Double coating:
I haven't been in touch with platinum printing for a couple of years. Are
the 'secrets' about drying the paper to get better results with a single
coat published? If so where?
The F Evans print was in a large group show - I forget its name - at a
gallery in London and it must have been in 1839+150=1989. Like all his it
was a small print, but it really seemed to glow. It had a longish tonal
range for a platinum, and detail in shadows, midtones and higlights. I
think it was on loan from the RPS, but it could have been from a private
collector.The modern platinum prints (I think all British) in the show
seemed generally to be rather dull and muddy by comparision. I got much
the same impression earlier when I went to Bath (Royal Photographic
Society) and compared his work with some modern prints in their
collection and some of my own. This was quite a fascinating day -
handling so many vintage prints (and some negatives) - not just platinums
but also salt prints etc and comparing these with modern work.
Technically I think my print stood up to it, but I think that's all I
could say about it. It was made largely as a techinical exercise,
although I didn't pick my worst picture for it. Someone liked it well
enough to walk off with it from a workshop later though.
Peter Marshall