Welcome to Monalog™

Monalog is pleased and excited to announce that we will be having another show to kick off the new year!  The show is called The Monalog Collective: Traditional Analog Black and White Prints.  The Delong is a beautiful well-lit gallery and it’s going to be a wonderful exhibit.

This is our fourth show in the last year and a half, and we have others in the pipeline for 2023.  I think it’s going to be a good and creative year for Monalog and its members!

We hope you will join us on Thursday, February 2^nd at from 5:00 – 7:00pm for the show’s Opening.  Also, on Monday, March 13^th at 9:30am there will be an Artist Panel at the gallery, and on Thursday, April 13^th  at 12:15pm  Monalog founder Michael Marks will give a lecture entitled "A Passion for Analog in Photography and Music".  The gallery is open Monday – Thursday from 11:00am - 5:00pm and Friday from 11:00am – 3:00pm.

In the meantime take a look at the exhibit announcement above and we look forward to seeing you at the show!

The Monalog Collective® Monalogfest™ Photographer’s Outing and Print Sharing, Learning Experience is a chance for black and white analog photographers to meet, make photographs, show their images and communicate what their work is about, gain insights from other like-minded photographers, and participate in demonstrations of silver gelatin, platinum/palladium and carbon transfer printing techniques by Monalog™ members and noted fine art photographer and printing practitioners Jim Fitzgerald, David Haas and Gary Samson.  But most of all, the goal is to have a great time with other like-minded photographers!  It is also an opportunity for black and white analog photographers that are not members of Monalog™ to interact with and learn more about the Monalog Collective®.

Monalogfest™ is limited to 25 participants and will be based in historic Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, nearby, the cities of Allentown, Nazerath and Easton, the Pocono Mountains, the beautiful countryside of Bucks County and its picturesque towns, as well as the Delaware River and its many small towns. This means that there is an abundance of diverse subject matter to satisfy every photographer. It is easily accessible from Philadelphia, New York City, Allentown, Lehigh Valley and Newark airports. There are a number of local hotels and bed and breakfasts, along with plenty of restaurants in the area.

NOTE: We have reserved a block of rooms at a special rate with a complementary deluxe continental breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Bethlehem, PA.

We will begin our event with a welcome and group “get to know you” diner at a local restaurant (TBD) on Thursday evening in Bethlehem.

Friday will be devoted to making photographs in the field and having the opportunity to meet with and learn from Monalog™ member David Haas at his historic Allentown row house dedicated to the production of fine art black and white silver photographs. We will all meet at 8:30am at a central location and then take it from there. No pressure and no expectations. The idea is to be with other photographers, learn from an expert, have fun and be mutually supportive.  For those that want to make images, we will have a number of locations scouted out where participants can meet up, or you can go your own way freestyle, as there is no shortage of subject matter to be photographed.

Additionally, the following printing demonstrations and talks will be available on Friday:

Carbon Transfer Printing with Jim Fitzgerald, at David Haas darkroom and studio in nearby Allentown

10:00 – 1pm (up to 8 participants – pre-registration required)

Platinum/Palladium Printing with Gary Samson, at David Haas darkroom and studio in nearby Allentown

 2:00pm – 5:00pm (up to 8 participants – pre-registration required)

On Friday evening at 7pm we will meet at the hotel conference room to begin to share work and learn from one and other.

The first group of photographers will be given 30 minutes to present his/her work. Here is how it will work:

• Presenting participants can display 10 prints representative of their work,
• The presenter would give a statement about his/her work, vision, focus, etc., discuss their displayed images and what they hope to gain from this experience
• The presenter and other participants would then enter into an interactive discussion about the work.

Total Time 30 minutes

On Saturday we will meet again at 8:30am and then head out for more photographing or have the option to meet with David Haas.

Silver Printing with David Haas, at David’s darkroom and studio in nearby Allentown

9:00am – 12:00am (up to 8 participants – pre-registration required)

At 1pm we will reconvene at the hotel conference room to continue sharing work and learning from one and other.

We will break for dinner and reconvene at 7pm for more participant presentations and discussion.

On Sunday we will meet at the hotel conference room for our final presentation session at 8:30am.  Included will be time for participant feedback, thoughts on possible next steps, upcoming events and how to get involved with Monalog™.

We will adjourn at 1pm.

Come join us and be part of this exciting Monalog™ event!

There is a low cost of $50 to attend, so you will want to sign up early to ensure participation in this exciting event.

We look forward to seeing you in August!

For more information contact Michael Marks at:

info@monalogcollective.com or 215-348-9171

We are pleased to announce that the third stop of the Monalog Collective’s® traveling roadshow is now at the Hicks Arts Center Gallery, Bucks County Community College, Newtown, Pennsylvania. The show is called Handmade Photographs: The Monalog Collective®.  The BCCC has a well-known and storied photographic department, so we feel very honored to have this exhibit of our work. The Hicks Art Center Gallery is an absolutely wonderful space, and the college has done a beautiful job of putting the show together!

