“Fox Jaw & Thistle” - photographed with my iPhone in the wash (in natural light). No adjustments. - Platinum Palladium Print from a 6” x 6” (15 x 15cm) Wet Collodion Negative - 2019
I worked on a project called, “Ghost Dance: Native American Massacres Site” for a few years. I finished in 2019. I was never satisfied with the POP prints from the work. It’s all 6” x 6” (15 x 15cm) wet collodion negatives. I’ve been wanting to print the work in Platinum Palladium for some time now and I did a few today. The results are amazing. This is a perfect match: Wet Collodion Negatives and Platinum Palladium Prints. Absolutely perfect. The range and depth in these are some of the deepest I’ve seen. I know the “iPhone images” don’t come close to doing them justice, but I wanted to share these.
Lessons Learned
I know most people working in Platinum Palladium print from digital negatives. The technical perspective is almost 180 degrees. I understand we are comparing apples and oranges taking about Wet Collodion Negatives and Digital Negatives. I have no experience with digital stuff. I can tell you though, the recommended density is very different when using a collodion negative. The contrast control is different, and the printing is different. I know this from talking to digital negative guys.
I used mostly Palladium with these prints; 12 drops Ferric Oxalate, 12 drops Palladium, 1 drop Platinum, and 2 drops of Tween 20. My developer was Potassium Oxalate at about 90F (33C) - I’ll warm it up next time and try for “warmer” tones, but I do love these. My exposures were 2:30 in the sun (high UV here). Developed for 1 minute, cleared in EDTA x2, and washed for 20 minutes. I used Hahnemühle Platinum Rag - I’ll try some Arches Platine next.
The negative is the most important component here. Platinum Palladium is simple compared to most historic printing processes. It’s by far the easiest. I know why it was called, “the King of prints” in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are eye-cracking and mind-blowing to look at - they really are.
I’ll do a video (Studio Q Show LIVE!) soon on my thoughts, my negatives, my prints, and where I’m going with this. I may end up printing out my entire body of work from Ghost Dance with this process. It’s winter now and I’m not sure how much new work I'll get completed when it’s snowy and cold. We’ll see. When spring arrives, it will be full-time on the new work. Stay tuned!
“Cottonwood Tree - Eastern Plains of Colorado” - photographed with my iPhone in the wash (in natural light). No adjustments. - Platinum Palladium Print from a 6” x 6” (15 x 15cm) Wet Collodion Negative - 2019