can

8 photo technique M/A 2012

IMAGE EDITING: FROM POTENTIAL TO IMPACT MARK SCHACTER

Stone, Petroleum Coke and Salt, Lackawanna, New York

Gulls, New Buffalo, Michigan

I decided that color was a distraction in an image that s)CLONEDOUTTHEDISTRACTINGCARINTHEPARKINGLOT)

10 photo technique M/A 2012

IMAGE EDITING: FROM POTENTIAL TO IMPACT MARK SCHACTER

All Images Mark Schacter

that histogram is on the back of your camera, on

Exposure But most of us live and photograph in the real world,

12 photo technique M/A 2012

MASTERING THE CAMERA HISTOGRAM FOR BETTER EXPOSURE DAVID H. WELLS

Missoula Club Burgers

horizontal axis. Thus 3000 x 4000 equals 12,000,000

Each pixel is usually made up of one red, one blue and

All Images David H. Wells

14 photo technique M/A 2012

MASTERING THE CAMERA HISTOGRAM FOR BETTER EXPOSURE DAVID H. WELLS

Histogram for image

This is a representation of the actual histogram, pulled from

16 photo technique M/A 2012

MUSINGS ABOUT LIGHT & PHOTOGRAPHY MIKE MITCHELL

18 photo technique M/A 2012

MUSINGS ABOUT LIGHT & PHOTOGRAPHY MIKE MITCHELL

Lumi-Gnosis 9, 2006 Lumi-Gnosis 16, 2008

Photographers have unique advantage over theoretical physicists when it comes to

Mike Mitchell is a fine art

20 photo technique M/A 2012

Half-plate being varnished

The Tintype Today

the sitter and the physical photograph. It is one of only

The Tintype Studio

I decided that color was a distraction in an image that s)CLONEDOUTTHEDISTRACTINGCARINTHEPARKINGLOT)