All original images for the exhibition, “Transmutations: Visualizing Matter | Materializing Vision” were captured using silver halide film, involving carrying 40-50lbs of equipment and film from sub-Arctic regions of Canada to a quarter mile inside the historic uranium mines of Utah. At times, images were taken in radiation fields as high as 500 times greater than normal background levels. As such, the prices of the prints reflect the exceptionalism, rarity and risk of the subjects. Here’s the processes used to create this body of work:
CAPTURE
The three formats used were:
8”x20” ultra large format for location Images
6cm x 7cm medium format film for location images
4”x5” film for autoradiograms
Images taken inside the mines required carefully timed, 1.5 hour sessions to prevent excessive time in ambient radiation fields and to prevent us from running out of air from our SCBA units. Upon leaving the mines, protocol required that all camera equipment receive extensive and thorough cleaning after every session.
Capturing 8x20 images 1/4 mile inside an abandoned uranium mine. Photo credit: Matthew D’Avella
2. PROCESSING
During the Utah/Arizona expeditions, the film was processed and scanned in the hotel room at the end of every day. In addition to the black and white film, color infrared was taken on expedition (reserved for future exhibition work) and required C-41 processing.
For the expeditions to Northern Canada, the film was exposed and either sent via FedEx to Vancouver (for 8”x20” film), or in hand-luggage (for 120 format film). Once I returned home, all film was processed in the darkroom over the course of two months.
Film processing in the hotel room in Blanding, Utah.
3. INTERNEGATIVES & INTERPOSITIVES
For 8”x20” negatives, nothing further was required prior to printing. However, for 6x7 and 4”x5” autoradiogram negatives, enlargement of the negative to match the final print size was required. This was done using either of the two following methods:
Printing to interpositive, then duplicating to internegative
Direct enlargement to internegative and reversal processing
Both methods are largely lost skills, with scant details on the internet. They required months of testing: custom processing methods were devised to overcome modern film characteristics, modifications to published workflows and formulae as well as careful documentation.
Creating an internegative via reversal processing
The advantage of enlarging via interpositive using the repromaster is that you can print the image how you want the final print to look, but it adds an extra step. Conversely, using reversal processing is faster, but affords less control. In the end, I developed the skill of accurately dodging and burning on the reversal-processed internegative, allowing the best of both worlds.
With the internegative completed, I was able to move onto printing the images.
Creating an internegative from interpolative using the Agfa Repromaster
4. PRINTING (URANOTYPE & PALLADIOTYPE)
The uranotype uses light sensitive uranium nitrate. When exposed to UV light and developed in potassium ferricyanide, it creates an image formed of uranium ferrocyanide, a deep, oxblood toned insoluble uranium compound. The number of modern printers using uranotype can be counted on one hand; Bob Kiss, a modern master of the uranotype, was extremely generous, providing time and advice throughout my project. Here is a video created by Mr. Kiss explaining the process.
Another hand-coated process, the palladiotype is a variant of the platinum print, first patented in 1873 by William Willis. It is widely admired for its long scale and beautiful highlights. The palladium process chosen for Transmutations, the ‘Na2’ process, uses palladium metal as the light sensitive pigment with platinum as a contrast agent and stabilizer.