We hope you will join us on February 9^th at 5pm for the show’s Opening!  The gallery is located on the BCCC campus at 275 Swamp Road, Newtown, NJ and is open Monday through Friday, 9am – 4pm and Saturday and Sunday, 1pm – 5pm.  For more immediate information visit www.bucks.edu/gallery or call (215) 968-8432.

I am extremely proud of how Monalog™ has grown and what we have accomplished since it was founded less than two years ago. Now we would like to expand our Collective to include members, 35 and under, to strengthen the diversity and creative thinking of the group. Including younger photographers who are committed to analog black and white photography will broaden the Collective’s perspective as we begin our new project “Visions of America” next year. If you are a young photographer that embraces light sensitive film, paper and chemistry to create your work, please consider contacting us for a portfolio review. Our membership of thirteen is spread throughout the United States from Washington to Maine and we welcome potential new members from across America!

Michael Marks

If you missed our virtual opening at the Gallery 270 it’s not to late to view it here!! Meet our members and see examples of our work with discussion, expertly guided with questions and commentary by gallery director Tom Gramegna. guided with questions and commentary by gallery director Tom Gramegna.  Check it out here:

https://media.publit.io/file/Monolog-Virtual-Show.mp4

The in person opening will take place on November 11^th at 7pm.  If you are going to be in the New York City area, we would love to meet you!

The second stop of the Monalog Collective’s® traveling member exhibit is at the Gallery 270 in Westwood, New Jersey. The show is called The 21st Century Handmade Print: The Monalog Collective®.  The 270 is a unique gallery, and Director Tom Gramegna has a real passion for photography that’s infectious! Here’s a description of the 270’s mission.

“Gallery 270, founded in 1998 in Westwood, NJ, flourishes just 20 miles from the nexus of the fine art photographic marketplace. While over a hundred galleries actively sell photography in NYC, Gallery 270 succeeds by catering to experienced and novice collectors seeking an increasingly rare quality in the field – value.  The gallery exists to serve its’ varied community while fostering an appreciation for, and the desire to own, the work of the distinguished photographers of the 20th Century and the emergent photographers of the 21st Century from around the world.  We place particular emphasis on modern emerging photographers employing traditional processes such as platinum/palladium, cyanotype and gum bichromate, where the hand of the artist is so much more intimately engaged.

We hope you will join us on October 15^th at 7pm for the show’s virtual Opening … more information to follow! There will also be an in person Opening on November 11^th and virtual events to be announced … again more information to follow.  The gallery is located within Bergan County Camera on 270 Westwood Avenue, Westwood, NJ and is open Monday through Saturday, 10am – 5pm.  For more immediate information the gallery can be reached at info@gallery270.com or by phone at (201) 358-5076.

Many black and white analog photographers don't realize the range of processes available to make their creative dreams become a reality. Some of these wonderful processes date back to mid nineteenth century, but are still in use today to make beautiful photographic images. The following descriptions of some of these of these processes was prepared by Monalog™ members Chris Karfakis and Gary Samson as part of the catalog that accompanies the current Monalog Collective®exhibit.  Enjoy!

Members of the Monalog Collective® use a wide variety of historic photographic processes to create their fine art images. Below is a brief description of some of the processes employed.

Albumen Print: The most important print material of the 19th century, the albumen print, was the discovery of a French photographer, Louis Desire Blanquart Evrard, and was first announced on May 27, 1850. Hen’s egg white is applied as a sort of sizing to the paper before it is floated on silver nitrate to sensitize it. The image prints out on exposure to UV light, so no developer is required. Most albumen prints were gold toned for added permanence and to shift the print color to a more pleasing tone. A negative the same size as the required print was used to make a contact print. The negative was loaded into a contact printing frame with the sensitized paper and exposed to sunlight for several minutest o sometimes many hours. The back of the frame was hinged so that the density of the print could be checked without losing registration with the negative. Once the print was at the proper density, it was removed and processed.

Wet-Plate Collodion Process: Invented by Fredrick Scott Archer in 1851, a glass plate is coated with collodion that includes soluble iodides. Once the collodion has set up, the plate is placed in a tank of silver nitrate for several minutes there it becomes light sensitive. The plate while still wet is placed into a light tight holder so that it can be exposed in a camera within about eight minutes. After exposure, the plate is immediately developed using iron sulphate revealing the image in 15 to 20 seconds. The image is then fixed, washed, and varnished before use.

