Cyanotype-contact-printing
20 Dec
PRINTING PROCESSES

Cyanotype Contact Printing from glass Dry-Plate Negative + PRINT GIVEAWAY!

I love to make cyanotypes and especially I love to make contact prints from my glass dry plate negatives! In this video you will follow me along the whole Cyanotype printing process from cutting & coating the paper all the way up to making the final prints. I will be contact printing my very own hand made glass dry plate negatives on Fabriano 5 paper coated with DIY Cyanotype solution. I wouldn't say this is a Cyanotype tutorial but rather a documentation of my workflow that includes many tips and tricks I learned so far. With alternative processes things always behave...

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Kodak-Browni-No.3a-Oak-Panorama
13 Dec
DARKROOM BUILD, EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, ON THE FIELD

Getting soaked in a Mystical foggy forest with Kodak Brownie No.3A

The last week after all the snow has melted has been extremely foggy and rainy. I live very close to the forest and enjoying its peacefulness by long walks is part of my daily routine. I admire nature and learn something from it every day. It just amazes me how complex and yet genius it is. Everything is connected and working in complete harmony just like the finest swiss clock. Specially trees are the ones that seem so static and not doing much. But remember nature is extremely dynamic, always on the move! My interest towards trees brought me to...

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04 Dec
EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER

How I Built Myself Affordable UV LED Exposure Box

Introduction Alternative photography techniques like cyanotype, salt printing, albumen, and carbon printing rely heavily on UV light for proper exposure. However, during the short winter days in Slovenia, natural sunlight is scarce, making these processes challenging to execute. To solve this problem, I decided to build my own affordable UV LED exposure box for under €60. This DIY project is not only useful for photographers experimenting with historical printing techniques but also for screen printing, PCB etching, teeth whitening, and more. With a 40x60cm workspace and two adjustable power levels, my UV exposure box is versatile, efficient, and easy to store. In...

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why-I-love-large-format-photography-and-alternative-processes?
27 Nov
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM BUILD, EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER, PRINTING PROCESSES

Why I Love Large Format Photography & Alternative Processes?

I am asked this question often, especially being 25 years old. People often don't understand why I would enjoy techniques and cameras made well before my time. The ones who know me can tell you that I am in love with nature and everything connected with it. Besides that it relaxes me completely, learns me every day and makes me happy it also artistically inspires me. When I got my first camera at 16 which was a DSLR Pentax K-m I did not take portraits, I did not shoot street but I went straight into the woods behind my house...

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FINISHING-TOUCHES-ON-MY-LED-SAFELIGHTS
22 Nov
DARKROOM BUILD

FINISHING TOUCHES TO MY LED SAFELIGHTS / Container Darkroom part 12

Recently I often ask myself when will the container darkroom be finished? To be honest I don't know if you can ever be finished designing your dream working space. In the last few weeks there were many things I fixed or installed. The most important one was for sure finally finishing up the LED safe lights. I started by stripping them off from the shelf completely, cut them to the length and solder them back together. I had quite a bit of troubles with that as I have not soldered in a while and it was hard to get the...

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Film-holder-for-glass-dry-plates-wet-plates
11 Nov
EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER

Modifying Film Holder to carry Glass or Dry-plates

Glass carrier is one of the key pieces of equipment if you want to get into alternative photographic processes specially Dry-plates or Wet-plates. There are not many ready to use film-holders around so that is why I made mine from a normal 4x5 sheet film holder. After many requests I received I have finally decided to make a tutorial and show you how I do it. List of things you will need: Sheet Film Holder  Metal cutting machine (Rotary tool, Jig or Bandsaw, even handsaw will work) Drill + Drill bit Wire (ideally made from 99% silver) Glue  File or sanding paper Pliers Masking tape Pencil Glass or tin plate...

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Working-in-container-darkroom
06 Nov
DARKROOM BUILD

FINALLY STARTED TO USE IT! / Container Darkroom part 11

So stoked to inform you that my container darkroom is finally ready to start printing, coating, creating… I was away for two weeks and had many things going on in the last week after I returned back home from a holiday in Greece. First off all I had to develop two plates I shot during the trip and edit everything into a video.  Part one is already uploaded so make sure to check it out and Subscribe to catch the next one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqERkTVxT4g&t=3s After so much construction going on all the time I have to admit my darkroom was a mess but shelves...

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Cyanotype-tutorial
28 Oct
OTHER, PRINTING PROCESSES

HOW TO MAKE CYANOTYPES – STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL

This is a step by step tutorial on how to make Cyanotypes from scratch. We will be mixing the chemicals, coating, exposing and developing until we have a cyanotype in our hands. Cyanotypes are one of the easiest and safest alternative photographic techniques. Cyanotypes were invented a long time ago in 1841 by Sir JohnHerschel just 3 years after the invention of photography. It uses a mixture of two iron compounds, which when mixed together, exposed to UV light and lastly washed in water oxidise to create its unique Prussian Blue coloured images. Cyanotypes are becoming widely popular these days among retro...

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Container-Darkroom-Lights-Update
15 Oct
DARKROOM BUILD

LIGHTS UPDATE + ROOF CLEANING / Container Darkroom part 10

There are more and more of you reading my blogs and watching my videos on YouTube channel and I am beyond grateful if I was able to help you in any way. I am finally starting to form a group of creative individuals who are interested in similar topics like me. We are helping each other and growing together so thank you again Back to the Container Darkroom. There is less and less work that needs to be done until I will be able to say I am finished. At this point there are mostly details left or just some modifications...

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Large-Format-Lens-Storage-Box
05 Oct
EQUIPMENT, OTHER

3D Printed Large Format Lens Storage Box

I am in large format photography for a few years now and the thing I struggled the most with was how to store my lenses. I often take my camera on backpacking trips which means I have to store them in my backpack somewhere. Most of the time I used soft leather lens pouches that were leftover from my digital Canon lenses. It surely protects the lens from surface damage like scratches but it does not provide a good enough protection of the lens elements (if I bump my backpack in a rock) or moving parts like aperture adjuster… Also...

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