Media: Types of Photography The many faces of photography In the 150 years since the invention of photography, numerous photographic processes have emerged. In general, we divide photographic processes into silver, non-silver, and color — but these are only general categories that contain many variations. What follows are brief descriptions of the processes most commonly used by NextMonet photographers, and an example of each type of process. Gelatin silver print Gail Skoff The gelatin silver print is one of the most common photographic forms, and has become more or less synonymous with the black-and-white photograph. The term refers to the gelatin emulsion of the paper, which suspends the light-sensitive silver salts evenly on the surface. The silver salts are generally made of silver bromide, silver chloride, or a combination of the two. The great range of papers used in gelatin silver prints offer a variety of tones, weights, and surfaces. Platinum print or Platinum/palladium print Michael Lardizabal Platinum prints have been made since the 19th century, and are valued for both their subtle range of silvery grays and their permanence. A platinum print is produced through contact printing, in which the negative is placed in direct contact with a sheet of light-sensitive paper. The sheet is treated with a light-sensitive compound, usually brushed directly onto the paper by the artist. Then the negative is laid onto the prepared, dried paper and exposed to direct sunlight. Depending on the climate and region where the photographer lives, exposure times may vary from a few minutes to more than a quarter-hour. The final image will only be as large as the negative, so most platinum prints are made with negatives produced with a medium- or large-format camera (which typically produce negatives that are 4" x 5" or 8" x 10"). Iris print Meridel Rubenstein Also called giclées, Iris prints are created using the Iris printer which sprays four million droplets per second of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink to produce an image. In the hands of a trained printmaker, the resulting image is of extremely high-quality, retaining color and depth exactly as the artist had envisioned. In addition to the high quality images, the Iris printer also allows printmakers and artists to print on a wide variety of surfaces, including canvas, Japanese rice papers, and mylar. Chromogenic print (C-print) John Humble A chromogenic print (from the Greek meaning color-forming) refers to a broad range of color processes. The print is made from a color transparency (a slide) or a color negative. The print contains three emulsion layers, each sensitized to one primary color: blue, yellow, and red. Each layer remembers a different color of the original image. Chromogenic prints encompass a whole host of commercial processes, including Ektacolor and Fujicolor. Silver-dye bleach print Eduardo Muñoz Ordoqui Also known as Ilfochrome and formerly Cibachrome prints, a silver-dye bleach print is made from a color transparency. The name refers to the properties of the print and the process through which the image is formed. The emulsion contains silver and separate layers of cyan, magenta and yellow dyes. During exposure to light, a latent image forms on each layer of the print, which is then developed and bleached out. The remaining dyes correspond to each color layer, and together they form a full-color image. The color of a silver-dye bleach print is vibrant and saturated, and is generally more permanent than that of a chromogenic print. A glossy surface is another hallmark of the silver-dye bleach print. Next: Sculpture — What makes sculpture different from the other visual arts?