Ambrotype: is a wet-plate collodion process invented by Archer and Cutting in 1854. These images are made on black or ruby glass or clear glass (backed by black material) and appear as positives. Using a thin piece of plate iron that has been japanned instead of glass also results in a positive image called a Tintype or Ferrotype. Modern wet-plate photographers often use black enameled aluminum plates to create their images.

Carbon Transfer Print: A layer of bichromate gelatin containing a pigment (carbon black, for example) is exposed under a negative. The gelatin is selectively hardened by light passing through the negative. When the gelatin is gently washed in warm water, the unhardened areas are dissolved away, leaving a positive image of pigmented gelatin. In the late 1860’s, the process became practical when pigmented gelatin layers called “tissues” became commercially available. The resulting prints have exceptional stability and are quite permanent.

Platinum/Palladium Prints: The platinotype was first introduced by William Willis in 1873 and he continued to improve the process through 1887 via a series of patents. The process is based on the light sensitivity of certain iron salts which, when exposed to UV light, reduce platinum compounds to metallic platinum. The resulting prints have exceptional stability. The process was admired for its delicate tonality, enhanced using matte paper. The image color can range from steely gray to warm brown hues depending on the temperature of the developer and the kind of developer used.  This is a contact print process requiring each sheet of paper to be hand coated and then printed with a negative the same size as the desired print size.

Gelatin Silver Print: The gelatin silver process was introduced by Richard Leach Maddox in 1871 with subsequent considerable improvements in sensitivity obtained by Charles Harper Bennett in 1878. The gelatin silver print or gelatin developing out paper (DOP) is a monochrome imaging process based on the light sensitivity of silver halides. They have been made for both contact printing and enlarging purposes by modifying the paper’s light sensitivity. A brief exposure to a negative produces a latent image, which is then made visible by a developing agent. The image is then made permanent by treatment in a photographic fixer, which removes the remaining light sensitive silver halides. And finally, a water bath clears the fixer from the print. The final image consists of small particles of silver bound in a layer of gelatin. This gelatin image layer is only one of the four layers found in a typical gelatin silver print, which typically include the overcoat, image layer, baryta, and paper support. Gelatin silver paper is the paper of choice for most fine art photographers working in traditional analog photography today.

Bibliography:

Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic Prints by James M. Reilly

Kodak Publication no. G2-S, 1986

The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Third Edition, by Christopher James

Cengage Learning, 2016

Wikipedia

Chris Karfakis and Gary Samson

Monalog Collective® will be having its first group show called Expression Through Tradition: The Monalog Collective® at The Stirner Modern Gallery in Easton, PA from September 3^rd – September 26^th.

Please join us on September 3^rd at from 6:00 – 8:00pm for the show’s Opening.  Also, on September 17^th at 7:00pm there will be a talk by Monalog™ member and photo historian Chris Karfakis, and there will be a gallery walk through on Sunday from 12:00 – 5:00pm.  The gallery will also be open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 -6:00pm; Fridays from 12:00 – 8:00pm; Saturdays from 10:00am – 2:00pm and 5:00pm -  8:00pm and Sundays from 12:00 – 5:00pm.

The show is also co-sponsored by The Halide Project as part of the month long September Philadelphia 20/20 Photo Festival.

To learn more about our show and the Stirner Modern Gallery go to www.stirnermodern.com. To find out about Philadelphia 20/20 Photo Festival go to www.2020photofestival.org, and to see information on our show go to https://www.2020photofestival.org/satellite-shows.  Finally, to learn more about The Halide Project go to www.thehalideproject.org.  And if you have any questions please feel free to contact us at info@monalogcollective.com.

In the meantime take a look at the exhibit announcement below; we look forward to seeing you at the show!

Stirner Modern Gallery

Presents

EXPRESSION THROUGH TRADITION

An Exhibition of Photographs

By

THE MONALOG COLLECTIVE®

The Monalog Collective® is a group of like-minded photographers that formed to promote Black and White photography and the industry that supports it. This exhibition of photographs, made by twelve Monalog Collective® Members, includes modern and historic applications of traditional emulsion-based processes. All images are original and hand-made by the artist. Each photographer has selected a specific process that best captures and expresses their vision of and feelings for a desired subject that is then revealed and shared via a tintype, ambrotype or print.

Manhattan often seems like a stage where performers and exhibitionists of all varieties put on a non-stop show.  I started documenting these “performers” in 2008, as the country slid into a recession.  I needed something to distract myself from the increasingly grim economic news, so I began to seek out small-venue circus acts, magicians and clowns to photograph.  After a few months of photographing organized performances, I started to see theater everywhere: in the streets, in public spaces, in the subway, at festivals where people showed off costumes, in Times Square, at political demonstrations…the spectacle was endless.  I worked with my quiet, discreet Leica camera, photographing in a fluid, fast-moving style that suited the mercurial nature of my subjects.

