Tintype

Introducing Diffusion Magazine – Unconventional Photography

Published April 16, 2009 | By Blue

Diffusion focuses on unconventional photographic processes and photo related artwork. We showcase artists working in alternative processes, experimental darkroom derived work, analog/low-fidelity, mixed-media photography, as well as unique digital processes. We believe the print market is saturated with traditional photography and conventional digital photographic practices, therefore Diffusion showcase’s artists working with unusual photographic methods.

FEATURES
Articles: Zeb Andrews & Dr. Mike Ware
Interviews and Portfolios: Jeffrey Baker, Tina Maas, Pamela Petro, & Sika Stanton
Group Showcase: Formerly and Hereafter, 2nd Annual Juried Exhibit, Plates to Pixels Gallery with juror Christina Z. Anderson

From Blue Mitchell, the editor of Diffusion magazine
It seems every week I learn of a newspaper or magazine that is going under, most likely due to increased reliance on the internet, coupled with current economic problems. Unfortunately, I am probably part of the problem. Outside of public radio in the morning, I turn to the internet for my daily news. The internet also hosts a plethora of art related resources, making art appreciation more accessible. I do however find myself annoyed with the limitations of this online art world. To me photography is visceral. It can not be bound by a monitor and mouse clicks – it is best showcased in a tangible form. Don’t get me wrong, I have immensely enjoyed curating for the virtual gallery platestopixels.com. This magazine would probably not be possible without my experiences and the outstanding response to the Plates to Pixels gallery. The main problem I have come across in the online world of art is that would like to have hard-copies of magazines, books and images that I can grasp with my fingers.
Diffusion is born out of a longing to create something palpable as well as enticing, educational, and hopefully entertaining. I have a keen interest as an artist – and art consumer – in photographers that push the boundaries and limitations of traditional photographic processes. Although I surround myself with artwork from photographers that push these boundaries, I have discovered, outside of physical exhibitions and online, that this type of photographic work is underrepresented in the modern photography magazine.

Diffusion is a compilation of articles, interviews, and images from artists and image-makers that coincide with this purpose. The magazine will be published annually, however, we will be producing special editions periodically that will focus more on specific themes and will not be limited to the photographic arts.
Thanks for reading and viewing, plus a big thank you to all the Diffusion contributors, this could not have happened without all your patience, incredible image-making, and exceptional writing abilities.

Visit diffusionmag.com for a preview and purchasing information

“Marguarite, State One” Liquid Light on stone by Pamela Petro

Posted in article, Diffusion, For Sale, News, Photograph, Photographer, platestopixels, Post Process, Press, Publications, Tintype | Tagged diffusion, magazine

Photographic Possibilities

Published December 18, 2008 | By Blue

Blue Mitchell‘s “Acrylic Lift on Birch” transfer process, with step by step instructions, has been published in the book “Photographic Possibilities, Third Edition: The Expressive Use of Equipment, Ideas, Materials, and Processes” by Robert Hirsch. Blue’s tintype “The Calling” and acrylic lift photograph “The Journey Begins” have also been published in the book. Both images are from Blue’s Mythos Series.

Book Description: Photographic Possibilities, Third Edition is a marvelously updated resource of innovative and traditional photographic processes that imagemakers have come to trust and depend on to enhance their technical knowledge, create astonishing pictures, and raise their visual consciousness.

This concise and reliable handbook provides professional and advanced photography students with practical pathways of utilizing diverse photographic methods to produce engaging, expressive pictures from an informed aesthetic and conceptual position.

This update, in full color for this first time, offers new links between analog and digital photography by featuring clear, up-to-date, step-by-step instructions on topics ranging from making ambrotypes and digital negatives to pre-picturemaking activities that utilize a thinking system to visually realize what is in your mind’s eye in an effective and safe manner.

This edition vividly showcases the thought-provoking work of over 150 international artists including Peter Beard, Dan Burkholder, Carl Chiarenza, Michael Kenna, Dinh Q. Lê, Andrea Modica, Bea Nettles, France Scully and Mark Osterman, Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison, Holly Roberts, Martha Rosler, Mike and Doug Starn, John Sexton, Brian Taylor, Jerry Uelsmann, and Joel Peter Witkin as well as other major and emerging talents. Image captions explain how each artist technically realized their vision and concept.

