B&W Darkroom Q&A: Video Edition!

Today's YouTube upload is a bit different from my brief "B&W Darkroom" series of how to videos. This time around, the inspiration for the vid comes from FPP listener and YouTube channel viewer Kris Pearson:

Hi Mat,

Thanks for returning my comment/question about drying fiber paper.

You and FPP have both been a huge factor in getting me back into film.  I took film photography in high school and college during the 80's but got back into film a year ago with a Konica Auto S2.  From there I added a Mamiya 645  system with an assortment of lenses which has become my primary camera.  Your Youtube video on E6 processing encouraged me to try developing slide film at home.  The results have been great.  Now I'm also developing black and white negatives and printing in a bathroom/darkroom with a Beseler 23c that I got off of Craigslist for FREE!!!.  I has a ZoneVI cold light too! I look forward to spending a lot of time this summer improving my skills in the darkroom.

I am currently printing with resin coated paper.  Eventually I would like to try printing with fiber paper but I've read that drying fiber papers can be problematic and the process may cause the paper to wrinkle or crease if not done correctly.  What method do you recommend?  I don't have a heat press but I may try to find one on the 'Bay if having one is the best/easiest way to go.  Are there alternatives?  I read somewhere that taping the print down on a flat surface as it dries is one way to do it.

Congratulations on your recent shows.  Your work is a pleasure to look at.

Kris Pearson 
Accord, NY

Well Kris, not only do I have an answer for you, here's a complete How-To!

Darkroom Workshops, Summer 2012

It's been one heck of a spring so far here in Findlay, OH, and even after several photo contests and a solo exhibition, the darkroom is only getting warmed up!

If you're looking to add a few new darkroom skills to the arsenal, or are just looking for some experienced darkroom coaching, be sure to check out my latest series of Summer 2012 Darkrom Workshops. As of right now, I'm offerring:

• One-on-One Workshops
• Carbon Printing
• Intro to the B&W Darkroom

 All workshops include use of the darkoom facilities, chemistry, supplies, paper, everything you need to carry out the processes I'm teaching. In the case of the all weekend carbon printing workshop, I'm even including lunch at a great local restaurant!

That's pretty much it, get out there and shoot while the weather is great, and once the "Dog Days" of summer start rolling around, have your calendars marked, film exposed, and head on down to Findlay so we can have some fun in the darkroom (see below).

Happy shooting, and long live film!

I'm on an Alternative Process Kick!

It may have been this past weekend's 24+ hour carbon printing spree, or the buzz from reading three different books on it, but whatever it was, I'm stuck on alternative process photography.

If you're reading this and have never made any sort of print by hand, I encourage you to try it yourself some time. There's a sense of accomplishment to it, maybe even a hint of pride that comes with knowing that start to finish, the reason the print turned out the way it did, was all because of your own actions. And when working with film from the start, even the negative used for printing was meticulously controlled, from concept to finished print. Messed up a print? In alternative process, you can't blame a printer, a monitor, paper stock, or brand of ink; at the end of the day, the success of the process depends on you and your experience.

 Let's take the following video playlist for example, featuring Norman Gryspeerdt (1911-1998). Credited with the revival of Bromoil Printing, a previously lost alternative process, Mr. Gryspeerdt was a true master of his craft. With over 50 years of this laborious and contemplative photographic process under his belt, Gryspeerdt guides the viewer from theory to finished print, in an incredibly detailed, informative hour of video.

If you're not one for lengthy video, start at #3 on the playlist, the "action" starts there.

So, what did you think of the videos? A little slow for your tastes maybe? Like 'em or hate 'em, you can definitely appreciate the time, talent, and creation that's being displayed with the alternative processes. And though bromoil is by far one of the most labor-intensive, it's a fine example of just what alternative processes are doing for me right now. In these now fading photographic techniques there's no right or wrong, heck there are hardly any rules to speak of! And in 2012 where we're snapping, uploading, and sharing more images per week than were created in the entire 19th century, it's good to have images that can stand out from the crowd.

Hope you enjoyed this little gaze into just one of the scores of different processes geared at expressing a photograph outside the norm. And again, if you haven't tried alternative processes, they're really fun, and most of them can be done with the tools you already have handy (plus the sun).

As always, long live film!