Click
Here to See a Draft Portfolio of Annette Bottaro-Walklet's
images.
Click Here to
See a Draft Portfolio of Keith S. Walklet's wilderness images.
Click Here to See a Draft Portfolio of Keith S. Walklet's manipulated
SX-70 Polaroid images.
Image Capture: Keith and Annette use a combination of cameras,
and in most cases, fine grain transparency film to create
their images,
including:
- Toyo 4" X 5" with Schneider and Nikon lenses, a standard sheet
film back as well as a Calumet 6cm x 9cm roll film holder.
-
Pentax 67 equipped with 45mm and 135mm lenses.
-
Nikon 35mm cameras and lenses
- Canon 35mm digital SLR and lenses
- Polaroid 680SE camera with Time Zero film for "manipulated Polaroid" images.
Digital Prints from Transparencies:
To create digital enlargements, the original transparency
is scanned with a high quality scanner and
imported as a digital file into a MacIntosh computer with a calibrated monitor.
Adobe Photoshop is used to digitally apply traditional photographic techniques
such as spotting out dust and flaws, dodging, burning and making adjustments
to the contrast and tonality of the image to faithfully recreate the scene.
Proof prints are created in studio to evaluate the output prior to output with
either a Lightjet 5000 on photographic paper or an EPSON 9600 with Ultrachrome™ inks.
Depending on the format used to capture the image, the typical raw scan file
size of each image is between 100 megabytes and 1 gigabyte.
Digital Prints from Manipulated
Polaroids:
The process of manipulating Polaroid Time Zero film as it developed has been
popular since very soon after the SX-70 camera was introduced in the late 1970s.
This is the
film that, once exposed, is summarily ejected from the front of the camera
automatically and then develops in full view. As it is developing, it is possible
to poke,
prod,
score,
and
mix the emulsion, with delightful results. Images that start out as literal
representations can be “manipulated” to the point where they resemble
impressionistic paintings. What is relatively new is the ability to easily
englarge the original 3" x
3" print with scanners and large format printers.
Once the photo has been created, Keith works on the emulsion as it develops.
When he has finished his manipulations, then, like the “traditional” image,
the print is scanned at high resolution on a flatbed scanner, imported into
Photoshop where Keith digitally applies traditional photographic techniques
such as dodging and burning, and made adjustments in color and tone before
output with the Epson 9600. The enlargements are often printed on Textured
Fine Art photo paper which has the pebbled surface of water color paper, to
accentuate the illustrative quality of the image and blur the lines between
photography and painting.
Scanning:
Annette and Keith were taught to scan with a Linocolor TANGO drum scanner
through the generosity of digital pioneer and nature photographer Bill
Atkinson. Annette and Keith now use the talents of West
Coast Imaging in Oakhurst for TANGO scans, and any in-house scans are
done with a NIKON 8000 dedicated film scanner and an EPSON 4870 flatbed scanner.
OUTPUT: Ultrachrome™ "Giclee" Prints:
One of the most exciting developments in digital imaging is the second generation
of technology originally pioneered by IRIS. Commonly called "Giclees" these
wide format inkjet prints have all of the advantages of the IRIS inkjet prints-subtle
hues--a wide color gamut and the ability to print on a variety of papers--without
the problems. In particular, Giclees now can be created with stable pigment
ink sets that have a projected lifespan of nearly double the most popular color
photographic processes. *
The term "Giclee" was coined by a digital color printing service
provider and is supposedly a derivative of French verb "gicler" which
means "to squirt." The term refers to the spraying of ink. There
are many different brands of Giclee printers, each which use jets to spray
microscopic dots in six to eight colors onto the paper, generating prints that
have the visual qualities approaching watercolor and serigraph.
Annette and Keith's earliest Giclees were output on Arches Coldpress watercolor
paper with a Colorspan printer at The Lightroom in
Emeryville. The images selected for this media typically have a painterly appearance
to begin with, and the use of textured media only enhances this appearance,
blurring the lines between a photograph and a painting.
In late 2002, Annette and Keith acquired an EPSON 9600 printer, which, with
seven Ultrachrome(TM)
inks is considered to have one of the broadest color gamuts of any printer.
The ink and paper combination also has a life expectancy of 75 years, as rated
by Wilhelm Imaging Research and represents one of the most stable mediums available.The
technology permits Annette and Keith to explore a variety of printing surfaces
such as fabrics, smooth and textured rag papers or plastic.
Lightjet 5000 Prints:
One of the most popular of the digital photographic output devices among
fine art photographers like Annette and Keith, the LightJet 5000 uses red,
green
and
blue lasers to
expose the image onto long-life photographic paper (FujiColor Crystal Archive).
The paper, which comes on a 48" wide roll, moves in microscopic increments
as the lasers expose the emulsion. Once exposed, the paper is then processed
with traditional chemistry. Color saturation, image sharpness and tonal quality
are exceptional. Life size prints from medium and large format transparencies
are possible with no loss
of image detail. QuietWorks has their Lightjet prints produced at Calypso
Imaging in Santa
Clara, California, where the printer is profiled by digital guru Bill
Atkinson
Ilfochrome Prints:
Prior to the advent of digital imaging, Annette and Keith had their conventional
photographic prints created by Rob Reiter at The
Lightroom with an
enlarger,
Ilfochrome
paper
and chemistry.
The Ilfochrome Classic (formerly known as Cibachrome) printing process for making
color prints from positive transparencies is known for its brilliant color saturation
and high image sharpness, properties inherent in the AZO dyes used in the dye
bleach process.
Ilfochromes prepared by Rob for Annette and Keith are done in a conventional
darkroom and typically receive dodging (darkening of a local area) and burning
(lightening
an area). Rob also often employs an additional step in the process called contrast
masking to bring out details. This involves creating a contact black and white
negative of the positive image and registering it over the image. The mask
permits dark areas of the negative to be exposed for a longer period without
burning
out highlights. Ilfochromes are one the most archival of the conventional printing
processes (such as Type R and Type C) under normal viewing conditions and dark
storage.
All of the prints offered by Annette and Keith are best displayed in indirect
light, the optimum being natural light or under warm tungsten spotlighting
(up to 75 watts.) Protecting the prints from humidity and direct light
will increase
their longevity.
Expected Display Life:
Accelerated light fading tests conducted by Wilhelm
Imaging Research predict
a display life for the various printing processes as follows:
EPSON Ultrachrome™: 75 years
Lightjet 5000 Prints (FujiColor Crystal Archive
Paper): 71 years
Ilfochrome: 29 years
Ektacolor (not offered by Annette or Keith): 16 years for current.
These tests are based on standard indoor display conditions of 450 lux of glass-filtered
fluorescent light for 12 hours per day.