In an era utterly saturated with pixels and instant digital gratification, a fascinating counter-current flows through the world of photography. It’s a movement back towards the physical, the tactile, the deliberately slow – exploring alternative photographic processes that predate the digital revolution, and often even the advent of roll film. These aren’t just historical curiosities; they represent vibrant, hands-on ways of creating images that offer unique aesthetics and a profound connection to the craft.
Why turn away from the undeniable convenience of digital cameras and inkjet printers? For many, it’s about escaping the relentless pursuit of technical perfection that often dominates digital photography. Alternative processes, or ‘alt pro’ as they’re often called, embrace imperfection. Smudges, uneven coatings, chemical quirks – these aren’t necessarily flaws but characteristics that imbue the final print with a singular, irreproducible quality. It’s a return to the tangible object, an image made *by hand* using light, chemistry, and often, beautiful papers or other substrates.
Dipping Toes into the Historical Waters: Common Alt Processes
The range of historical photographic techniques is vast, but several have gained significant popularity among contemporary artists and hobbyists. Each offers a distinct look and a different set of challenges and rewards.
Cyanotype: The Prussian Blue Print
Perhaps one of the most accessible and recognizable alternative processes is the Cyanotype. Invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842, it’s famed for its distinctive Prussian blue colour. The process is relatively straightforward, making it a popular entry point. It involves coating paper (or fabric!) with a solution of two iron salts: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. Once dried in the dark, this surface becomes sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light.
Creating a cyanotype often involves placing objects (like leaves, flowers, lace – creating a photogram) or a large negative directly onto the sensitized surface and exposing it to sunlight or a UV lamp. Where the UV light strikes, the iron salts undergo a chemical reaction. The unexposed salts are then simply washed away with water, leaving behind the characteristic blue image. There are no complex development baths, just light and water. The results can range from delicate botanical studies to bold graphic designs, all bathed in that unmistakable blue.
Wet Plate Collodion: Capturing Souls on Glass and Metal
Venturing into Wet Plate Collodion territory is a significant leap in complexity, but the results are utterly captivating. Developed by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851, this process reigned supreme for several decades and produced two main types of images: Ambrotypes (positives on glass) and Tintypes (positives on japanned metal, often iron). The “wet plate” name is literal – the entire process, from coating the plate with salted collodion, sensitizing it in a silver nitrate bath, exposing it in the camera, developing, and fixing, must be done while the plate is still wet, usually within 10-15 minutes.
This necessitates a portable darkroom for fieldwork and demands meticulous timing and handling. The images possess incredible detail and a unique tonal range. Looking at a well-made tintype or ambrotype feels like looking back through time; the clarity combined with the inherent artifacts of the process creates a haunting, ethereal quality. It requires patience, investment in specific equipment and chemistry, and a tolerance for frustration, but the luminous, one-of-a-kind images are unlike anything else.
Working with historical photographic chemicals demands care. Many substances used in processes like Wet Plate Collodion or Platinum printing require knowledge of safe handling procedures. Always research safety protocols thoroughly, ensure proper ventilation, and consistently use appropriate protective gear like gloves and eyewear. Never work carelessly or without fully understanding the nature of the substances involved.
Platinum and Palladium Printing: The Noble Metals
For prints prized for their subtlety, permanence, and luxurious tonal range, Platinum and Palladium Printing stand out. These processes, developed in the late 19th century, use salts of these noble metals rather than silver. The light-sensitive solution, often containing ferric oxalate along with platinum and/or palladium salts, is brushed onto fine art paper.
After exposure to UV light through a negative, the print is developed, clearing away the unreacted iron salts and leaving an image formed by pure platinum or palladium embedded directly in the paper fibers. This embedding, rather than sitting in an emulsion layer like silver prints, contributes to their characteristic matte surface and exceptional archival stability – these prints can last for centuries without fading. They offer incredibly long, smooth tonal scales, particularly in the mid-tones and shadows, yielding prints of exquisite depth and luminosity. The main drawback is the significant cost of the metals themselves.
Gum Bichromate: Painterly Expressions
The Gum Bichromate process offers perhaps the most painterly potential among alternative techniques. It involves mixing watercolour pigment with gum arabic and a sensitizer (ammonium or potassium dichromate). This mixture is brushed onto paper, allowed to dry, and then exposed to UV light under a negative. The UV light hardens the gum arabic in proportion to the light received.
Development happens in a simple tray of water. The unhardened, pigmented gum washes away, leaving the image. What makes gum printing so versatile is the control it offers over colour (by choosing pigments) and the ability to build up layers. Multiple layers, each potentially using a different colour and requiring careful registration, can be applied to create complex, textured images that blur the line between photography and painting. It allows for significant manual intervention during development, using brushes or directed water flow to shape the final image.
Beyond the Big Names: Exploring Further
The world of alt pro doesn’t stop there. Other fascinating processes include:
- Salt Prints: One of the earliest paper-based photographic processes, invented by William Henry Fox Talbot. It involves sensitizing paper with sodium chloride (common salt) and then silver nitrate, producing warm, brownish images with a soft, fibrous look.
- Van Dyke Brown / Argyrotype: Simpler iron-silver processes related to cyanotype but producing brown tones. They are often considered good stepping stones from cyanotype towards more complex techniques.
- Albumen Printing: The dominant paper printing method from the 1850s to the 1890s, using egg whites (albumen) to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper, known for its glossy finish and warm tones.
The Enduring Appeal of the Analog Artifact
Engaging with alternative photographic processes is about more than just nostalgia. It’s a commitment to a slower, more deliberate way of making images. The physical engagement – coating papers, mixing chemicals (safely!), judging exposures by eye, washing prints by hand – fosters an intimate understanding of how photographs come into being. The inherent unpredictability becomes part of the creative dialogue; the artist works *with* the process, not just commanding it.
Many historical processes, particularly Platinum/Palladium prints, offer exceptional archival qualities. Because the image is formed by stable noble metals embedded directly into the paper fibers, rather than suspended in a binder, they are highly resistant to fading and environmental damage. When processed correctly on archival paper, these prints can potentially last for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, far exceeding the expected lifespan of many contemporary printing methods.
In a digital world awash with technically perfect but often ephemeral images, the alternative process print stands as a unique, tangible artifact. Each print tells the story of its own creation, bearing the marks of the artist’s hand and the beautiful idiosyncrasies of chemistry and light. It’s a powerful reminder that photography can be a deeply physical, craft-based art form, offering endless avenues for exploration beyond the screen.
