Creative Photo Printmaking
by Theresa Airey
List Price:
Our Price: $6.40
You Save: $23.55 (79%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.02 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Theresa AireyBrand: Creative
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-10-01
ISBN: 0817437258
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Amphoto Books
Book Reviews of Creative Photo Printmaking
Book Review: Good and Bad Advice on a Variety of Creative Techniques.
Summary: 3 Stars
In "Creative Photo Printmaking", author Theresa Airey attempts to cover 9 different photo and printmaking techniques that are alternative or supplementary to conventional practices, and which will expand any photographer's means of creative expression. I have found that books that discuss a variety of photographic skills, instead of being an exhaustive study of just one, tend to be cursory, serving as an introduction to their subjects more than in-depth guides. That's fine as long as they are solid, accurate introductions. "Creative Photo Printmaking" isn't one of the better multi-skill books that I've read. Some chapters are reasonably good, while others are, frankly, bad. Organized lists of necessary supplies and equipment are generally absent.
"Manipulating Polaroids" (Chapter 1) is a decent introduction to Polaroid "Time Zero" (SX-70) film. Advice on manipulating the film is adequate, and there are instructions for modifying modern 600 Series Polaroid cameras to accept SX-70 film. There is an interesting section about sandwiching SX-70 prints by removing the emulsion. The recommendation to duplicate and enlarge your prints by copying them to slide is outdated. Now you would simply scan them. Oddly, there is advice about printing slides onto Time Zero film with a conventional enlarger, but not with a DayLab, which is more common practice.
"Infrared Photos" (Chapter 2) is about black-and-white infrared film, which is prized for its ability to record increased tonal separation in the midtones while decreasing tonal separation in light and dark tones, creating a "luminescence" in light skin tones. This is the worst chapter in the book, as it is filled with misinformation. Infrared film does not record heat. Red filters do not allow more IR to pass through them; they block out the rest of the spectrum. Surface veins can be eliminated by increasing exposure. IR negatives should not be dense and difficult to print. The author has drastically overexposed her negatives, something that I would expect of a novice. The book advocates doing a lot of exposure tests to achieve correct exposure. If they didn't help the author, I don't think they'll help you. Set the ISO on your camera to 100. Set the exposure to 1/125 at f/11 on a sunny day. Use any yellow, orange, or light red filter. Pay no attention to filter factors; infrared light passes through the filter. Bracket your exposures by one stop over and under that exposure. Be sure to load and unload film in total darkness. You'll do fine. Ignore everything in this chapter. It's disgraceful.
"Bleaching and Toning" (Chapter 3) introduces several toning techniques. Toning with selenium then bleaching down the skin areas on portraits until a flesh tone is achieved produces a beautiful result on the demonstration print. Another technique is copper split-toning that literally produces a metallic copper effect that is quite striking, but is not explained in detail. There is also brief discussion of color posterization, which produces unreal colors.
"Working with Liquid Emulsions" (Chapter 4) explains the use of both Silverprint and Liquid Light, coating emulsions that are applied to various surfaces in order to make them susceptible to photographic printing. The instructions for coating, developing, bleaching, and troubleshooting Silverprint are quite detailed. Liquid Light requires longer exposures, and its instructions are not as detailed.
"Image Transfers and Emulsion Lifts" (Chapter 5) are two popular Polaroid techniques. Image Transfers are made from peel-apart Polaroid films when the negative is peeled from the substrate and applied to another surface. Instructions are given for paper selection, printing a slide onto the film with a DayLab, Vivitar slide printer, or an enlarger, separating the negative, making the transfer, reducing (bleaching) the print, and troubleshooting. Emulsion lifts remove the gelatin emulsion from the paper backing of a Polaroid print and transfer the emulsion, which is semi-translucent, to another surface. Step-by-step instructions are provided, as well as advice on transferring emulsions to glass, silk, and wood.
"Polaroid Instant Slide Films" (Chapter 6) is dedicated to films that are no longer available, but were when this book was written. Two types of instant slide film, Polapan and Polachrome, are described and examples of photos with various filter combinations are given. Polaroid instant slide films were discontinued because the law enforcement and scientific uses of the film have been usurped by digital, and the fine arts community was not enough to make these films profitable. I admire the films a great deal. If you ever have the opportunity to use them, I recommend the Polachrome for manmade, especially industrial, subjects and the Polapan for architecture or portraits. The author has used them in rural scenes, which show the films off poorly. But the way, Polachrome came in two varieties. The high contrast version was intended to photograph graphics and is less suitable to fine art.
