Alternative and Historical Photographic Techniques †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Alternative and Historical Photographic Techniques. Answer: Introduction: The three selected photographs for the alternative photographic techniques have been used are from Brian Taylors photography series The Art of Getting lost. Three photographs are Stevens Creek, California, Sycamore Leaves, Los Gatos Creek and Saguaros, Papago Mountains, Arizona. The photographs are slices of various landscapes that give almost painting like impression. The principle techniques that the artist used are the Gum Bichromate Printing Process and Cyanotype process of the 19th century. In order to achieve the tactile quality the artist applied multiple layers of gum and brush emulsions. Brian Taylor decided upon the techniques for the series after he selected and took the photographs digitally. The journey from the photograph to an aesthetically strong alternative photograph is long. The primary technique that Brian Taylor uses is the innovative multicolor gum bichromate techniques (Persinger 2014). The photographs are handmade with organic elements and the touches of imperfections are deliberate. In the bichromate process the black and white negatives are exposed and transformed into color prints very slowly, layer by layer. The process of making the photographs starts with tonally correcting the digital negatives of the photographs of nature he took. Cyanotypes print a heavy enough watercolor paper is created from the negative. This creates the base layer on which the artist plays with various options. Ammonium Dichromate was mixed with Gum Arabic and Gouache color of artists choice and covered on the paper. Then the coated negative was re exposed. This process of gum application was repeated multiple times for individual photographs. By following those techniques each photographs of the series started as a watercolor paper sheet where the artist applied a Cyanotype emulsion layer. The papers then were contact printed with the help of a full negative. The artist then exposed the papers in the sunlight for multiple times. As a result the photographs turned into Prussian blue. For the photographs of The Art of Getting lost the Brian Taylor used Winson Newton Green Gouache color with the Gum bichromate emulsion and again sunlight was used in the contact print process (Briantaylorphotography.com 2017). During the second exposure the images get a greenish tone that we see in the photographs. In the third exposure the artist used brown pigments and exposed those in the sunlight that gave the photos a warm feeling with the brown tone of the jungle woods. Finally the artist exposed the photographs in black to establish the dark shadows of the woods, branches and leaves. The artist wanted to create new photographs with a certain historical quality with archival value and the traditional techniques goes beyond the digital process and establish a third place through the montage of tradition and modern techniques. The artist required wanted more freedom from the limitation of the digital world which could give him more artistic satisfaction. These practical techniques create exceptional photographs that add differently to the artists portfolio. The contemporary available techniques could be used with such traditional techniques helps the artist to sharpen his skills and explore new possibilities. Reference Briantaylorphotography.com. (2017).The Art of Getting Lost : Brian Taylor. [online] Available at: https://www.briantaylorphotography.com/index.php?/projects/art-of-getting-lost/ [Accessed 10 October 2017]. Persinger, T. ed., 2014.Photography Beyond Technique: Essays from F295 on the Informed Use of Alternative and Historical Photographic Processes. CRC Press.