It has been a while since I last tried hand colouring. I took a different approach this time: rather than using Marshall photo oils on a darkroom print, I tried a matte photo paper inkjet print, and pencil crayons. Some further work will be needed to see what works and what doesn’t.
Original image shot on Rollei RPX 400 film, using Hasselblad 500C/M camera
Today’s image is another hand-tint, but unlike all my others, there are no people in the image, and I am making no attempt to be realistic. Ive been thinking of trying more surrealistic hand-tinted prints, and this is my first attempt. I shot the original black and white image of Pompeii last year during our trip to Italy.
This is my first crack at hand tinting a photograph, using special transparent oil paints made for the purpose. I made a conventional black and white print on matte paper in the darkroom, then applied the oils. This process was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, before colour photography was widespread and practical. It’s amazing that the materials are still available. What I like about hand tinting (in addition to the look) is that each print is unique, like a painting. I gave the original to the model Emily today, so all I have left is the scan. I can (and likely will) make another, but it won’t be the same, and I like that.
My Third Eye 