Category: Van Dyke Brown

Suppression of Detail

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Today’s image in a sense has a complicated genesis: the original image was an instant photo, shot on Fuji FP3000B instant film. The negative portion (originally meant to be simply thrown away) was preserved in a delicate and wet state, and carefully dried, resulting in a low contrast negative image. This image was scanned, and brightness/contrast adjustments were made to the scan. The scan was then printed (inverted as a negative) on transparent stock for contact printing using the Van Dyke Brown process. The look is vintage, with the texture of the paper subduing detail.

Emily - van Dyke Brown

An Interview

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My good friend Mark Blevis captured some video of the show set-up the other night, and asked me some questions about the show:

Mark and his wife Andrea have been incredibly generous this week in putting me up (and putting up with me), and supporting and helping publicize my show. Mark and Andrea, I can’t thank you enough!!

Tools of the Trade

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This is one my favourite pieces of photography gear, a “Seneca NoSlip” splt-back contact printing frame from the early twentieth century. I use this device to sandwich my negatives with paper coated with either Cyanotype or Van Dyke Brown chemistry. The term split-back refers to the ability to unfold part of the back to check on the exposure, while the paper is still held securely in place; this feature is crucial for the kind of prints I am doing.

In addition to its utility, I like the rich colour of the wood, and the patina of the brass fittings; it exudes history and tradition in a way only an analog device can.

Tools Of The Trade: Antique Contact Printer

Artist As Model as Artist

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Today another image in my Women and Cameras series. This is a Van Dyke Brown print of model Angel Noel, holding a 1950’s vintage Exakta 35mm single lens reflex (with waist level, not eye-level finder). It was amazing shooting with Angela; she is a artist herself: as a painter she had great instincts for poses and other creative ideas. All in all, a great collaboration!

Van Dyke Browne Print of Angela and Exakta

Another Vintage Process

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Here’s my first attempt at printing with a process called  Van Dyke Brown: similar to the Cyanotype process, but the prints come out a beautiful brown.  It will take some practice to get the paper coating and exposure right, but I  think it will be worth it! 🙂 The image is another one from my Women and Vintage Camera series.

Galina using Van Dyke Brown Process