A Day in Kruja
Last January I went on a trip to Albania with my wife Eni. She is originally from there and one of the days we went to an old city called Kruja. This is one of many shots from there. I will be uploading more.
Daily Pics September 7th, 2014 /
1 Train at 59th Street
Daily Pics September 6th, 2014 /
A Spirtited Conversation
A photo from the Lower East Side the other day. Before I took the photo they were having a very animated debate.
Daily Pics September 5th, 2014 /
Penn Station Wall
Like a work of Modern Art, a wall in the subterranean area of Penn Station near the 2 train. The composition really attracted me to it.
Daily Pics /
I have been very busy lately and it is easy to get lost in a project. Most of my work lately is project based and it can take years to fully develop. I was reading some photo theory books and one photographer was talking about the importance of taking photos everyday. The need for practice of framing, composition and to maybe spark new ideas. So based on that idea I am going to post a photo a day. They are not so much project based but a way to keep my eye sharp. They will not really have a theme other than something that caught my eye.
The first photo I am posting is shows construction next to the Highline. I was testing a new 15mm Pana/Leica lens I bought recently. I hope you enjoy.
The Tower of Babel
Tosa Washi and Platinum Printing /
Everything Collapesed on Tosa Washi Paper
I wrote before about the Tosahakinshi or Tosa Washi platinum paper I ordered from Japan from PGI. I was finally able to test it and I have to say, it is the best mulberry type paper I have used. I have tried the Lightweight "Goyu" Kozo paper from Bostwick & Sullivan and it is good, but it can be easily over-brushed and I had to use a lot more sensitizer to coat it. With the Tosa Washi paper I used 25 drops of Ferric Oxilate, 23 drops of Palladium and 2 drop of 5% Sodium Platinum Solution Na2 for an 8x10 inch photo using the brush from Japan. I got the drop count from Masayuki Nishimaru. You can watch a below of Masayuki coating the paper.
The other two main points are to use felt underneath and to weigh it down on the ends. For the sticks he uses in the video to pick the paper up with, I use bamboo skewers.
With coating, it is very different than regular paper. When I take the brush out of distilled water, and shake the excess water off just a little bit. The brush is still very wet when I dip it into the sensitizer. I just stick the very tip in and wipe the excess off the side of the bowl I use. You will make a lot of strokes so you don't need to use a lot of sensitizer. The paper is very thin and it doesn't take much to absorb. I start my stroke very fast and then slow down once I reach the other side. I then let it hang dry for 30 minutes.
Gutted Like A Fish on Tosa Washi Paper
I originally learned about the paper from Francis Schanberger who teaches how to do the process with using Van Dyke Brown and the Tosa Washi paper. Check out his work, it is wonderful. He was kind enough to respond to my question through email and sent me the contact information on buying the paper.
Abandoned Like an Old Car on Tosa Washi Paper
Platinum Brushes /
Recently I have been working on platinum printing with Japanese Kozo paper. I really love the way it looks with the "Where the Ocean Meets the Shore" series. The delicate look it adds, the feeling that it has survived a flood. I was doing some research on paper and came across the photographer Francis Schanberger who prints on a special Japanese paper developed just for platinum printing. The paper is called Tosa Platinum Paper. I emailed Francis and he was kind enough to forward me the info as to where to buy it. The paper is sold by Photo Gallery International located in Tokyo. If you would like to buy the paper, you have to contact Masayuki Nishimaru to place an order. He will send you an invoice through PayPal. I placed an order and received them very quickly (about a week). I also ordered the two beautiful brushes below made specifically for Platinum printing. They are so beautiful I almost don't want to use them.
3 inch and 6 inch Platinum brushes
From Masayuki: Traditional Japanese Style Synthetic Hair Brushes
These brushes are made by traditional Japanese Craftsmen. The synthetic hair is hand bound with cherry wood and silk thread. The handle contain no metal so you don't have to worry about contamination or rust ruining your images. The 3 inch brush is 8,800JPY and the 6 inch brush is 18,000JPY.
