Tori Fergus '22 Experiments with Monochrome Printing Process

As part of her Alternative Process Photography class, Tori Fergus ’22 created a platinum print – a 19^th Century monochrome printing process first discovered by chemists in Bavaria in the 1830s. Tori shot her image, a snowy landscape, at South Mountain Reservoir.

Tori shot a great amount of film before selecting the best image — one with a lot of contrast. From her 35mm negative, she used a 4-step process to create a handmade test positive, positive, test negative and finally her enlarged 8"x10" negative. 

She mixed and applied the platinum emulsion by hand with a hake brush, then contact printed the enlarged negative using a UV lightbox and 39 minutes of exposure. The platinum developer is poured onto the exposed paper, and voila — the image is immediate!