Platinum Prints
I use the inherent beauty of the platinum/palladium print to enhance the experience of light in my images. Matching this 19th century process with 21st century tools I am able to create the long tonal range of blacks and browns that give the lustrous glow to the print. These colors are controlled by the proportion of platinum to palladium, choice and temperature of the chemistry and the color of the paper itself. Emulsions are mixed just prior to use and applied to the paper. The negative, placed in direct contact with the paper, is then exposed to ultraviolet light.
Platinum and palladium, unlike silver, do not oxidize and therefore remain archivally stable when used to make prints.
Prints are made one at a time and no two are exactly alike. I think of them as monotypes from the same negative. Some photographers choose to leave brush strokes plainly visible. I choose a velvety, smooth-textured print statement with white borders. Although occasional brush strokes will be visible, they should be seen as the marks of the artist.