Pictorialism - Soft focus and alternate processes

[mdarnton]

Cool. Like it!

[Tin Can]

I think that works well.

Approaching digital "pictorialism" ... not quite there yet, but still trying.Attachment 144837

[Ken Lee]

You might find this previous thread helpful: Pictorialism Images

Quoting myself in post number 11:

"Although Pictorialism is commonly associated with soft-focus and romantic themes, many pictorialists used sharp focus and shot abstract subjects. Pictorialists were amateurs in the strict sense of the term: amateur (from the Latin amātor) denotes one who does something out of love - as opposed to professionals, whose work the pictorialists considered manufactured and uninspired.

Pictorialism was a movement in reaction to commercial photography. Today, we would call it "Fine Art Photography". The term pictorial was first used by Henry Peach Robinson in 1869 to distinguish fine art photography from technical, scientific, and documentary approaches."

[seezee]

See, you don't need to get a petzval lens to go around in swirly circles...

[LeeSimmons]

Hi Ken,

Thanks so much for the link.

It was a great thread. I followed this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictorialism Then cruised here https://www.flickr.com/groups/pictorialist

This was the nut of it for me.

refers to a style in which the photographer has somehow manipulated what would otherwise be a straightforward photograph as a means of "creating" an image rather than simply recording it. Typically, a pictorial photograph appears to lack a sharp focus (some more so than others), is printed in one or more colors other than black-and-white (ranging from warm brown to deep blue) and may have visible brush strokes or other manipulation of the surface. For the pictorialist, a photograph, like a painting, drawing or engraving, was a way of projecting an emotional intent into the viewer's realm of imagination

Then of course aptly followed up with this.

One of the challenges in promoting photography as art was that there were many different opinions about how art should look.

I spend most of my working days working with a digital camera and my hobby is large format B&W. For me Large format photography is one of the few things in this world that get me into a blissful state of mindfulness. Regardless of the print quality digital workflows don't do that for me. The working of an art project from ideas from conception to completion is one of the great joys in life. One of the other tenants of pictorialism appears to be "hand crafted".

That flickr album is really inspirational. The Litho and bromoil prints jump right out as they seem to convey emotion well to me.

Thank you all for the continued discussion.

Lee

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Lee, when you find the printing process that moves you, you will know. Find a hand crafted process that works for you and when you do you will know it. Then enjoy!!

[photojeff3200]

Well said Jim! It took me a few years to finally settle in to a process that I love and resembles the pictoralist style. I shoot large glass negatives for POP printing and had tried albumen, salt, and carbon before stumbling on oil printing. I'm so enamored with the process that I'm inclined to sell off/get rid of all the clutter in my darkroom and focus on just oil.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Jeff, I did just that. I sold all of my enlarging equipment etc. and only print carbon. A hand made print for me is who I am. It is the right way for me to express myself. When you find the process that is you it is a wonderful feeling. I'll never forget it.

[Fr. Mark]

I'm not sure I've found the right process yet, but when I look at the equipment I've amassed in a couple years, oh my!
I've made a few contact prints that make me happy enough that I question the enlargers, but I'm repeating myself.
Anyway, you guys frighten/inspire me.
What's a good resource for oil prints? I don't know much about them at all.

[Fr. Mark]

Another question that may not exactly belong here: in Harrisburg, PA there's the amazing used bookstore "The Mid-town Scholar." They have a section for selling prints made with a printing press. Etchings, wood cuts linoleum, that sort of thing.

That has had me thinking about photography and creation of printing plates and high relief carbon printing as a way of preparing a printing plate for oil based inks. Is this an existing process?

I kind of envision needing a carbon print as a negative not a positive so the low lying areas carry the ink.

I'm not sure what this would gain over other photolithography type processes. Other than I might already have some of the tools. And, if one could keep things in registration or selectively apply inks, split coloration of prints. But that can be done with other printing types.

Thoughts?

The guy running the prints shop was quite knowledgable but had not heard of Carbon printing.