Life threw me a sequence of curve balls about 8 years ago which resulted in an epic dry spell. This has been a good thing, because it allowed space & time to dig down into a troubling dissatisfaction I had with my finished prints.
Quality wasn't the issue as I was using a fairly complex method of sharp & unsharp masks with Lynn Radeka's Contrast Masking Kit: http://www.radekaphotography.com/maskingkits.htm to produce the best prints I'd ever made, with more control I thought was ever possible. So...what was the problem? I came to realize my work was like looking through a window to the subject beyond. Distant. Removed.
The desire to print was gone. Why expend all that effort for something which leaves you flat? So began a quest to find a way of turning my negatives into positives which 'mean' something to me, that resonate, that had the power to fuel The Passion to print again.
Photogravure whispered to me for a while as it hinted at giving the 'art object in the hand' experience I was looking for; where the paper itself was part of the image/experience. On a recent trip to Vancouver I was able to hold one in my hand, and felt underwhelmed. There was no hair on the arms rising up experience. This may have been due to the paper and inks chosen, but I feel confident that if photogravure was what I'm searching for, I would have recognized its value/potential for my own images.
Recent Internet searches have revealed multi-layered platinum printing. This hints at being the one; where the paper itself is part of the image, where the image doesn't reflect the surrounding room (like with a glossy FB print) allowing one to become fully immersed, yet doesn't have the black sucking effect of matt silver gelatin papers and achieves a depth of black beyond the normal platinum range. Being a mere mortal of frugal means, multi-layered pt/pd toned Kallitype is the probable route forward.
The irony isn't lost on me (if multi-layered pt/pd toned Kallitype is indeed the answer) that having learned Radeka's pin registered masking techniques was the perfect training ground for visualizing the potential in this process for my work. The most interesting path between two points is not a straight line.
A major house renovation doomed the darkroom to storage for years, but work has recently begun to turn our old 15'x12' bedroom into a darkroom. Its final layout depends on which process is chosen, so the time crunch is on. Having read this, do you have suggestions for other processes which hint at what I've been looking for? I'm pretty sure multi-layered pt/pd toned Kallitype is the way to go, but you never know what lurks out there, undiscovered...
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