"Solarization" (Chapter 7) discusses the reversal effect (light becomes dark, dark becomes light) that can be achieved by re-exposing a print when it is partially developed. Papers and developers are recommended, and the procedure is described. The author also gives advice on how to copy a solarized negative or slide onto film, but the films she mentions are no longer available.
"Photo Transfers" (Chapter 8) are photocopies of photographs that are transferred to the artists' paper of your choice. This chapter takes you through choosing a suitable print, copying it on a color laser copier, selecting an artists' paper, and making the transfer.
"Handcoloring Photographs" (Chapter 9) provides very little instruction on handcoloring. The author prefers coloring with pencils, which is unusual. Most handcolorists use photo oils in conjunction with pencils for details. This chapter describes a variety of products, but not what to do with them. The author does a lot of handcoloring on artists' papers, not photographic papers, and she discusses methods of dealing with the challenges of applying oils to them. If you are in this situation, her advice might help you. But the instructions for preparing photographic prints for coloring are inadequate and confusing.
Summary of Creative Photo Printmaking
Using an illustrated step-by-step approach, this manual explores both new and traditional non-digital printmaking techniques. Experienced photographer and teacher Theresa Airey taps into the increasing popularity of techniques that enable photographers to experiment with and personalize their images, in some cases without expensive darkroom equipment. She demonstrates working with infrared and Poloroid Time Zero films, solarization, selective bleaching and toning, handcolouring, and image and emulsion transfer, as well as alternatives for printing on artist papers, wood, and glass. To make the book easier to use, the flaps open flat on the worktable, freeing the reader's hands.Color Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Color Books
Sigmar Polke Photoworks: The Vanishing Pictureby Sigmar Polke, Paul Schimmel, Maria Morris Hambourg
Scalo Publishers; Published: 1996-02-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $146.85
Color Pipeline: Revolutionary Paths to Controlling Digital Color (A Lark Photography Book)by Ted Dillard
Lark Books; Published: 2009-01-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.20
Price in other shops:
Jasper & the Columbia Icefieldby Lee Simmons
Altitude Publishing Canada; Published: 1999-05-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Miramichi Seasons: Photography by Cathy CarnahanFormac; Published: 1998-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $34.95
The University of Michigan Story: Hail To The Victorsby William G. Scheller
Universe; Published: 2005-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $323.39
Color Vision: A Photographer's Guide to Understanding and Using ColorAmphoto Books; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.58
Down in the Garden Addresses: Orange Tree Babyby Anne Geddes
Cedco Pub; Published: 1998-09; Stationery; Book
Best price: $24.99
Full Moonby Michael Light, Andrew Chaikin
Knopf; Published: 1999-05-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $29.61
Price in other shops:
Color Management for Photographers: Hands on Techniques for Photoshop Usersby Andrew Rodney
Focal Press; Published: 2005-08-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.00
Price in other shops:
The Art of Color Photographyby John Hedgecoe
Focal Press; Published: 1998-09-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual Third Revised Editionby Henry Horenstein
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2004-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.64
Price in other shops:
Primitive Photography: A Guide to Making Cameras, Lenses, and Calotypesby Alan Greene
Focal Press; Focal Press; Published: 2001-12-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $33.66
Price in other shops:
Polaroid Manipulations: A Complete Visual Guide to Creating SX-70, Transfer, and Digital Prints (Photography for All Levels: Intermediate)by Kathleen Carr
Polaroid; Amphoto Books; Published: 2002-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.94
Price in other shops:
The Master Photographer's Lith Printing Course: A Definitive Guide to Creative Lith Printingby Tim Rudman
Aurum Press; Published: 1998-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $98.11
The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery : Mixed-Media Techniques for Collage, Altered Books, Artist Journals, and Moreby Karen Michel
Quarry Books; Published: 2005-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.43
Price in other shops:
Image Transfer Workshop: Mixed-Media Techniques for Successful Transfersby Darlene Olivia McElroy, Sandra Duran Wilson
North Light Books; Published: 2009-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Creative Digital Printmaking: A Photographer's Guide to Professional Desktop Printing (Photography for All Levels: Intermediate)by Theresa Airey
Creative; Amphoto Books; Published: 2001-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.50
Price in other shops:
Polaroid Transfers: A Complete Visual Guide to Creating Image and Emulsion Transfersby Kathleen Carr
Polaroid; Amphoto Books; Published: 1997-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.67
Price in other shops:
Beginner's Guide to Digital Photo Art (Lark Photography Book)by Theresa Airey
Lark Books; Published: 2006-11-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.71
Price in other shops:
Digital Alchemy: Printmaking techniques for fine art, photography, and mixed media (Voices That Matter)by Bonny Pierce Lhotka
New Riders Press; Published: 2010-12-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.41
Price in other shops: