Alternative Process Art Contact print Impressionist of Notre Dame de Paris and Gro Harlarn Brundtland
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Alternative Process Architectural Hand Print Pictorialist of Night Cafe in Paris France and Ansel Adams

Alternative Process Art Contact print Impressionist of Notre Dame de Paris and Gro Harlarn Brundtland


In 1990, after a career changing injury, I turned my full attention to photography. I was disillusioned to find that much of my earlier work from 35 years ago was beginning to show signs of deterioration. I did not want to spend my time working in a photographic art form with materials that caused the print to self-destruct. Since the 1850's it has been well documented that silver-based photographic methods have a lack of long-term image permanence.

Living in Tucson, I was fortunate to utilize the world renown resources from the University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography. I researched how one could make a permanent photograph. There was the cyanotype, an iron process; the carbon print, using graphite; and the platinum print, using platinum metals. Viewing examples of each, I was drawn to the platinotype with its warm tonal scale, and its sharp as a tack image, because it requires a negative the same size as the image. The platinotype image is softened because it is printed on watercolor paper. Since the emulsion is hand-coated, there is an organic feeling about completing the print to the finished product.

In looking at early photographic images, I was drawn to three photographers in particular: Eduard Steichen, Edward Curtis and Alfred Steiglitz. All produced portraits of people that captured a soul within them for me.

I taught myself how to print, using 6 x 6 cm negatives that I had from my many years of working with a Hasselblad. It was terrific, no darkrooms were necessary, and no more chemical smells. Printing outside in the sun, I felt like a pioneer photographer. I knew then that I loved the process - and the look. But my negatives were small, and so were my prints.

I attempted to work with negatives that were enlarged, but found that I could not get the look of the images printed from larger formats. So I began the process of moving up in negative size. That worked well because there was a slight learning curve to hand-coating larger images, 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10. Ultimately, I found a used Wisner 11x14 technical field camera and with that, I felt that I found my niche.

Portraiture is my specialty -- large format platinum portraiture. Images that are made to last 500 to a thousand years. Less than 50 people in the world are working in the medium of platinum portraiture. And so, here I am, photographing Native Americans whose own cultural permanence is threatened, and the public, whose individual permanence is never guaranteed (except maybe through a photograph).

In the process, I hope to educate a public that knows very little about the platinotype and platinum photography. I hope you enjoy the images presented.


Gary Auerbach · Platinum Photographer · 1 (520) 245 - 6730
2730 N. Pantano Rd.
Tucson, Arizona, USA 85715
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