Darkroom photography

Some flattering results on the first tests of BIO-ECO developments have given impetus to continue, between intuitions, attempts, unknowns, failures, successes.

Bio-Eco film developments for black & white photographic film and paper

Gabriele Coassin shares his experiments in the ecological-biological development of black-white films, the results of a two-year long experiment. Writer and photography / Gabriele Coassin Developing with Coffee Grounds, Dried Sage and Laurel The new millennium offers us the rebirth of ecological and popular photography, which today I am recovering, years later from my youthful experiments, thanks to the rediscovery of old formulas and alchemies found in a booklet published … Read more

Photograph developed with seasweed by Melanie King

Bladderwrack seaweed developer for black and white film

Seaweed developer offers an alternative to using store-bought developer and is very similar to the Caffenol-C film development process. This developer is designed for black and white film, with 400 ISO. Melanie King developed this recipe as part of the Sustainable Darkroom online residency, with the London Alternative Photography Collective. Writer and photography / Melanie King Developing with a seaweed developer is more sustainable than shop-bought developer. As with all foraging, … Read more

Valley of the Livet Photogram Stephen McNeill

Photograms – a magical concept

A photogram is a unique cameraless art form that involves the placement of objects onto sensitised paper with the action of light. Stephen McNeill shares his experiences with this age-old process, along with some images and tips. Writer and photography / Stephen McNeill An introduction to the photogram The technique of creating a photographic image without the use of a camera is as old as photography itself. Commonly referred to … Read more

Herbal developer density test strip

Herbal developers

Plant-based developers have been used for many years, in this article General Treegan shares 3 different herb and plant-based developers that can be used to develop silver gelatin negatives. Writer and photography / General Treegan [born as Andrés Pardo] Herbalism is botany applied to medicine. It comprises the extractive use of medicinal plants or their derivatives for therapeutic purposes, often for the prevention or treatment of pathologies. Herbalism holds a … Read more

Preparation & use for Siderotypes: Cyanotype, Vandyke Brown, Argyrotype, Ziatype, and the silver halide process of B&W silver gelatin v.1.5

The Special Edition Art Project was created to afford photographers and artists practical access to the creation of wet-processed photographic prints. This photographic processes user guide focusses instruction on classic B&W silver gelatin printmaking as well as the historic light-sensitive iron based Siderotypes processes of Cyanotype (iron), Vandyke Brownprint, aka VDB, (silver / gold), Argyrotype (silver / gold), and Ziatype (palladium / gold / tungsten / platinum). Writer and photography / … Read more

Claudia Wornum Film acceleration

Film acceleration

A multi-step processes designed to push color film to create Pointillist effects with intense grain as well as many unpredictable and extraordinary outcomes.

8 bit step wedge

8 bit step wedge

Download the 8 bit step wedge free here to go with the digital negative system in Christina Z. Anderson’s book “Gum Printing and Other AMAZING Contact Printing Processes”.

brush coating

Coating your paper using brushes

This is a how to, what with, what on and how much to use article and though it’s aimed at Cyanotype printers it can be used, with patience with other processes needing coating.