Photgraphic Platinum Printing explained
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- Another, more in-depth video looking at photographic platinum printing. Features videos and stills to explain the process and how I go about making the prints.
I get my materials from Firstcall Photographic. I'm not sponsored by them, just a great company with great service. www.firstcall-...
Some of `Pete's books and exhibition catalogues are available here: petedavisphoto...
Please forgive me if this question sounds silly but is the negative you used in this video the actual negative or is it a digital negative?
Hi Stuart. Not a silly question al all. 99% of the platinum prints I make are from my original large format negatives. However, on that one occasion in the video, a customer in the gallery that sells my work asked for a platinum print of an image he saw in one of my books in a particular larger size. So I made a hi-res scan from the negative, enlarged it and made the print from that. Not my usual favoured method but I have a hi-res large format scanner so can keep the quality up. Hope that's a help.
always love learning from you Pete
Thanks Tom. Good to hear from you.
True artist. Very inspiring Peter. Thank you
Thank you Peter, now i have all the information ( reading also the others your answer to the question of interested people) to start to study well everithing before buying the first kit set for platinum/palladium . My best regards! Romano
Thank you, Pete! Good to see the process as you go. I'll have to also read my Keeper's of Light book and round out my knowledge on the process.
Glad to be of help Mark. Good luck.
Very interesting video, well done. 👍
Thank you!
Many thanks for your comment. Much appreciated.
Hi Pete, brilliant video and a great introduction to platinum printing. I have always wanted to have a go . I shoot on film hasselblad , still life and landscapes. Please do you run any workshops or would you be willing to give me a day of your time to teach me. Very happy to pay for your expertise etc. I'm based in North Yorkshire Uk. Where are you ?
Thsnk you Phil
Beautiful
Thanks for the comment. Much appreciated.
Hi Peter , i’ve found Philips UV tubes as you suggested. Now i’m going to build the box . One question about : at which distance tubes must to stay from the glass ? Thank you! Romano
Hi Romano. There's no set distance they have to be, but if they are a long way from the contact printer the exposures will be longer. Mine are about 15cm from the glass on top of the contact printing frame. I never really measured this before!
Love your videos, very simple to follow. Can you say where the various chemicals used can be sourced in the UK please?
Many thanks for your comments, much appreciated. Most of my materials I get from Firstcall Photographic - www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk Both for platinum and silver printing. Museum mounting board from John Purcell Paper who can also supply the Arches Platine paper I use for platinum prints. Other archival materials such as hinging tape for the mounts and mats from Conservation Resources UK. They can also sell the storage boxes. Hope that's a help. I'm not sponsored by any of these by the way.
@@pete-davis-photography ,thank you for that great information Pete. I am currently making exposures onto dry glass plates in a large format camera, the plates are inherently contrasty ( although I can control the contrast in development with a pyro dev. )so would these be suitable for platinum prints?
@@thatmancalledhobbs One of the qualities of platinum printing is its ability to reproduce a subtle range of tonalities, especially separating delicate highlights. Provided of course, that the negative also has those qualities. Like all printing, the print can only be as good as the negative. It seems counter-intuitive to the process to try to print very high contrast negatives but there are no rules. It's entirely up to you to interpret the subject the way you see it.
@@thatmancalledhobbs I should also add that contrast control with platinum printing is limited. Get the negative right is the answer. However, you can increase contrast slightly by using a proportion of a second ferric oxalate solution that has an additive to increase contrast.
@@pete-davis-photography thanks Pete, you are a mine of valuable information. I’ll let you know how I get on with the glass plate prints.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I am very interested in making one print in the near future however my biggest question mark is around the negatives used, seems like the are digital prints on a translucent plastic sheet? I was wondering how to approach that from a beginners stand point? Thank you!
Many thanks for your comment and glad you found the video interesting. 99% of my platinum prints are made from my original camera analogue silver negatives. Mostly now, 10" x 8". However, as you noticed, if, sometimes I want to make a larger print, I scan the original negative (hi-res) and print it out on to 'Pictorico' inkjet transparency film.
Of course you can also start with a digital file and do the same. My preference is always to print from the original camera negative but I do realise that not everyone has a large format 10" x 8" camera. Hope that's a help.
@@pete-davis-photography That's of great help thank you so much! Hope to be doing it by summer time once I get my hands on a 8x10 rear standard. The information is hard to come by but seems important to keep this legacy processes alive specially in this digital age, so hopefully I can help keep it going on my camera club. Thank you again Pete!
