Half Full

photogravure (polymer)

working proof (pretty clean, doesn't need much work)

4" x 6"

* note:  photo taken while ink was still wet, thus the glossy spot in the 100% black area in the background.  It dries to a matte finish.

photomechanical printing book update

Working hard to keep this first edition affordable, I think that I can keep the price to $20 (or less, depending on the final edit size).

Instruction photos that are finished:
*  Photoshop and printing a transparency with an inkjet printer
*  Exposing the KM73 plate to a stochastic screen, image transparency, washout and heat setting.
*  Preparing plate, paper, and ink for printing.
*  Printing
*  Cleanup

I need to re-shoot some processes at the end of this week:
*  Finding a base exposure time for the stochastic screen and transparency.
*  Home made step wedge to make workflow-specific adjustment curves.
*  Some problem plates for a troubleshooting section.

One decision that I have to make soon:
*  What is the title of the book?

Washington Printmakers Gallery

15th Annual National Small Works show
August 1 - 26, 2012
http://washingtonprintmakers.com/exhibitions/2012/15th-annual-national-small-works
accepted two of my sepia photogravures this year:
"Havasu" and "Winter Canyon"
http://artandwater.smugmug.com/Other/Grand-Canyon-Gravure/23034401_vqCsZB#!i=1853015620&k=nNj2Qww

Opening Reception on Saturday, August 4 at 1pm


"Winter Canyon"

Soho Photo

Annual Juried Exhibition
http://www.sohophoto.com/sp_national_comp.htm
will show the photogravure titled "Havasu" (sepia version);
the one that was on display in the DC (Glen Echo Photoworks, MD) show;
the one that won both First Place Alt. Process and People's Choice;
in Rangefinder Magazine's annual B&W competition.
If you find yourself in NYC in July, then stop by to see the show!

Opening Reception
July 5
Thursday, 6pm - 8pm

Show Dates
July 5 - August 4, 2012


Location
Soho Photo
15 White Street
New York, NY 10013

http://www.sohophoto.com/downloads/2012_national_comp_winners.pdf

Grand Canyon photogravure (so far)

Slideshow.  (if the show does not start in a few seconds, click here)




These are the 12 photogravures that have been editioned in sepia.  (only 10 copies each)  A few of them are editioned in a custom mixed thalo black ink.  My goal for this summer is to finish the thalo black edition and start work on the second batch of 12 plates for this suite.

The entire project is developed enough now that I feel I can start showing it to galleries/dealers, with the qualifier that the series not yet finished.

A few of you already have acquired copies from this suite of prints.  Thank you.  I hope you enjoy the fact that you are the first collectors of this project, and are participating at the earlier stages of it's development.  Your support and feedback are felt and very much appreciated.

(and now a link to a list of printmaking terms for the curious)
http://www.ira.usf.edu/GS/education/printmaking.html

Elve's Chasm (looking in)

I just ran the sepia edition from this photogravure plate.
10 prints in the edition with 1 artist's proof and 1 printer's proof.

Geology of Elve's Chasm

Stone Voices

"The ease of digital photography, with its ability to collect thousands of images rapidly, seems as personal as the thousands of "friends" in the online world. My exploration of historical photographic processes have let me slow down and work with images that are like close friends. The photogravure process demands thorough knowledge of several different workflows, most of which are manual, intimate techniques of creating an image. The process is slow, and allows time for me to get to know the image like a good friend. The final steps of inking, wiping, and printing are like a pat on the back, a handshake, and the revelation of something that only a close relationship can give."

I wrote that when I sent my images in to Stone Voices for (hopeful) participation in the "Inspired By Joy" Summer Issue. I like the premise of the art and literary journal, starting with their tag line (mission statement?), "Connecting Art and Spirit". Each issue is a (mostly) juried competition in which visual artists send in their work with a statement, then writers create work based on the journey the visual work inspires. The collaboration is remote, but the connection is real.

Hopefully someone is inspired enough by my work to write something wonderful.