As an observer who tries to be as inconspicuous as possible, I’m drawn to those brave individuals who display themselves and are able to escape from the constraints of the mundane world, at least for a little while. There was something very old-fashioned about street performers, acts on seedy stages, or wildly costumed individuals in the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade that called out for a photographic medium from the pre-electronic age.

All of the photographs were made on black and white film that I processed and printed myself, both for the timeless, classic appearance of that medium and its permanence as a historical record.  Each image is a unique, hand-made object that can never be duplicated exactly, which is a large part of the beauty of traditional black and white photography.

Paul Margolis

On Friday I had the opportunity to have a wide ranging conversation with David Haas. We discuss his living a true photographic life as a college professor, professional fine art silver printer and photographer, who's images reside in individual, corporate and museum collections. Check it out!

The title of this project, A War Without Blood and Gore, comes from a line in a Vietnam War-era protest song by the American singer-songwriter Phil Ochs entitled “Draft Dodger Rag.” It goes: “If they ever give a war without blood and gore, I’ll be the first to go.”

I photographed World War II re-enactors at events organized for the public in 2014 and 2015, as well as aboard a restored1944 Liberty Ship wartime freighter – a time frame that roughly paralleled the 70th anniversary of the last year of the war. They used as many authentic period artifacts as possible – weapons, vehicles, uniforms, etc. – to recreate the lives of the soldiers, sailors and aviators who fought in the Second World War.

Most of the re-enactors were men in their 20s and 30s, although there were some women and children dressed in “home front” period clothes or in the uniforms of various women’s military branches; many of them told me of hearing the stories of grandparents who’d been in the war. I got a sense of their longing for those “good” years, for a simpler time, when there was a sharp delineation between good and evil. World War II was perceived as the last war that the U.S. decisively won, when the entire country pulled together in a common existential struggle.

The re-enactors were very knowledgeable about the World War II period and happy to answer questions. They gave various reasons for re-enacting: some wanted to pay homage to the war’s veterans and their sacrifices; others were living history buffs who wanted to bring a past era to life for modern audiences. I also suspected that a number of them liked the camaraderie, the chance to camp out and to fire off guns with blank ammunition in a harmless and more or less socially-acceptable way. It was unsettling to see German uniforms, some of them with SS collar tabs. However, these German-uniformed re-enactors assured me that they didn’t share the philosophy or have any admiration for the Nazis; they felt that somebody had to be the enemy.

I photographed the re-enactors with cameras that would have been used during World War II – 35mm and medium-format rangefinders -- and black and white film that I processed and printed myself. I believe that, in many ways, this project documenting re-enactors reflects the present United States, with all of its ambivalences and uncertainties, as much as it recreates the vanished world of the 1940s.

Paul Margolis

Monalog™ member Jim Fitzgerald takes us for a tour of his current show at LightBox Photographic Gallery in Astoria, Oregon and shows us his incredible accompanying handmade fine press edition book. In Part 1 Jim provides a tour of the show. In Part 2 Jim discussed the making of his book. In Part 3 Jim shows how he developed cabon transfer text for book. In Part 4 Jim continues his discussion on the developing text pages for the book. Enjoy!

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Covid has caused all of us to be creative in ways we have not been before. Because it is not currently possible for Monalog™ to schedule in-person photographic events, the Collective will be hosting a series of exciting virtual events until we and our fellow black and white analog photographers can get together. Your Covid-19 Photographic Life is the first of Monalog’s™ virtual events. This event features an intimate discussion with Monalog Collective members Michael Marks, Paul Margolis and David Haas concerning the photographic challenges they have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the first day of spring I had the opportunity to have a wonderful conversation with Marty Frank. Marty is a sensitive photographer, as well as a practicing physician who strikes an important balance between work and artistic passion.  We discuss the parallels in his professional and photographic lives as well as and the challenges he has faced during the pandemic. Check out our conversation!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to have a far ranging conversation with Jim Fitzgerald. For those that don't know Jim well, not only is he a wonderful photographer, but he is a master of carbon transfer printing, a maker of handmade books and a camera builder!  Check out our conversation!

Michael Marks

I am very excited to announce that Monalog™ now has its own Youtube channel.  We plan on making a number of exciting videos of interest to the black and white analog community, and will also showcase other videos we think you will enjoy.  Check it out at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxZqiKMg64qfj9Wmcgbwdw

Michael Marks

Covid has caused all of us to be creative in ways we have not been before. Because it is not currently possible for Monalog™ to schedule in-person photographic events, the Collective will be hosting a series of exciting virtual events until we and our fellow black and white analog photographers can get together.

