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Vicki’s black and white images are printed on fiber based paper and are selenium toned for archival preservation.
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Hand Coloring Process
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When hand coloring, a palette of colors is created using
Marshall Photographic Oils and applied to the photograph with cotton
balls and Q-tips. Fine detail is accomplished with oil pencils. Every
photograph in the limited edition series is a unique hand colored
image. No two are exactly alike.
With the advances in technology it
is possible to digitally hand color images today. However, Vicki is
drawn to the old techniques that have been used for over a hundred
years. Her husband’s great grandfather was a photographer at
the turn of the century and his softly hand colored work hangs in
their home. After a hundred years it still is beautiful. Vicki uses
the same photographic oils that were available to him and the same
basic technique. With the move toward easier and faster she finds
pleasure in perpetuating the slower ‘hands on’ methods.
She has developed her own style and techniques over the 25 years that
she has been working in oils.
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Lith Process
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Lith printing is a time intensive, sometimes frustrating
but potentially addictive alternative printing process. This technique
that involves greatly overexposing a photographic print and then only
partially developing it in Lith developer is widely known in Europe
and is gaining popularity in the US. It results in prints that often
have soft warm highlights adjacent to cool, dark, gritty tones. Photographs
can range from soft, smooth, warm-toned images to very cool, textured
images. The varied results (color and texture) are determined by the
initial exposure, the temperature, dilution and maturity of the chemicals,
and the characteristics of the paper used. The process is known for
creating images that are very difficult to duplicate. However, with
practice and meticulous note taking it is possible to produce similar
but not identical prints.
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The Holga Series
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These images were taken with a Chinese plastic toy camera
that is known for its light leaks and aberrations. The Holga has a
soft focus and vignettes the resulting images giving an almost nostalgic
feel to the black and white images. After working with a 35mm SLR
camera for 25 years that produces rectangular format images Vicki
has loved experimenting with the new square format. The simplicity
of this camera encourages spontaneity and the unpredictability of
the results adds excitement to the whole process.
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