(I don't think that my work has a link off any of the pages yet, but I was playing with Google Images and what do you know?... there they were, waiting to inspire writers who enter the juried competition)

disclaimer (clarification by expansion): I do enjoy digital photography. I participate heavily. My comments are an explanation of WHY I have been drawn to an older process. Slowing down has a different aesthetic than the fast-paced, instant-gratification world that surrounds us. And, I won't say that it is more or less beautiful. It's just that the beauty is different.

Here is the full gallery with all the artists for writers' viewing.

Tequila Beach

Testing the photogravure plate I just made for this image, using blue black ink on white paper. It looks good, but I think that the edition will use a warmer ink color.

(please excuse the limited range of the cell phone camera used to take the photo of this test print)

http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_coloradorivercorridor_lavafalls.html

New York Show & Sale of 19th - 21st Century Photographic Images

Stop by and see my award-winning photogravure and some other VERY nice work photographs from contemporary artists as well as some antique photos.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

at The Lighthouse
111 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022

http://www.usphotoshows.com/shows_nyc.html

MPLS Photo Center

"Black & White: The Absence of Color"
March 9 - April 22
http://www.mplsphotocenter.com/exhibits/juror_results.php
Opening reception March 9th, 7-10pm



http://www.mplsphotocenter.com/exhibits/exhibits-information.php

photogravure titled "Campsite Quanta"
This is the black & white version
(bone black with a little bit of thalo red mixed in)
There are 10 in this edition and
an edition of 10 in sepia



here is a link to the Flickr stream from the opening reception
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50918001@N05/6836080758/in/set-72157629584141669/

and some more photos of the installation taken without people in front of the art
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50918001@N05/6858467690/in/set-72157629273960916/

Black & White at Linus Galleries

see this photogravure of Matkatamiba in the show


Long Beach, CA
opening reception Friday, December 9th, 5:30 - 9:00 pm

http://www.linusgallery.com/blackandwhite.html
2699 E. 28th Street
Suite 416
Signal Hill, CA 90755


http://linusgallery.com/blackandwhiteshow/fine-art-photography-art-show9.html

my new Alternative Photography gallery address

http://www.alternativephotography.com/gallery3/scott-barnes

Grand Canyon photogravures (sepia)

Gallery 270 currently has the portfolio, of artist's proofs for these prints, to show to collectors. Contact them to see the work in person (much more detail and an incredible impression in real life)





"Havasu"






"Winter Canyon"






"Campsite Quanta"






"Matkatamiba"






"New Years Day 2011"







"Camp 118.6"



This edition of 10 prints with sepia ink was made on Rives BFK Off White 100% cotton paper.
There is another addition of 10 prints with Thalo Black ink that was printed on Rives BFK White 100% cotton paper.
1 artist's proof and 1 printer's proof for each addition.


http://artandwater.blogspot.com/2010/10/keep-on-paddling.html

http://artandwater.blogspot.com/2011/04/kolb-photo-studio-south-rim-of-grand.html

http://artandwater.blogspot.com/2011/02/grand-canyon-sketchbook-slide-show.html

http://artandwater.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-make-plate-with-photopolymer-for.html

Photography changes during printing process

Photography has always been full of multiple variables, most of which effect each of the others drastically. Slight changes in printer settings will make the most precise digital output change. Minor chemical variations in traditional (now called "alternative") photography can make a big difference. Same holds true for one of the oldest forms of photography: photogravure.

Look carefully at the two images below.
Same plate.
Same ink.


The process for the top print involved soaking the paper for only 10 minutes, and using a standard three-blanket setup on the etching press. The image has high contrast, some detail loss, and poor transition from light to dark (gradient).

The process for the bottom print was one in which the paper soaked for about an hour, and an extra sheet of printmaking paper was added on top the the paper/plate sandwich to act as a fourth blanket. The gradients are smoother. There are a couple more steps of mid-tone gray. Some very subtle details start to emerge.



I must give credit to Jon Lybrook for reminding me about this subtle, but important, printmaking trick. It was discussed in grad school, but my work at the time was suited for a standard three-blanket set up, so I forgot about the addition of a fourth "blanket" of printmaking paper until Jon mentioned it to me this January (he saw some of my gravure and said, "you know what will even out your tones...")

