[Alt-photo] Re: casein prints

Wed May 29 09:02:07 UTC 2013

Chris,

A very interesting body of work, great story and beautifully worked out. I
agree on the size, a subject like this can benefit a lot from an "intimate”
presentation. Casein does indeed allow a rapid workflow and can take a lot
of handling when developing. Great work, thanks for sharing!

Guido

2013/5/29 Diana Bloomfield <dlhbloomfield at gmail.com>

> Hey Chris,
>
> I hear you on the more intimate size images.  That a small print (even as
> small as 3x3) can have a major impact when framed and hanging on a wall
> always surprises me, but they sure seem to have that effect.  I think they
> just pull people in that much closer.  Of course, we see so much that's so
> big now (mural size) that even 8x10's seem quite small in comparison.  I
> love square images, in particular, and 8x8 I imagine is a very nice size
> for these.
>
> That's so interesting, too, about the negatives (and not the slides)
> having survived so well.  My father was a fantastic photographer, and I
> have some beautiful b&w  images he made-- many hand-tinted-- a lot of my
> mother when she was young. They're just beautiful, and beautifully printed.
>  The photographs themselves are in perfect shape-- they've definitely held
> up--  but I have no idea what happened to the negatives-- that goes for all
> the negatives to all the photos ever taken in my family.  I'm guessing back
> then people took the photographs, had them processed-- and maybe printed a
> few-- but that was that.  No reason to keep or care about the negatives
> (?).  But  I love looking at old photographs like that, because they tell
> you so much.  These are really so interesting; they almost look like still
> images from an old movie.   And the way you chose to print these seems to
> fit them perfectly.
>
> Diana
>
>
>
>
> On May 28, 2013, at 9:18 PM, Christina Anderson wrote:
>
> > Hi Loris, Diana, Matti, and Graham all in one post, so long post, beware!
> >
> > Loris, I have printed on Yupo and it was fine with casein, very
> tenacious, but these are all on Artistico.
> >
> > All of this series are 8x8. I've printed this series large in the past,
> 12x16 in 20x24 frames, the ones from the 35mm slides. These images are from
> 2 1/4 negatives. I have been in the mood to be quieter and smaller with my
> work and framing lately, for aesthetic and personal reasons but also for
> space and cost reasons. I have also switched from my two usual frames, a
> black wood Tribeca or a metal Old World Pewter. These are all 8x8 framed in
> 13x13 mats and natural wood (maple) frames that have a very quiet presence.
> I am also framing them without the brush strokes showing, so all in all
> they are more contemporary in feel. They can be gridded, for instance, very
> easily. The benefit to small is I was able to fit 10 of these framed images
> in a small enough box to carry! So shipping to shows will be a huge
> savings. But that wasn't my reasoning for going this route, it was a desire
> to be more visually intimate with my work. Oddly enough, they seem big in
> person, at 8x8.
> >
> > I am just loving the very simple, clean, maple frames. They cost me more
> inch by inch but they are worth it! The frame has a 1/2" front and is about
> 3/4 or 1" deep. I think. I am not near them right now.
> >
> > Diana, the slides are in tough shape, lots of mold. The negatives have
> survived better for some reason, I don't know why. My parents left them all
> in a big jumbled box in an unheated cabin through minus 30F to 95F for
> decades. Why take so many pictures and not care about their outcome, I
> wonder?
> >
> > Matti and Graham, when I first started casein it was terrible, because I
> came at it thinking it was just like gum. When I started over, calibrated
> my negatives to casein, figured out correct times of exposure and hot water
> development, it all worked. I could not believe that exposures could be so
> brief when I read Guido Ceuppens' posts from years ago, but they are.
> >
> > My layers are very thin. I use less than 1/2 tsp coating solution for an
> 8x8. Then I brush and brush until dry. If I leave it without brushing it
> hardens into very visible brush strokes. My negatives are very dull and
> dark. My exposures are 1 minute. I could even get by with 30 seconds! My
> development water is quite warm. I spray liberally, especially the first
> layer, otherwise I find I have misjudged what is developed and get too low
> contrast a picture. I spray right after the dichromate has all leached out.
> But with casein, I can spray at the end of development and all throughout
> because it is not tender like gum. It is very hardy and stubborn, even with
> such brief exposures. I almost feel it is an on/off proposition and Mark
> Nelson suggested trying bitmap negs for that reason. However, I use regular
> continuous tone negs. Printed 126 so far! (RGBs). Heck Peter Blackburn uses
> paper negs and no curves and gets glorious prints!
> >
> > I do not experience flaking but I don't roller it anymore. When I first
> started I got lots of flaking but I was scrubbing the print with a sponge
> to remove the stuff! Now I use spray but mainly automatic development, with
> some brush-off work with teeny brushes when I want to take color off an
> area or brighten something up.
> >
> > I have as of late been doing a new way of layering: first the blue, then
> magenta to get a purple look and make sure the contrast is correct. Then
> the color balance comes with the yellow layer. All of the prints are at
> least 4 layers of casein, up to 6. I usually do the tricolor first, and
> then come back and color correct with either one or two layers. Often, for
> instance, I'll need another magenta and then a final blue to tone down the
> magenta.
> >
> > Matti, my secret is this: do it over and over to exclusion until you
> figure it out. The more you do, the more you learn how it works. Slaving
> away is the real secret :) I would say in the last month I spent close to
> 300 hr getting this project half-done.That's my only secret because as you
> must know by now I blab all. AND, if you go here, no need to buy the book:
> http://stores.photoformulary.com/images/store_version1/07-0106%20Casein%20Printing.pdf
> >
> > Ok, I think that answers all the comments at length!
> >
> > Chris
> >
> > Christina Z. Anderson
> > christinaZanderson.com
> >
>
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