Anders Blomqvist is a Swedish photographer. He is also a maker, and founder & admin of a narrow, but very popular and thriving facebook group that brings 3D printing and analog photography together.
I have been. following his work on Instagram and other social media for a while and I am truly fascinated by his pinhole photos taken with different home made contraptions. .
When I saw this specific photo, it immediately resonated with my obsession for abandoned places, the URBEX sense was triggered. That context, paired with a very moody picture, taken on analog film with a home made camera... It ticked all the boxes for me and I reached out to Anders and asked for permission to make alternative photography prints from the photo.
What better to do with this picture, than to print it using techniques and chemistry from the previous century?
(See links to his social media at the end of the article!)
Abandoned building - digital scan of analog negative- Photo by Anders Blomqvist.
My Kallitype process
My immediate thought was to print this as a Kallitype, a silver and Iron based process invented in 1860s. It makes black/white prints, but the choice of a developer can change the color temperature quite dramatically. Kallitype prints can also be toned with a range of chemicals to alter the print, and some toners also make the print more durable.
Making a digital negative
Blasphemy! - Digital negative, enlarged and printed on transparent plastic material
A digital step in the analog process? Purists might frown at this, and would prefer to contact print real analog negatives onto the paper. In the not so distant future I will probably fall into the deep rabbit hole of wet plate collodion photography, from where I will never return.
However, until then - making a digital negative and to print that onto a transparency has so many advantages it’s very hard to forego this opportunity for creativity. When I make the negative, I can use darkroom techniques like dodge & burn, I can add contrast - exactly like I would with filters using a darkroom enlarger.
Making a digital negative for contact printing is a science of it is own, and there are countless semi-scientific ways to go about it, that all seem to aim at making the final print exactly as close as possible to the negative.
My approach is more organic and iterative, as I am not aiming to get a 1:1 representation of the photo but to rather convey a mood or express my interpretation of a subject. I will make two to four test prints iteratively, adjusting the negative as I go making sure it comes out to my liking.
For this specific print, I wanted to preserve the depth in the foggy trees, but also make the interesting foreground pop a bit. I wanted the house to stand out a bit against the background so I selectively added more brightness to the sky around the building.
Selecting the paper
For this print, I chose the Bergger Cot 320. It is a very robust and thick paper, with a smooth surface that I know works well with this process.
Coating the paper
I coat the paper with Kallitype sensitizer using a glass rod. I actually make these rods myself from chemistry lab equipment and a special cutter. I can get any length I need. I made a 20cm rod for this print that matches the exact height. I will of course re-use this rod for other prints of the same hight.
Exposure
Kallitypes do not need a lot of light compared to other processes like salt print or cyanotypes. With my exposure unit - a body tanner from the 90s - I time my exposure at 25-15 seconds after the bulb has reached full power.
Development, fixing and wash
The Development of a Kallitype is a spectacular phenomenon. After exposure, you can see a faint trace of the image on the paper, often called a “whisper”. When the developer is poured over, the image appears instantly almost like magic. I develop and agitate the print for 8 minutes.
I currently use 3 developers
Sodium Acetate, prints a neutral black print
Ammonium Citrate, prints a warm red
A 50/50 mix of these two developers. A very interesting combination that almost split tones the print by leaving some warmth in the highlights but makes the dark parts cold black
Four variants from the same negative developed with different developing chemicals.
The print is cleared in a bath of distilled water with a pinch of citric acid for 4-5 minutes. It is then made insensitive to further exposure by light by a 5% sodium thiosulphate solution. This fixer can damage the print if not completely rinsed out, so I use a hypo clearing bath that helps reduce wash time for the final print. This process should be fairly well known for anyone who have spent some time in a dark room
After that, all the chemicals needs to be rinsed out of the paper, so the print is given a 30-40 minute wash.
The results
Final kallitype print
Anders Blomqvist
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/exposed_material/
3D Models for Analog photography; https://www.printables.com/social/10782-spotmatic/models