The Experimental Darkroom: Contemporary Uses Of Traditional Black & White Photographic Materials

The Experimental Darkroom is a book focused on traditional black &  white photographic materials—darkroom chemistry and silver gelatin  paper—now used in many non-traditional ways. The book starts with a  comprehensive digital negatives chapter. Topics are divided into five  sections: cameraless experimentation, camera experimentation, printing  experimentation, finished print experimentation, and a section  highlighting contemporary photographers who use these approaches today.  Each process under discussion is accompanied by photographic examples  and a step-by-step method written in a “Just the facts, ma’am” style.  Topics included are:
• Photograms and clichés verre
• Lumen prints
• Chemigrams
• Pinhole and zoneplate
• Holgas
• Chromo
• Liquid emulsion and modern tintype
• Lith printing
• Sabattier
• Mordançage
• Bleaching and bleachout
• Toning, traditional to experimental
• Applied color and abrasion tone
• Encaustic, photomontage, and collage
• Bromoil
The  Experimental Darkroom encourages taking risks and having fun. Over 400  images and 71 artists are included in its 276 pages. The outcome will be  an expansion of creative options for the silver gelatin print. The  options are engaging and now more accessible with digital negatives.  Images are no longer solely captured in camera or on analog film. The  darkroom is no longer always dark. The print is no longer a pristine and  accurate rendition of what the camera sees. Photographers are pushing  the boundaries of black & white photographic practice. It is an  exciting time to get into the darkroom and play!