William Willis patented the platinum printing process in 1873 and began to market it in 1879 under the name Plaintinotype. It became popular with the Pictorialists, the Linked Ring Society, and the Photo-Secessionists.
I will be making some Platinum Palladium prints from my wet collodion negatives. It used platinum and/or palladium salts (with ferric oxalate) instead of silver (with chloride) as the light-sensitive material. These prints are characterized by their ability to reproduce a long scale of tonal values. It is a very permanent image and was highly valued for this reason. Later the process was appreciated more for its aesthetic qualities and became favored among art photographers. It is usually characterized by soft, gray tonalities, but it is possible to change the color of the print during development or by toning the finished print. (Library of Congress).
My interest is in the ability to produce prints that are both unique and more painterly than “straight” photographs. I’m very interested in pictorialism. Pictorialism is an approach to photography that emphasizes the beauty of the subject matter, tonality, and composition rather than the documentation of reality. I like to make Rawlins Oil Prints as well. I think these processes will be perfect for my project.
I haven’t seen any Platinum Palladium prints made with wet collodion negatives. Most people today use digital negatives. I have seen a couple of prints made from film. Since this is a contact print, the negative needs to be what you want for the final print. In other words, an 8x10 negative will make an 8x10 Platinum Palladium print. I’ll be working in the Whole Plate format (6.5” x 8.5”) for this project. It’s manageable and the prints are large enough for viewing. I’ll also lean toward a warmer print (Palladium and warm developer) for this work. I may even experiment with waxing and/or using gelatin on the final print.I’ll see what happens,
Here are some examples of Platinum Palladium prints from the 19th century:
“Coming Home From the Marshes” Henry Peach Robinson, 1886
“Morning” - Clarence White 1905
Ancient Crypt Cellars in Provins, France, Frederick Evans - Platinum print, 1910.