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The Timeless Allure of Silver Gelatin Prints: A Journey through My Urban Landscapes

a digital scan of a black and white negative, the picture depicts a ravaged urban landscape in a place called Bulla. there is a path that cuts diagonally though the scene, the gound and cliff face or made fomr a white soil, the sky has a soft hazy appreance — An image entitled Bulla from my 2022 solo exhibition, titled “thanks Pandemic. It is a Hand printed silver gelatin print. Museum quality, toned in selenium, 17cm x 17cm. From a vintage negative printed in 2022.

In the ever-evolving world of photography, where digital images dominate the scene, the silver gelatin print remains a testament to the timeless beauty of traditional photographic processes. I am among many artists who have continued working with this medium. My work not only highlights the aesthetic charm of silver gelatin prints but also underscores their enduring significance in contemporary art.

A digital scan of a silver gelatin print depicting a creek and a mound of mulch, in the midst of which a saplig struggles through. — Thornbury from my 2022 soloo exhibtion ‘Thanks Pandemic’. Hand printed silver gelatin print. Museum quality, toned in selenium, 17cm x 17cm. From a vintage negative printed in 2022.

The Silver Gelatin Print

Silver gelatin prints are a type of black-and-white photographic print made using a gelatin emulsion containing light-sensitive silver salts. This process, which has been in use since the late 19th century, involves exposing photographic film or paper to light and then developing it through a series of chemical baths. The result is an image with rich tonal ranges and exquisite detail.

The Beauty of Silver Gelatin Prints for me are:-

Rich Tonal Range: One of the most striking features of silver gelatin prints is their ability to render a wide range of tones, from deep blacks to delicate highlights. This tonal richness gives the images a depth and dimensionality that are often lacking in digital prints.

Textural Quality: The physical texture of a silver gelatin print, with its fine grain and subtle sheen, adds a tactile dimension to the viewing experience. This quality can make the images feel more tangible and real.

Archival Durability: Silver gelatin prints are known for their longevity. When properly processed and stored, they can last for over a century without significant degradation, making them a preferred choice for collectors and archivists.

A digital can of a silver geltain print. Melbourne’s CBD seen from the roof of the Commonwealth bank building in the late 1980s shownig the skyline and the Jolimont railyards with the MCG in the distance under a dramaitc thunderous sky. — Melbourne’s CBD seen from the roof of the Commonwealth bank building in the late 1980s. Hand printed silver gelatin print. Museum quality, toned in selenium, 17cm x 17cm. From a vintage negative printed in 2022.

The Process?

The process is in some ways cathartic. It is most definitely slow. Attributes that some see as an antithesis to contemprary digital photogrpahy. Some of my best ideas come to me while I stand over the sink watching the print develop. I have a dedicated playlist on my iPhone for music that contributes to a mental state that borders on meditation. These traits are part of the driving force behind my continuing to work with silver gelatin prints in this way.

My Urban Landscapes

My urban landscapes are a perfect illustration of the beauty and versatility of silver gelatin prints. my work attempts to captures the essence of city life with a unique blend of realism and artistic interpretation.

Contrast and Clarity: my prints are characterised by their striking tonality and impeccable clarity. The play of light and shadow in his urban scenes brings out the intricate details of architectural forms and textures, creating images that are both visually stunning and deeply evocative.

Mood and Atmosphere: Through his use of silver gelatin, I am able to convey the mood and atmosphere of urban environments in a way that digital images often cannot. Whether it’s the misty aura of a city morning or the stark shadows of a bustling street at night, my prints strive to evoke a strong sense of place and time.

Timeless Quality: There is a timeless quality to my urban landscapes that transcends the ephemeral nature of digital media. My imagesask to to exist in a space between past and present, capturing moments that are both fleeting and enduring.

The Art of Seeing

Through my work I try to encourage viewers to see the urban landscape with fresh eyes.I use meticulous attention to detail and composition to invites you to pause and appreciate the beauty in everyday scenes. The use of silver gelatin prints adds an element of craftsmanship and tradition, reminding us of the rich history of photography and its continuing relevance.

In a world where digital photography is ubiquitous, the silver gelatin print stands as a symbol of the enduring power of traditional photographic techniques. My urban landscapes exemplify the unmatched beauty and emotional depth that this medium can achieve. Through my lens, you are hopefully reminded of the timeless allure of the city and the art of seeing the world in all its nuanced splendor.

About the author.

Stuart Murdoch is an Artist and Part time Photo Educator, with over 30 years of teaching experience. He has also nearly 40 years of silver gelatin printing under his belt. He contemplates many things photographic. His ruminations include his own work as well other’s and the aspects of technology that impact on the sharing and consumption of Photographs. And of course the act of making and taking photographs in the 21st century. Photobooks sit quite high on his radar too these days.
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Silver Gelatin Printing?

My Silver Gelatine Printing Process

My work bench with enlarger, saunder easel, rolls of unprocessed film, and some 5x4 inch contact sheets, the wall behind is decorated with an assortment of prints postcards and other ephemera. The head of the enlargr is raise showing the cool soft blue light of my Zone VI enlarger head. — My work bench with enlarger, Saunders easel, rolls of unprocessed film, and some 5×4 inch contact sheets.

Here’s my process for making a print on silver gelatine paper. Printing on silver gelatine paper is rewarding and relaxing. It is not cheap however, so my process aims to tease as much detail as I can out of test strips before commiting to a full sheet of 8 x 10 inch silver gelatin paper. It is the ultimate way to relax, if I am not printing to a dealine, ie and exhibtion.

Process the film.