Hi Pete, I have a question about the negative, after contact with the chemicals, do you just wash the negative with running water or do you use some other product to keep it in good condition?
Thank you so much
Thanks for the question. After fixing ant negatives, I rinse them in running water for a few minutes, then use Hypo Clearing Agent for the recommended time. (Both Kodak and Ilford make similar solutions) then wash for 30mins in running water. I do the same for gelatinous / silver prints. Check out my video on archival processing. Hope this is a help. Best wishes.
Hi Peter, beautifull platinum print! i’ve found your video is very usefull to have a complete overview of the entire process. A couple of question : how do you decide the exposure time under the UV? How did you build your UV cabinet ( which kind of lamp i have to buy) . After the process the original 8x10 negative is scratched? Many tanks, Romano from Italy.
Hi Romano. Many thanks for your comment. The exposure for each negative / print will be different for each negative, just in the same way as silver printing in an enlarger. You have to make tests by using smaller strips of coated paper to determine the right exposure for that negative and the particular coating you have chosen. I like to keep notes every time I print a new negative and this helps with estimating future printing times. My U.V. box is a very simple plywood box painted white inside with three sets of double tube holders. The tubes in mine are 60cm long and just marked: Phillips TLD 18W/08. Just simple UV tubes. The negative will be fine but you must make sure that the coating is dry of course. If you are in any doubt, you can put a thin sheet of transparent polyester between the negative and the coated paper but I never have to and my negatives are fine. Hope that's a help.
Great video - thanks for sharing your images and process. I do have one question - do you size the Platine before printing and, if so, what sizing do you use?
Thanks for the comment. You don't need to size or treat in any way the particular paper I use. For platinum printing you should only use 100% cotton rag paper for archival purposes anyway as the process is inherently archival with platinum and palladium being noble metals. There are only a handful of papers that are suitable, Arches Platine being one and my go-to choice. Hope that's help.
Sorry Peter: one more question always about ex position time. I understand that every negative/print is different from the others , but generally speaking my times for silver contact prints are in the range 12sec/1min. Which one in your experience for palladium/platine?
Exposure times are much longer for platinum / palladium as the materials are less sensitive to light. It will depend on the type and quantity of UV lamps / tubes you have etc. Typically, my exposures, with my set up are in the range of 10-30 minutes. (I just checked through my notes!).
Hi Peter, great video. Have you read allthose books?
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I have read all those books and many more. Those are just a selection behind me, I have many more on other shelves. A lot are photography books of course, monographs by photographers and selected collections. Some are also text books that I use and refer to in my academic work.
Hi, can one make enlargements or is it strictly contact printing? Thanks
It is only a contact printing process. However, you can make a hi-res scan of a smaller negative, enlarge this and print on to transparency film to whatever size you want the finished print to be. Not quite as good as printing from the original negative but it's one way. Hope that's help.
Are you treating the paper before hand to balance The alkaline level or does this paper not require it?
Thanks for your interest.No, I don't treat the paper in any way prior to coating. Arches Platine is 100% cotton rag paper with no wood pulp or lignin etc so is archival stable like the platinum and palladium. Hope that's helpful.
Yessir, that does help.
wow
At 1:57, is your 8x10 camera mounted on a tripod or monopod?
A monopod? With a heavy 8" x 10" camera leaning over? Now that would be a clever trick! I'd make a fortune as a magician or a circus performer! No, it's a very heavy duty Gitzo tripod with a No. 5 head. Thanks for watching!
Your sound quality is awful. You need to sort this out!
Oh dear. Never mind, you can always look at the pictures.
Hey Pete Davis Photographer
your video quality is perfect. your content is excellent. But your videos are not reaching the audience! if you permit me. I will share some information to increase your channel. then you get lots of subscriptions and views.
thank you
Hi Pete, brilliant video and a great introduction to platinum printing. I have always wanted to have a go . I shoot on film hasselblad , still life and landscapes. Please do you run any workshops or would you be willing to give me a day of your time to teach me. Very happy to pay for your expertise etc. I'm based in North Yorkshire Uk. Where are you ?
Thsnk you Phil
Hi Phil and many thanks for the kind comment. A long time ago I used to run workshops from here - large format and fine printing, with my friend and colleague John Nesbitt. My photography, exhibiting and publishing commitments, plus my teaching at Aberystwyth University mean that I have little time to spare now. Fairly soon I will put out another video which might expand on this one a bit more. Sorry I can't be more help just now. Kind regards,
Pete
@@pete-davis-photography completely understand Pete. Liked your approach. All the best . Thsnk you