I will be trying them out soon and write about how they compare to the Richenson brushes.
Close up of the 3 inch
Details from the 6 inch brush
Here are the details on the Tosa Platinum Paper:
Specialized as a Platinum Printing Paper, it is mainly made from Tosa Kozo. It has a smooth surface for coating and does not get too fluffy (fluffy being Masayuki's description, but if you used this type of paper in the past, you know it can be easily over brushed and damaged).
They have two types. Tosa Platinum #1: Made of 70% of Tosa-Kozo from Gohoku in Ino Town and 30% of Gampi fibre.
Tosa Platinum Paper #2 is made of 80% of Tosa-Kozo from Gohoku in Ino Town and 20% Gampi fibre.
Weight: 26-30g/m2
pH: 6.5-7.5
Paper size: approximately 60x90cm ( 23.5x35.5 inches)
Price: Platinum Paper #1 - 1,700JPY and Platinum Paper #2 - 1,600JPY
I will be testing the paper and will post the results here soon. Here is a video of Masayuki making a print using these papers and brushes. For an 8x10 he suggested a drop count of 25 Ferric Oxalate and 25 Metal.
Polaroid 8x10 Polaprinter Model 3580 Instructions /
I was able to get one of these Polaroid 8x10 Polaprinter Model 3580 but it did not include instructions. I searched all over the web but I could not find any. I saw that a person on ebay was selling the same model with instructions and reached out to them and see if they would sell me a copy. They were nice enough to scan it in and send it to me for free, so I am passing it on.
Read MoreDigital Platinum with Carl Weese /
This past weekend I took my second class with Carl Weese at the Center for Alternative Photography. The first one I took was Platinum Printing where we learned how to take, develop and print traditional negative. I wrote about it before. I learned a lot in that class, but when I went back home to try it, I ran into all kinds of problems. Carl was kind enough to answer some of my questions through email, but sometimes it really helps to take a class, try the process and take it again to follow up. One of the problems with workshops is that their is usually not enough time to go into trouble shooting. Especially with a process like platinum, that has so many different variables as to what could go wrong. Then add the complexity of digital printing.
Read MoreBlack Ice or Studies for an Encaustic Painting /
A beautiful light fluffy snowfall in Central Park
I love the snow. I know it's been a terrible winter, but I am not talking about the kind of snow we have gotten during this winter vortex. I mean snow like you see int he movies. Big, fluffy snowflakes that gently fall and cover the city of New York, usually gray and dirty in the winter, with a cloud of pure white.
Instead what we have gotten here in NYC is this glacial snow that never melts and turns into black ice. Typically in New York City we get snow it looks nice for a day or two, then turns ugly. In past winters the snow would melt in a few days and the city would be back to normal. This winter it has been so cold the snow has not melted in months. It has just been slowly building up and trapping everything in it's wake. The last time I experienced this kind of weather was when I went to college in Syracuse where it snowed in May on my graduation day. Now the city has seen a few warm days (above 40 degrees) and the snow has started to retreat, slowly revealing months worth of dirt, scum and trash that has turned black.
Like the mummified remains of an ancient New Yorker
Last week I started to investigate using Encaustic wax paint with my photos to create some mixed media work. What draws me to encaustic wax is the ability to obscure, mix and collage various elements in different ways ion the same piece. At the same time I was finally able to get out and take some photos in the City again. I noticed the black ice had a very similar texture to encaustic painting and that it also created it's own natural collage with the trash that it swallowed up over time. Today I could see a definite line in the sidewalk from where the ice has receded slowly like a glacier.
The Flat Line of Winters Heart...I Hope
Here is a collection of photos I have taken of Black Ice around the city and if I hear one more person deny climate change because it is cold I am going to go nuts. I know New York is big and it may seem like to some people the center of the world, but the average worldwide temperature has increased. You can also see them in my portfolio.