All technical information and resources have been refreshed to provide the latest data for acquiring the products needed for these processes. Above all, this comprehensive reference provides field-proven know-how, encouragement, inspiration, and a profuse compendium of promising photo-based explorations one can discover and pursue.

Check it out on amazon.com or focal press.

Posted in article, Photograph, Post Process, Press, Publications, Tintype | Tagged acrylic lift, gel medium transfers, Photographic Possibilities, published, transfers

Edgy Exhibit at the Center for Fine Art Photography

Published May 2, 2008 | By Blue

If you happen to be in Fort Collins Colorado today, check out the
Edgy Exhibit at the Center for Fine Art Photography.

“The Calling” included in the exhibition.”
See the show online here: http://c4fap.org/exhibitions/2008Edgy/index.htm

Juror’s Statement:
2008 Edgy Photography Exhibition
The Center for Fine Art Photography
Juror: Michael Itkoff

There is no doubt that the photographic landscape has been turned on its head by the proliferation of digital enhancement and alteration technologies. These days, even media industry professionals representing established news outlets are not immune to the temptation to airbrush a portrait, substitute bodies, and embellish disaster scenes.

The history of photography is marked by experimental visionaries who enjoyed physical manipulation of the tools of the trade to achieve fascinating visual results. Indeed, as soon as the photographic image was successfully ‘fixed’ in place, photographers began to experiment. The photogram, or the trace left by objects put directly on photographic paper under the light of the enlarger, was one of Man Ray’s favorite techniques Alexander Rodchenko and other Soviet agit-prop artists provided the model for collage by cutting photos and negatives and coupling them with line drawings and even painting. Another example of the genre is Charles Sheeler’s masterful picture of the Ford Plant (1927) which consisted of an analog composite created by cutting negatives to achieve a final, integrated print. The pursuit of a visual experience at the cost of an individual photograph’s content stands in stark contrast to the ‘straight’ photographic movement popularized by Steiglitz and his 291 Gallery in New York City. Nonetheless, photo collage and alternative techniques remain vital artistic methods utilized today as digital technology has reinvented the possibilities and further democratized the process of image making itself.

The Center for Fine Art Photography’s ‘Edgy’ competition has asked adventurous members of the photo community to embrace the technology of the past, as well as the present, to create innovative imagery. The imaginations of hundreds of entrants were set loose in this competition unfettered by journalism’s ethical concerns or even the common language of representational form.

As a photographer and photography editor, I am accustomed to viewing portfolios conceived around a coherent body of work or an idea. Often, when provided the opportunity to discuss projects directly with photographers, I tend to question motivation in an attempt to go beyond the surface of the image and dive into conversation about the intentions of the artist. In jurying this exhibition I was unable to receive more information from photographers than the images and statements provided through the submission process. More than eight hundred images were judged from which I selected sixty. The constraints of the jurying process forced me to ‘reject’ over 99% of the images being considered and winnow the selections until a cohesive and resolved group was achieved; not an easy task even for someone who “edits” an abundance of images on a daily basis.

I believe that what a photographer chooses to focus on serves as a mirror of their internal psyche. My first impression, having sifted through hundreds of images for this exhibition, was that many of the submitting artists were quite disturbed. Floating clown heads, alien embryos, dismembered babies and worse appeared before my eyes creating haunting retinal impressions before I could manage to move on to the next image. After growing accustomed to the unusual imagery I began to see this exhibition for what it really was, namely, creative photographers pushing the limits of their imaginations and photo-manipulation skills. The choice of visual techniques and subject matter was not limited to Photoshop’s selection of pre-made filters although there were plenty of images that were. I enjoyed seeing many examples of analogue manipulations of form and content including staged scenarios, photograms, stroboscopic experiments, emulsion transfers, pinhole exposures and more.
After taking a bit of time to clear my head from days of sifting through the diverse imagery, I sat back down to continue editing submissions and resigned myself to a journey that was at times unsettling and at times exhilarating and transportive. As I worked through the mini-portfolios I soon lost all sense of historic context and saw simply what was in the frame. I began to see the exhibition take form and was filled with excitement for the visual diversity being represented by the selected artists.

The final images chosen for the Center for Fine Art Photography’s ‘Edgy’ competition were selected based upon technical proficiency and original vision; together, they create a compelling statement that seeks to raise questions about the ever-changing medium of photography.

I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.
Michael Itkoff
2/18/08