Synopses & Reviews
Photographic artists and students of alternative process photography will welcome this new edition of Christopher James' The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes. This significantly expanded edition is a full-color, lavishly illustrated, comprehensive resource that explores every aspect of alternative process image making. With his highly conversational writing style, James explores the techniques, processes, idiosyncrasies, history, and cultural connections that are such a significant part of the genre. Best of all, James makes it extremely accessible, providing clear instructions and practical workflow advice. The book delves into a vast menu of alternative and traditional options, among them: calotype, salted paper, cyanotype, argyrotype, chrysotype, POP, kallitype, ambrotype/wet collodion, Van Dyke, platinum/palladium, Ziatype, gelatin dry plate emulsions, carbon, gum bichromate, albumen, hand-applied emulsions, paper, alternative imaging systems, and digital negative production for alternative process image making. This book has become the unanimous standard reference text for alternative process photography, one that students love to read and work from. Not only does this definitive work make the most complex ideas easy to understand, it is conversational, comfortable, inspirational, and fun to read- a tremendous resource and a treasure trove of alternative process images. "The first edition was a stunning achievement, and one I felt that was not likely to be superceded. Five short years later Christopher James has created a very new work and a new standard. The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes: 2nd Edition is, by far, the best alternative photographic process book ever!" - Richard Sullivan, Founder and Co-Owner, Bostick and Sullivan "If I could only have one photography book this would be it." -Timothy Whelan, Photographic Books
Review
"The first edition was a stunning achievement, and one I felt that was not likely to be superceded. Five short years later Christopher James has created a very new work and a new standard. The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes: 2nd Edition is, by far, the best alternative photographic process book ever!" - Richard Sullivan, Founder and Co-Owner, Bostick and Sullivan
Review
"As bit strings take over our photographic being - if not our lives - we need, more than ever, this playful and inspiring manual. James cheerfully and effectively instructs us, whether we are novice or adept, in the alchemical arts of transmuting our expressive photographic images, both digital and analogue, into hand-crafted prints which will forever bear our individual marks." - Dr. Mike Ware, Author of over 50 publications on alternative process, history, process and preservation.
Review
"If I could only have one photography book this would be it." - Tim Whelan Photographic Books
About the Author
Christopher James is an internationally recognized artist whose paintings and photographs have been exhibited in galleries and museums in this country and abroad. His work has been published and shown extensively, including shows in The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The George Eastman House, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art and he has lectured and given alternative process workshops throughout the world. James taught at Harvard University from 1978 - 1991 and is currently the Chair of the Photography at The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.
Table of Contents
Pinhole Negative Digital Options Calotype Salted paper Anthotype Cyanotype Cyanotype variations Argyrotype Van Dyke, Brown Print and Blue Van Dyke Kallitype Chrysotype Platinum Palladium Ziatype Paper, History and Preparation Gum Bichromate Dichromate Options: Chromatype, 3D Gum, Dusting-On, Alternative Surfaces Carbon POP Hand Applied Emulsions and Tin Type Albumen Wet Collodion and Dry Plate Emulsion Mordancage Appendices: A- Chemistry B- Conversion Tables C- Light D- UV Exposure Unit E- The Plastic Camera F- Your Working Space G- Alternative Process Shopping List H- Resources I- Internet Artist Sites J- Bibliography