Your Covid-19 Photographic Life is the first of Monalog’s™ virtual events. This Zoom-based seminar will be an intimate discussion with Monalog Collective members Michael Marks, Paul Margolis and David Haas concerning the photographic challenges they have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Monalog Collective member Drew Wagner will host the event. Presentations will include:

• Member background, type of photography, description of their work, format and materials used
• Each member’s story of what they have done photographically during the pandemic and how the pandemic has affected their the work and creativity
• What motivates each member to create during the these difficult times, and what have they done outside of making and printing photographs to “keep their head in the game” and maintain interest in creating and being creative

Total program time will be approximately 60 minutes.

This and future events will take place on Zoom and will be free of charge.

Those who register to attend will receive an email with a link to join the lecture prior to the event start time.

Note: Audio, video, and other information sent during these Zoom sessions may be recorded. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to being recorded, you can turn off your video sharing within the application or consider not joining the session.

We look forward to seeing you at these upcoming seminars!

The deadline for sign up is March 27, 2021.

For further information and to reserve your place in this event please contact Michael Marks at: info@monalogcollective.com

We crossed the digital divide last week and created the @MonalogCollective Facebook page.  Now you can keep track of news, events and members new work in real time. The Monalog Collective website will remain the destination for in-depth information on our group as well as hosting member bio pages and galleries. So, take a moment to visit the Collective’s home page and click the FB link at the bottom of the page, follow @MonalogCollective’ new page and see what our photographers are up to. One exciting bit of news we just announced is the publication of “Survivors”, Jim Fitzgerald’s handmade, fine press edition book of 8x10 carbon prints depicting Yosemite Nation Park’s black oaks. And keep watch for more new work from our members! https://www.facebook.com/MonalogCollective/

Wet Plate Collodion Photography requires that:

• The plates be coated (“flowed”) and sensitized immediately prior to use.
• The exposure, development, and fixing processes must be completed within 15 minutes of the sensitization. Otherwise, the collodion will dry out rendering the plate a failure.

When working in a studio the 15-minute window for processing is usually not an issue as the darkroom is generally located in close proximity to the studio.

However, when working in the field, the photographer must bring a dark box/room to the location in order to complete the entire  process in the field.

The field dark box/room must be portable, completely light tight, and large enough to allow processing plates in the size selected by the photographer.

There are several commercially available and DIY options for portable field dark box/rooms:

DARKBOXES have two basic designs:

1. Designed to allow your hands and arms to be inside the darkbox while the photographer sits or stands outside the darkbox in the daylight and looks through a safelight window (usually red rubylith).
2. Designed to allow the photographer to walk into or sit/stand in front of a three-sided box/cabinet and wrap a very large curtain of darkcloth around the box/cabinet and him/herself creating a light-tight fourth side to the box/cabinet.

XXX-Large film changing bags and bench top sand blasting cabinets have also been repurposed as darkboxes. Typically, the darkbox is set up on a three-legged stand, in the back of an SUV, on the tailgate of a pickup truck, or on a table. DIY wooden darkboxes are very popular … plans & photos are easily found on the web.

DARKROOMS can generally be repurposed vans, box trucks, trailers, camping tents, ice fishing tents, and grow tents with modifications to insure a light tight space.

After exploring these DIY and commercial options on various wet plate collodion web sites and forums I decided that a grow tent would be the best choice for me because I wanted to be able to be IN the space, move around, stand up, and sit down.  I did NOT want to reach into a box to work.

I chose the CoolGrows grow tent for its’ size, portability, price, and ease of set up.

Size:  4 feet x 4 feet x 7 feet 8 inches

Weight:  26.5 pounds

Set up time:  15 minutes

Price:  $91.00

My portable darkroom is large enough for me to use a 4x2 foot folding table inside giving me almost the same working area that I use in my home-based darkroom. Plenty of room without bumping into the walls when moving around. High enough with a flat roof so that I can easily stand anywhere in the tent and hang my safelight from the ceiling. All my chemicals, cooler (when needed), wash water, and waste container for liquids to be carried home for disposal, store easily under the table.

Drew Wagner

This is the question that I hear most frequently when discussing photography with friends, family, acquaintances, and passers-by.

I have never had an issue getting the film type that I wanted. I shoot TriX, TMax, J. Lane Dry plates, and make my own wet plate collodion plates.

I got to thinking about how many other companies still make film.

A recent web search for BLACK & WHITE NEGATIVE FILM available in the US turned up 25 companies producing 62 types of film!

Below is my list of companies with the number of film types that they offer. (I am sure that there are more!)

