Michael Howard
Silver Meditations, 2024
Silver Gelatin Prints
BACKGROUND:
It has always been a passion of mine to create photographic prints which are original in nature and possess an element of abstraction – even fantasy – about them. They must also be compelling – enough so that viewers will invest some time with my images and consider them. My hope is that my work moves the viewer in some way. While many of the titles I have given my photographs may offer clues as to my own sentiments about them, there are, of course, no rights or wrongs when it comes to other individuals’ perceptions: Varied, differing interpretation of my work is one of the things that has always made this pursuit so satisfying to me. Please browse and enjoy the galleries presented here. I hope that my work is thought provoking and moves you in some way.
Having lived most of my life in California, I was early-on exposed to the works of the great Monterey Peninsula masters. The most significant influencers on my own style and approach have always included these very famous individuals in particular: Brett Weston, Wynn Bullock and Ryuijie. And just as much as the impact of great photographic works have been on me, the same can be said of great paintings as well. Indeed, I strive to instill a painterly-like quality in all my finished images.
I have never wavered in my devotion to the silver gelatin print. Some might ask why I still make images in this seemingly ‘archaic’ way? I have no problem with digital imagery; I think it is fascinating and very valuable in its own right. However, I do believe that traditional, chemistry-based black & white photographic processes constitute a craft that is very much worth preserving. I enjoy the challenge of it, always striving to create the best possible results. In my mind, there is an almost ethereal quality to a finished silver gelatin print, making it special and unique.
Like my other great passion – making furniture with hand tools only – creating striking silver gelatin prints is certainly a hands-on craft as well. Beyond the enjoyment it provides me, I think I am helping to preserve a great skill from the past as well. I hope you enjoy my work.
TECHNIQUE:
I have always used traditional, chemistry-based techniques for the creation of my prints. My photographs start with black and white film initially: principally Ilford FP4 Plus and Fomapan 100. Typically, my exposure times are relatively long, done with a tripod-mounted camera in mirror-up mode. This ensures that the resulting negatives record everything about a scene down to the smallest, sharpest detail.
After exposing the negatives, I utilize what are known as stand and semi-stand techniques to develop them. I use a couple of developer recipes I have refined over time, developing the negatives for very long durations—typically two hours, but occasionally for as long as three, with very minimal agitation. The resulting negatives possess an exceptionally broad and expanded tonal range. I have found that development in this way rarely results in blown highlights—the brightest areas of the negatives will almost always have detail in them. As I have always had an interest in chemistry, experimenting with and refining developer recipes is an exciting process. It gives a very unique quality to my photographs.
For making prints, I use some of the best, highest quality, fine art enlarging papers available, mostly Ilford Multigrade Classic, but also Bergger and Fomabrom. I then tone my prints with selenium for archival permanence. This is followed by a 90-minute archival wash. After a thorough drying, I dry mount and matte the finished photographs using archival quality, 4-ply, museum cotton board.
EQUIPMENT:
Since 2011, my work has been created exclusively in the 6×7 medium format. For that, I have always used a Mamiya RB-67 Pro S camera coupled with the brand’s top-of-the-line KL lenses; I have found that it is one of the best cameras for shooting mirror-up images and exposing negatives for very long durations—sometimes a minute or more.
My earlier work was composed in the 35mm format. My photo gallery, Inner Space, is the best example of images created from that format. Initially, I used an old Canon F1 but later moved on to a Nikon F3. Both cameras, like the Mamiya, provided mirror-up shooting mode – a very important feature to me!