Van Dyke Brown Prints

I recently have begun work on some Van Dyke Brown printing techniques. For those of you who are unaware of what contact printing is all about, here is a little description. Basically what a contact print is, is a print the size of the negative that is made by placing the negative on a sensitized paper (or other substrate), and exposed to the very thing that the sensitizer is - well - sensitive to -for a period of time yielding exposure on the substrate that reflects the density of the negative. Van Dyke Brown printing is so named due to the deep, rich brown tone that the print yields (similar to Van Dyke's - brown...). The sensitizer is made from readily available chemicals - Ferric Ammonium Citrate, Tartaric Acid, and Silver Nitrate. The process was discovered (or was begun to be practiced) in the mid 1800's by a man by the name of Sir John Herschel, an English astronomer. Is is a derivative of the argentotype, the first iron and silver process.

So basically I am making prints using negatives from 6x6 120 film and 4x5 black and white film to make prints of the negative image. Also, in the digital, hybrid age, I can, as many do and have before me, print digital negatives (inkjet) and print contacts from there. This allows ultimate control over the final result with the ability to make allowances for the contrast needed to achieve the final result that we look for. It also allows for size control.

Why? Why do this you may ask? The final result - a UV exposed print with full control (including the ability to tone with noble metals - palladium, copper, gold) the print can yield stunning detail and incredible individuality - just the way that the original experience of making the photograph was to me.

Here is an example of a positive and negative to be used in future prints (with, for those of you who care, some details on how the process is carried out):