Traditional black and white silver gelatin prints
These are lith prints made by using a unique process of developing and printing black and white photographs. Each photo in this gallery has a different tone and color, but they are all done by the lith process in the darkroom. These photographs show the versatility of lith printing, ranging from bold, contrast tones to soft, ethereal, luminescent tones.
I was fortunate to have learned this beautiful technique from Dr. Tim Rudman’s excellent workshops in both Seattle and in Montana. His books, The World of Lith Printing and The Photographer’s Toning Book are the definitive references for this creative method of printing.
Alternative Process Photography is a hybrid method, of both analogue, hands-on darkroom process and digital process, using historic photo-chemistry. It creates beautiful one-of-a kind “hand made” photographic prints.
On this page, I have included prints of cyanotype, van dyke, platinum-palladium on watercolor paper, and also prints made from metal such as gold leaf and variegated copper, on vellum paper.
Color photographs
I had great fun making these botanical prints in the sun, without a camera.
“Escape”, 2020
During this year of the pandemic crisis, the fear of uncertainty and rising number of deaths, compounded by limitations on social contact, created a lot of inner anxiety within me.. I wanted to escape to somewhere that would feel safe, but there was no true escape. However, as in previous times of high anxiety in my life, I found some relief in creating photographic images that expressed my inner fear and uncertainty about life and death.
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“ Veil of Grief “ , 2018-2019
There are times in one’s life when there is deep loss and sorrow, when one cannot see beyond the unbearable pain. And through the long, solitary passage of grief and survival, there arrives a time when one’s life begins to emerge in a new form, as a rebirth. One can finally accept the death and loss of something precious. Then one can begin to rise up slowly and lift the veil of grief.
Only by honoring the past and letting go can one create something new. I believe this passage in life brings oneself closer to forces of nature: the tidal waves of the ocean, the magnificent colors of sunrise and sunset, the calmness of a lake, and the fertile soil of the earth. I believe the human soul is forever connected to the powerful presence of nature.
-Sally
Photogravure prints made from polymer plates.
