January 2026
I participated in a Salt Print Workshop led by Ellie Young of Gold Street Studios in Trentham East in the Central Highlands of Victoria for IPT members. Salt printing is a process initially developed by Fox Talbot in the 1830's. It involves coating paper first with a sodium chloride solution, letting it dry, and then re-coating with a silver nitrate solution. The sensitised paper is then exposed to either sunlight or artificial UV sources. The prints can be photograms, where objects are placed directly on the paper during exposure, or contact prints, where the paper is exposed through either digital or analog negatives. The resulting prints can be toned and fixed for permanence.
Ellie is an expert in salt and albumen prints. She walked the participants through making plain salt prints, gelatin-coated and single and double-coated albumen prints. The exposed prints were toned with gold toner and fixed. We used glass push rods to coat the paper evenly. In plain salt prints, a solution of sodium chloride is used for the initial coating. For gelatine prints, pure gelatine is added to the sodium chloride solution, and albumen prints are coated in specially prepared egg whites with sodium chloride added. The gelatine and albumen coatings give a different colour to the straight salt print because the silver particles that result during exposure are suspended above the paper surface. The albumen provides a gloss finish to the print, with the double-coated albumen print having the greatest gloss.
The Following Images:
I participated in a Salt Print Workshop led by Ellie Young of Gold Street Studios in Trentham East in the Central Highlands of Victoria for IPT members. Salt printing is a process initially developed by Fox Talbot in the 1830's. It involves coating paper first with a sodium chloride solution, letting it dry, and then re-coating with a silver nitrate solution. The sensitised paper is then exposed to either sunlight or artificial UV sources. The prints can be photograms, where objects are placed directly on the paper during exposure, or contact prints, where the paper is exposed through either digital or analog negatives. The resulting prints can be toned and fixed for permanence.
Ellie is an expert in salt and albumen prints. She walked the participants through making plain salt prints, gelatin-coated and single and double-coated albumen prints. The exposed prints were toned with gold toner and fixed. We used glass push rods to coat the paper evenly. In plain salt prints, a solution of sodium chloride is used for the initial coating. For gelatine prints, pure gelatine is added to the sodium chloride solution, and albumen prints are coated in specially prepared egg whites with sodium chloride added. The gelatine and albumen coatings give a different colour to the straight salt print because the silver particles that result during exposure are suspended above the paper surface. The albumen provides a gloss finish to the print, with the double-coated albumen print having the greatest gloss.
The Following Images:
- Damselfly Face by Peter Kinchington - Salt Print with 4min in Gold Toner.
- Little Wattle Bird by Jocelyn Krewaz - Salt Print with 4min in Gold Toner.
- Musk Lorikeet by Jocelyn Krewaz - Single Coated Albumen Print with 2min in Gold Toner.
February 2026
I had my photogravure of a "Snakebird Feather Detail" accepted into Goldstreet Studios - The Print Exposed exhibition. I along with other participating photographers will be giving floor talks at the official launch on 1 March 2026.
I had my photogravure of a "Snakebird Feather Detail" accepted into Goldstreet Studios - The Print Exposed exhibition. I along with other participating photographers will be giving floor talks at the official launch on 1 March 2026.
March 2026
I am restricted to my home because my leg is in a cast. So I thought I would challenge myself and use Lith film to produce pictorial photographs. I loaded my homemade 8x10in pinhole camera with Lith film and pointed it at a daisy bush near my fence. I needed a long exposure as the aperture is f/250, and I rate the film at 1.5 iso. I exposed the film for 1.5 hours. I then used stand development in dilute Rodinal at 1:100 for 2 hours at 20 degrees C.
I am restricted to my home because my leg is in a cast. So I thought I would challenge myself and use Lith film to produce pictorial photographs. I loaded my homemade 8x10in pinhole camera with Lith film and pointed it at a daisy bush near my fence. I needed a long exposure as the aperture is f/250, and I rate the film at 1.5 iso. I exposed the film for 1.5 hours. I then used stand development in dilute Rodinal at 1:100 for 2 hours at 20 degrees C.
June 2026
I generally use black and white film in my pinhole cameras. I decided to use black and white enlarging paper instead. The paper I used was glossy Ilford multigrade this is a compromise because the glossy surface can lead to fogging/flare due to internal reflections. This indeed happened with the first paper negative showing a flare patch on the upper left of the negative and the second paper negative showing a flare patch along most of the left hand side. The third image showed a bright area where the sun was shining through the canopy.
The first image was a scan from about 2/3 of the 11x14in negative, the second about 3/4 and the third about 4/5. I took the colour image of my 11x14in pinhole camera setup as the third negative was being exposed.
Exposure: Image 1- f /225 40m, Image 2- f /225 70m light yellow filter, Image3- f/225 1h50m
Processing: Image 1- 1:100 rodinal 1h constant agitation, Image 2 - 1:150 rodinal 1h15m constant agitation, Image3 - 1:125 rodinal 1h30m constant agitation
I generally use black and white film in my pinhole cameras. I decided to use black and white enlarging paper instead. The paper I used was glossy Ilford multigrade this is a compromise because the glossy surface can lead to fogging/flare due to internal reflections. This indeed happened with the first paper negative showing a flare patch on the upper left of the negative and the second paper negative showing a flare patch along most of the left hand side. The third image showed a bright area where the sun was shining through the canopy.
The first image was a scan from about 2/3 of the 11x14in negative, the second about 3/4 and the third about 4/5. I took the colour image of my 11x14in pinhole camera setup as the third negative was being exposed.
Exposure: Image 1- f /225 40m, Image 2- f /225 70m light yellow filter, Image3- f/225 1h50m
Processing: Image 1- 1:100 rodinal 1h constant agitation, Image 2 - 1:150 rodinal 1h15m constant agitation, Image3 - 1:125 rodinal 1h30m constant agitation
July 2026
I was privileged to be able to photograph the critically endangered orange bellied parrots feeding on glasswort in remnant coastal wetlands which are protected by the RAMSAR treaty. Orange Bellied Parrots are a migratory bird flying from their nesting sites in Tasmania to Victoria every year. (Fellow photographers - Marion and John from the Geelong Camera Club alerted me to the OBP presence.)
I was privileged to be able to photograph the critically endangered orange bellied parrots feeding on glasswort in remnant coastal wetlands which are protected by the RAMSAR treaty. Orange Bellied Parrots are a migratory bird flying from their nesting sites in Tasmania to Victoria every year. (Fellow photographers - Marion and John from the Geelong Camera Club alerted me to the OBP presence.)
Pinhole Photograph of Corio Bay
It was a very windy day and the water was choppy the relatively long exposure smoothed the water and rendered the dramatic movement of the clouds.
Exposure details: f/225 5min Ilford MG paper@3iso Light Yellow Filter
It was a very windy day and the water was choppy the relatively long exposure smoothed the water and rendered the dramatic movement of the clouds.
Exposure details: f/225 5min Ilford MG paper@3iso Light Yellow Filter