Adox 2                                             Kentmere 2

Agfa 2                                              Kodak 5

Arista 3                                            Kona 3

Astrum 2                                          Liquid Emulsion 1

Cat Labs 1                                        Lomography 4

CineStill 1                                        Pictoriographica 2

Ferrania 1                                        Revolog 1

FilmWashi 2                                    Rerapan 2

Foma 4                                             Rollei 8

Fuji 5                                                Silberra 1

Holga 1                                            StreetCandy 1

Ilford 8                                             UltrafineXtreme 1

JCH 1                                                Xray (multiple manufacturers)

Drew Wagner

Over the years I’ve been asked how I make my carbon prints. The key to carbon printing is patience! There are many steps one must do before you even make a print. It take a lot of time to understand the variables in play with this process and finding the “balance” as I like to call it is the key to success. I have developed my techniques over the years to allow me to print almost any negative. Once you understand how to use the controls it is amazing what you can do. I teach this process at my home studio in Vancouver Washington. When we get the Covid monster under control I hope to continue teaching as it gives me great joy to pass along what I know to others. The following is just a bit of what you need to do.

Trying to simplify this complex process is not easy but I will try. First one must have a negative to print in contact with a pigmented gelatin substrate. Mine are 8x10, 8x20, 11x14 and 14x17 negatives.

I manufacture what is called “tissue” which is a substrate coated with a pigmented gelatin. This process takes an entire day. Once dry, generally 4-5 days of curing is needed, the pigmented tissue is coated with a light sensitive liquid, Ammonium Dichromate. This is allowed to dry for 3 hours.

A negative is placed in contact with the pigmented tissue and exposed to ultra violet light. I use a graphic arts plate burner. The negative is then separated from the tissue and the tissue is brought into contact with a final support medium under water in a cold-water transfer bath. This sandwich is then squeegeed together on glass then covered and weighted and allowed to “mate” for a half of an hour.

Developing the image is done in a tray of warm water. Once the tissue is softened it is removed from the final support and the image is developed in the warm water to completion.

Each handmade print is unique unto itself and no two are identical. Some may exhibit a beautiful “relief” visible texture and some a subtle relief. Many variables come into play and some of them can cause failure. Still carbon transfer prints are considered to be some of the finest and most archival prints any collector can own. It is considered the “Process of Royalty.”

Jim Fitzgerald

So how does one decide to go back to 1864 and learn an obscure (at the time) hand made printing process that so few photographers practice?

I have always been a person who is curious. As a large and ultra large format photographer and camera builder (that is a whole story in itself) I decided that contact printing was the way to go for my work. I printed silver gelatin and silver chloride with Azo for years and when I built my first camera, my 8x20, my friends said I was now a Platinum printer! Hell I had two of my sons at the finest universities in California. Stanford and USC are not cheap and there was no way in hell I had money left to by “noble metals.”

I was reading some posts on the large format forum, image posts I think, and I happened on an image that just floored me. It was a carbon transfer print. Knowing that Google is your friend I found everything I could read about the process. It wasn’t until I met Vaughn Hutchins, the one who posted the image, that my life changed forever.

I sent a message to Vaughn and told him I’d love to see a carbon print. He was in a show in Yosemite called “The Yosemite Renaissance” and we decided to meet. I will never forget sitting on the steps of the Ansel Adams gallery next to Vaughn as he showed me print after print. I was speechless.  I think he asked if I was okay? I told him that the images he showed me were the type of images I had seen in my mind for a long long time. It was how I had to present my work. At that moment, my life was changed. I was a carbon printer. That was thirteen years ago and I have done nothing but print carbon ever since.

I owe a lot to my good friend Vaughn Hutchins for his inspiration, friendship and love of traditional carbon printing from our film negatives.

I now co-instruct the carbon workshop with Vaughn at the Ansel Adams Gallery through their workshop programs. I have come full circle and I am fortunate to have found my true voice for my work through carbon printing. The process is not for the faint at heart, for it is very time consuming but so so rewarding. My journey is still evolving and it is so much fun!

Jim Fitzgerald

Due to the continued danger posed by Covid-19 our members have determined it necessary to postpone our Inaugural Monalog Collective Photographers Outing that was to be held on September 10^th - 12^th until sometime in 2021 when it is safe for all of us to get together.  As much as we were looking forward to this event and the opportunity to make new friends, the recent uptick in Covid-19 cases makes postponement the responsible thing to do.

As soon as the health situation becomes clearer we will determine a date to reschedule this event, but in the meantime we hope you will continue to visit us here and stay in contact. Even though we are postponing the outing, we have met some wonderful photographers, some who are now members of Monalog™!

For those interested in learning more about our collective please contact us and let’s talk about what we love so much!

Stay safe and best wishes.

For more information contact Michael Marks at:

info@monalogcollective.com or 215-348-9171

We are in the midst of a resurgence of many alternative photographic processes. These processes date back to the mid-19^th century and are capable of producing exceptionally fine prints. This post deals specifically with wet plate and dry plate processes and answers the question: “What equipment do I need for wet plate and/or dry plate photography”?