Two rolls of 120 format film hanging inside a drying cabinet

Dry it and cut into strips.

Two rolls of 120 format film, ready to be cut and sleeved, along with gloves a penci and 2 sleeves, with 2 strips to labelthe sleeves — Two rolls of 120 format film, ready to be cut and sleeved

Set up the sink.

With Developer, Stop Bath, Fixer One.

The first stage of prnt processing, using onlly Developer, stop bath and fixer in my grey sink with tongs in each tray. A white tray for developer a grey one for stop bath and a red one for fixer — The first stage of prnt processing, using onlly Developer, stop bath and fixer.

Make a contact sheet to edge black.

Edge black is the pont where the edge of the film disaapears. So I start by making a test wedge usually of 3 second bursts. After the stop bath, and fixer a quick rinse. Turn on the lights and look for the time that the edge of the film no longer shows, that is my time for the whole contact sheet. This has 2 disinct technical advantages. I can assess my exposures and development of the film. Noting any deviations that may be needed at the enlarging stage.

A test strip of a proof sheet floating in the rinse water the tray is a modifed print procssing tray with grey tubes feeding water in and holes drilled along the edges to allow water to escape — A test strip for a proof sheet floating in the rinse water

Process the paper, Devloper 2 minutes, Stop 30 seconds, Fix 2 minutes.

Wash the final outcome for 10 minutes.

Dry and anotate, file away.

My filing sytem, showing a box labelled with dates anbd film format and 2 rolls of film with their numbers annotated inclding processing dates and sequencial number.

Choose a negative to print.

Peruse my contacts, and choose a negative. Either form my archive or from the current contact sheet I’m working on.

Set up ealarger making sure the negative is in focus, sometimes, I shoot out focus on purpose.

A Saunders easel with the other tool I use in the darkroom, a Peak Focus finder, a set of Ilford multigrade filters and an anti-static brush.

Print

Expose for the highlights and change filters for the shadows, or split filter, mostly split filter these days. Test until I’m happy with the outcome, this may mean some extra burning and dodging to acheive a ‘balanced’ print.

Process

Process the paper, Devloper 2 minutes, Stop 30 seconds, Fixer one, 2 minutes.

Rinse.

Fixer two, 2 minutes, Hypo Clearing Agent, 3 minutes, and archivally wash [10 minutes for resin coated papers, 60 minutes for museum quality fibre based paper].

Dry, & flatten

Mount if I am exhibitig the work framed.

About the author.

Thanks Pandemic

Just over the halfway mark with my solo exhibition, ‘Thanks Pandemic’,

With a busy month ahead of me I’m popping my opening night speech here on my blog along with 22 of the 23 images I exhibited in my current solo exhibition.

Here are the details again:-
Hunt Club Community Arts Centre, 775 Ballarat Road, Deer Park, VIC 3023
Opening hours are 9:30 am to 4:30pm

I begin today by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.

I would like to thank Brimbank Council for their support, especially all the Staff at the Hunt club community arts centre, including Paulina, Michael, and everyone else who supported and contributed to this exhibition.

The pandemic that swept the world in 2020, is still impacting on many people in many ways, two years later. Prior to the pandemic, I would walk or drive with my cameras to locations I visit often, or see as interesting in passing. Being locked indoors during the Pandemic put an end to all that.

Many people experienced life through a different lens, during the lockdowns. Some feeling challenged others liberated. I too suffered my ups and downs while juggling ‘working from home’ while actually living at home.

One of the positives of all this for me was that I was free to find other ways to flex my creative muscle. I did this by visiting my analogue archive. This archive spans more than 30 years of walking and exploring my home town of Melbourne with a variety of cameras. The last 20 or so years here in the West and Sunshine. I managed to distill this to a handful of images that I hope to offer some insights into how I have watched this city grow and change. To simplify he process I chose one camera type to make the initial selections. This added to the cohesion of an otherwise disparate set of images, I hope.

Some images more than others stick in your ‘craw’ as you work, this is one of the reasons why I printed these particular photos. In some instances it was the moment itself, in others it was the light, the tonality or some other photographic quality captured by the lens and camera.

These prints are from a loose thread that runs throughout my creative career. The urban landscape and humanity’s attempts at taming it, or at least co-exist with it. Nature has a way of persevering despite our best efforts, wildness lingers and some of these pictures attempt to explore that. Whether we have the desire to allow nature to recalibrate is something we can all hope for.

I don’t remember who said it but it has been suggested that every picture you make with a camera is a self portrait, if this is true then I’m not sure what these pictures say about me. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that point.

Another driving factor in the choice of the final images is, technological. Materials have changed a lot since I bought my first packet of Agfa paper from a US retailer around 1990. These changes have contributed to me revisiting my archive with this in mind and explore other ways making work that I may have felt was not technically feasible all those years ago.

I’d just like to finish with one more thank you.

Lastly my wife for her patience and input and being a steady rock when I needed it the most.

All are toned silver gelatin prints 190mm x 190mm.

Here are the details again:-
Hunt Club Community Arts Centre, 775 Ballarat Road, Deer Park, VIC 3023
Opening hours are 9:30 am to 4:30pm

About the author.

Upcoming Solo Show

Washing fibre based paper prints in my home made print washer

I’m having a solo exhibition soon.

Here are the details.

The show is entitled ‘Thanks Pandemic’. The exhibition consists of 25 silver gelatine prints printed in my darkroom. It is on display at the Hunt Club Community Arts Centre, 775 Ballarat Road, Deer Park, VIC 3023, from the 7th of October until the 8th of December. An opening celebration will occur on Friday the 7th of October from 6:30 to 8:00pm.