Note:
in the technical information page (click on Jon's name to get there), he mentions using two pieces of newsprint. When I spoke with him, he suggested using a piece of printmaking paper. I've tried both, and the printmaking paper seems to work better.
I find that I can use the same piece of printmaking paper as the fourth blanket 6 - 10 times before it's too soaked to be effective. I keep a regular rotation of these sheets by letting the wet ones dry, and occasionally stacking them all together and putting weight on top to straighten them out for reuse.

How To make a plate with photopolymer for safe(er) aquatint printing

(the original drawing was made by Marie Roberts bitterwonder.com)

I'm looking for feedback on this photo sequence.
So you need another photo to make the process clear?
What questions do you have about any photo?
Leave a comment and I'll get back to you (and this will help me fine tune how to teach this process)

On Top Of The White Whale

I've been working on this one since last Spring and finally have this difficult image balanced the way I like it.
The challenge has been to keep some tone in the sky and snow without just dropping the contrast.
If this was a single shot in which all elements were static I could use a modern version of an HDR image.
Since it is a panoramic, made while the figure was moving (and some wind was threatening to move the rest of the environment), I had to go old-school HDR by doing some subtle burning and dodging as well as a bit of contrast adjustment.
The Grayscale Gradient Test was an integral part of it too, since it is teaching me the limits of the KM73 polymergravure plates.

camp nature building

7" x 10" photo polymergravure plate

Grayscale Gradient Test for photo polymergravure

Here is a grayscale from 100% - 0% black on top, and a grayscale from 80% - 20% black on the bottom.


Below are two proofs from a KM73 plate using the above image on a transparency for exposure.
Each proof is wiped slightly different.






It gives me a good idea of where the values and information drop out completely, and how smooth a transition can be achieved. Using this twin scale, I have to figure out how to eliminate the white spots. There are two types. One set in which it seems that the black area washes out. I don't know if it's residual moisture left in the transparency or if there is some other gas that is not escaping. The individually scattered white dots are a bit of a mystery to me. I'll have to re-read Jon Lybrook's page on photo polymergravure again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The image below is a curve test for the transparency: no adjustment to the image in the top-left spot; the 80/20 adjustment I've been using in the top-right spot, and some variations in the lower two spots.
I'm still a fan of the 80/20 curve, but it looks like the 85/15 curve would be useful for adding some contrast to very flat image that would be a bit different than just adding it in Photoshop.



same plate. the only difference is the ink wiping strategy. It's more of a feel thing. I do this to see how I'll edition an image.



This is the file I used to make the transparency/positive for the plate above.



I used a simple 80/20 curve applied over the entire image to see if I could predict what the plate would do.
This is the result.
I'm surprised by the amount of information left in the top left image. That would tell me that the dropout is somewhat higher than 80% black, therefore I can pay attention to the shadows a bit more and see what details don't have to be sacrificed.

December Alternative Photography newsletter

check it out!

campfire: old and new

(version 1)
vine black ink, white paper


I experimented with the contact between the positive/transparency and the plate for this one, seeing if I could get either a distressed or aged look. The result is good, but I'm wondering if I took it a bit too far. I'll make another version in cleaner conditions, and with better contact to see if a more clear image still holds up and gives the desired effect.

I'm looking to elicit the feeling of an old tradition by taking an image of a gathering from this past year and developing it with an older process of printing. Experimenting with some warmer black ink and some dark browns (perhaps even a some kind of sepia tone), and an off-white print paper might help signify age and tradition.

(version 2)
dark brown ink, white paper


(version 3)
dark brown ink, off white paper


(version 4)
new plate, vine black ink, white paper


This latests version is the one I'll go with. It has about as much mid-tone as I can get out of the naturally contrasty environment of night time campfire photography. Instead of distressing the image (through the transparency, and thus the plate), I'll use a dark brown ink on an off white paper. That will look more like an old photo, and it will knock the contrast down a bit since the slight color will read a slight more mid-tone than any pure black.
(the image was just a little larger than the other plate, so it is a better size, which reads better from average viewing distance in a room. The image is cropped, above, at the plate indentation, so you are seeing 11.5" x 8". I'll cut the plate down to about 11" x 7" and print on 15" x 11" paper, leaving an even 2" border all around)