CAMERAS: The good news is that you do not need to purchase a special camera for wet/dry plate work. You can use just about any modern or vintage camera that accepts modern or vintage film/plate holders.

PLATE/FILM HOLDERS: You need a new or used modern plate holder, a vintage plate holder, or a modern film holder modified for plates.

COLLODION WET PLATES: Since collodion wet plates are no longer commercially manufactured you will be coating your plates. This applies to tintypes, ambrotypes on glass, and glass negatives. You can cut the plates to whatever size fits your holder.

DRY PLATES: You can purchase ready-made dry plates or coat your own. If you are purchasing ready-made the plate sizes will be determined by the manufacturer. J. Lane Dry Plates provides many standard sizes and will build to order many sizes. If you are coating your dry plates you can cut the plates to whatever size fits your holder.

MODIFYING A DOUBLE DARK SLIDE FILM HOLDER THAT FITS YOUR CAMERA: Modifying an existing double dark slide film holder is a great option that will save you $200 - $400, vs. buying new, depending on size and supplier. Double dark slide film holders with a METAL septum work best. I have used Fidelity with great success. The modification took me less than 90 minutes. If you want to modify a double dark slide film holder but do not want to DiY or do not have the time or tools required, Lund Photographic can do it for you. I cut my first two and Lund modified two more for me. All four work great. There are many tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere on the web so I will not go into details here.

BE AWARE OF TWO LIMITATIONS WHEN MODIFYING A MODERN DOUBLE DARK SLIDE FILM HOLDER: Only one side of the double dark slide film holder can be used for the plate. (One side is used for loading the holder the other side is for exposure.)  The plate size must be ¼ inch smaller on each of the four sides to allow for the installation of corner brackets to hold the plate in the proper position. So, a modified 8x10 double dark slide film holder can take a maximum plate size of 7.5x9.5 inches.

Lund Photographics      Film holder modifications

Pictoriographica            J. Lane Dry Plates

Pictoriographica            Double Sided Dry Plate Holders

The Light Farm              Dry plate coating

Drew Wagner

The Monalog Collective Photographer’s Outing is a chance for black and white analog photographers to meet, make photographs and have a great time.  It is also an opportunity for photographers that are not members of Monalog™ to interact with and learn more about the Monalog Collective.  The Outing is limited to 25 participants and will be based in the picturesque town of Easton, Pennsylvania situated on the shores of the Delaware River.  Easton is nearby beautiful Bucks County and the Lehigh Valley and is close to many small river towns, as well as Bethlehem and Allentown Pennsylvania.  This means that there is an abundance of diverse subject matter to satisfy every photographer. It is easily accessible from Philadelphia, New York City, Allentown and Newark. There are a number of local hotels and bed and breakfasts, along with plenty of restaurants in the area.

We will begin our event with a group “get to know you” diner at a local restaurant (TBD) on Thursday evening.

Friday will be devoted primarily to making photographs. We will all meet at 8:30am at a central location and take it from there. No pressure and no expectations. The idea is to be with other photographers, have fun and be mutually supportive.  We will have a number of locations scouted out where participants can meet up, or you can go your own way freestyle, as there is no shortage of subject matter to be photographed.

On Friday evening at 7pm we will all meet for a talk by Monalog Collective member and analog photography historian, Chris Karfakis. The talk will be held at the beautiful Stirner Modern Gallery located in downtown Easton.

On Saturday we will meet again at 8:30am, then depart for more photographing. At 2pm we will reconvene at the studio and darkroom of Monalog™ member and working photographer Ed Eckstein located above the Stirner Modern Gallery. The concluding session will include a tour and discussion by Ed about his work, as well as participant feedback, thoughts on possible next steps, upcoming events and how to get involved with Monalog™.

We will adjourn at 4pm so participants can begin to head home or stay in the area for dinner.

Come join us and be part of this exciting Monalog™ inaugural event! There is no cost, but you will want to sign up early to ensure participation.

We look forward to seeing you in September!

For more information contact Michael Marks at:

info@monalogcollective.com or 215-348-9171

Like most 20-somethings, at 27, I was ready to take on the world! After three years of my first newspaper job as a photojournalist for a small-town daily paper, I was positive that I was ready to move up.

I managed to finagle an interview with the Director Of Photography at a very large, photo-oriented, metropolitan daily newspaper. I was very confident that my winning personality along with my portfolio of work, about 10-15 mounted Black & White prints, would seal the deal.

The DOP stoically, and rather quickly, looked through my work, saying nothing other than occasionally muttering, “hmmmm”. And of course, I frequently offered why such-and-such image was an important photograph. It didn’t take very long for him to finish with my very important work. As he sat back in his chair, I waited for him to offer me a job. Finally, he asked, “Mel, do you know what this work shows me?” I didn’t know.

