My background in photography is traditional printing processes. I specialised in archival printing, zone system printing, hand toning and tinting and D.I.Y. chemical and paper processes while I was studying my degree at college .
I got into digital photography about 15 yrs ago (been into photography for 34 yrs now), mainly because i realised i had to accept the new tech rather than being a luddite and getting left behind. I pretty much grasped it straight away and quickly saw the potential for similar image manipulation that i had previously been doing chemically.
Even though i'd totally transfered over to digital i felt there was never the 'hands on' tactileness that i'd experienced in tradition photography, especialy when i'd been into chemical manipulation and the hands on of hand tinting (using a paintbrush to selectively colour the image) its like the difference between a vinyl lp and sleeve and an i-tune download. theres just no comparision.
ok so i miss traditional processes and recently have been thinking about getting back into them and wondered if it was still possible, so i did some research.
well i just discovered Digital negative transfer film.. take any image on ur pc, and print it to your printer on digital transfer film, this gives you a 10x8" NEGATIVE!!! not just a poor OHP film, a high quality continuous tone negative.
(a 10x8 neg when i was at college use to cost a fortune, thats not to mention the cost of the 10x8 camera!!)
Here's the blurb from the manufacturer..
"The special 165u material is aimed at the photographer who truly wishes to combine their digital printing world with the darkroom - allowing the creation of truly perfect digital negatives/positives with deep blacks and retained detail throughout the whole tonal range of the printed image."
Some of you out there will at this moment be going WOW thats just opened my creative world up (thats what my mind did lol)
Some of you will be going, yeah ok, but what can i do with a 10x8" negative (B&W , COLOUR or SLIDE btw !!!) i haven't got a darkroom.
Well there's also a product called solar paper, you place your 10x8" neg onto the sheet of solar paper and expose it to the sun (or bright light) and then wash in water. no need for darkroom, and youv'e now got a traditional paper print. Amazing.
You can also use the negative for other traditional processes, cyanotype, gum-bichromate and salt-prints.
I will do a tutorial on each of those processes in the nr future.
This is the place to get Digital negative transfer film if you are in the U.K. ( i think they ship worldwide tho)
http://shop.silverprint.co.uk/Permajet-Digital-Transfer-Film/products/118/
Silverprint also do traditional process kits, check out their 'alternative processes' section.
http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/permajet-digital-transfer-film-475-c.asp
link to manufacturer website.
http://www.permajet.com/ProductGrp/PermaJet-Digital-Transfer-Negative-Film-165u
Image copied from manufacturers product ad.
