PLATINUM PRINTS
For more than a century, collectors, museums and master photographers alike have valued one form of photographic print above all others. Just as platinum is the most coveted of precious metals, platinum prints are the ultimate expression of a photographer's art.
The rarity and expense of platinum (currently about $700 an ounce) make it unfeasible to use in commercial photographic printing. But the exquisite detail, depth and "presence" of the prints justify platinum's cost to artists who demand perfection in imaging their visions of the world. A valuable bonus to collectors and museums is the fact that platinum images can outlast standard photographic prints by centuries. Curators and collectors call such staying power "archival."
Mark Emmerson considers platinum printing, which he first learned in 1980,
the ultimate expression of his life's work as a photographer. "I love
the presence - the look of platinum prints," says Emmerson. "Their
archival quality is very important to me, but further than this, it is wonderfully
satisfying to mix the chemicals, brush them on the chosen paper, and expose
them, along with the negative, to the sun." Emmerson calls it "painting
with light," and this painterly quality is one of the things that make
these prints unique. Because of the hand brushed emulsions and the other
intricacies of the process, no two platinum prints are precisely the same.
"Most people think photography begins and ends with the taking of the picture," comments Emmerson. "This could not be further from the truth, especially in platinum printing. Ansel Adams put it well when he wrote: "the negative is the score, the print is the performance." It is not enough to take the picture. The beginning of your creation should not be left to someone else's interpretation to finish."
THE INTRICACY OF PRINTING WITH PLATINUM
It often takes Emmerson an entire day to produce a single platinum print. He begins by hand mixing platinum compounds and light-sensitive solutions. The mixture is brushed onto art paper specially selected for its archival stability, as well as its colour, surface and sizing, and exposed, with the negative, to the sun. The exposed paper is then placed in a developing solution, followed by a series of clearing baths and then washed. The final result is an image of pure platinum, exquisite in depth and detail.
“In all photography there is nothing more beautiful, or more everlastingly permanent, or more completely satisfying to the cultivated eye, than the platinum print.” The Photo-Miniature. May 1911