“This shows me that you had access to these events,” he said matter-of-factly. I was crushed.

But I got over it and for the next 39 years, I often thought about that statement. And I tried to make images that offered a reader more than I merely had access.

Then there was the photojournalist friend, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, who was named Photographer Of The Year by the National Press Photographer’s Association (NPPA). (Long ago, I attended the judging at the University of Missouri’s Columbia School of Journalism of about 23,000 mounted prints submitted by approximately 1,500 photojournalists.) His work is spectacular. -And once he told me that all of the photographs that got him those accolades were taken within about a 50-mile radius of his newspaper. Traveling around the world to exotic foreign locales didn’t help other journalists out-gun him.

So, what’s my point?

First, let me say that I’m in love with photography. For most of my first decade professionally, I worked in Black & White. I also did work in chromes (slides) for freelance magazine assignments. But newspapers were all Black & White all the time. By the early 1980’s, color was showing up more and more in newspapers for competitive reasons. It often looked like color was used just for the sake of color.

Now, with the welcome resurgence of Black & White photography, I feel as though I’m seeing the same thing. Much like early color in newspapers often seemed solely for the sake of color, I think that some Black & White photographs that I have seen recently have much more invested in the Black & White process than in the quality of the imagery. Otherwise pedestrian photographs seem to be elevated by the fact that it is a wet-darkroom print from B&W film. And an average photograph from a far away land seems to hold sway over a beautiful image from the ‘neighborhood’. Contrary to what your loved ones and friends might tell you, access, or the ability to visit exotic places, doesn’t automatically translate to exceptional photographs.

Sorry if this sounds harsh for a medium that is clawing back from near-extinction. Maybe in current Black & White photography, people feel a connection to digital, as though Black & White evolved from digital photography. I don’t feel that way, because it didn’t. For me Black & White is the basis of photography…color and digital followed and are a sort of extensions. But maybe now, for many people, digital is the basis and film, color and Black & White followed.

In some ways, I’m new, again, to Black & White. For the past two years, I have returned to the B&W darkroom working in large format. I still do quite a lot of editorial assignments digitally, but more and more, I’m shooting B&W film. It is such a magical experience. I wish everyone would try it!

And remember, it is NOT shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, look.

But it IS, look, look, look, look, shoot!

Mel Evans

With all of us having to stay locked down and practicing social distancing, trying to make any camera art may seem like a far reach.  The whole reason for the self-quarantining is to keep ourselves healthy and getting outside for fresh air and sunshine is a big part of that.  After my mother’s passing, my wife and I were blessed with one of her two cats.  Like all of us, “Fat Cat” enjoys getting outside for a breath of fresh air.  This has led me to daily walkabouts in our yard, offering me the opportunity to exercise my visual eye and to practice my camera work.

While he prowls the yard, I prowl beside him with camera in hand.  He is described as a tuxedo cat, mostly black with a patch of white on his nose and breast; very little light reflects from his fur.  He is a light meter’s worst nightmare and a real challenge for film to record detail properly.

As Michael Marks has written in his blog (www.michaelmarksphoto.com), the important thing for us as artists is to “stay in the game”, and Fat Cat has allowed me to do that.  While images of the cat are not art – regardless of the fact that everyone on the internet seems to think otherwise – they have kept me in the game.  These exercises have allowed me to practice and experiment.  I’ve been able to practice handling my 35mm camera while sharpening my eye’s perspective by playing with different focal length lenses, plus this affords me the chance to experiment with different ISO film and developer combinations.  This outdoor camera work is giving me practice visually seeing, composing, exposing, processing film and printing.

Taking us around the perimeter of the house, these little walkabouts are usually no more than an hour long.  He has to sniff, scratch, chew and rub up against almost everything.  Then, there are the ten thousand-foot stares out into the void he does that can last as long as ten minutes or more; he can be a very patient dude.  During these slow random willie-nillie walks, I’ve found new and interesting “stuff” that I can go back to and explore more deeply.  Leaving the 35mm camera in the house with the cat to nap, I find myself packing up the view camera and trekking back outside to focus my lens on subjects I never would have seen sitting on my couch.

So, in the end I’m finding myself outside with my view camera getting the fresh air and sunshine while composing images which have the potential to be more meaningful than the fluffy, cuddly, creature snaps which brought me outside in the first place. (Note, Fat Cat is anything but fluffy and cuddly.)

My neighbors (and my wife) think I’m insane for taking walkabouts, camera in hand with an old cat, but to use a bad pun Fat Cat has shown me that old dogs can be taught new tricks.

Paul Strand once wrote:

“The artist’s world is limitless.  It can be found anywhere far from where he lives or a few feet away.  It is always on his doorstep.”

James A. Kipfer