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Combination Photogram- Negative printing

The images created for the Codes of Survival project, and Adze to Coda, I use a combination of two photographic techniques, traditional photographic enlargements made from standard negatives and the photogram where objects are laid directly on the photographic paper. To print a combination of both on one piece of photographic paper demands considerable skill, patients and a little bit of luck. Because of this each image is a unique print.

I next worked out relevant exposures for the photograms. You will need to take the negative out of the carrier so there is light falling on the objects on top of the photo paper out side the area where you intend to expose the photograph. Also you might find that you will have to raise the head of the enlarger to give full coverage over the area of the sheet of paper. Establishing the exposure times and then discovering the light does not cover the full area of the paper means you will have to recalculate the exposure times.

Most often I would double expose the photograms moving the objects between exposures and also placing a different set of objects on the paper. This gives a complex visual over layering effect. But a single exposure for the photograms can also work.

If you are using double exposures, the exposure time can be varied which helps to build up a sense of tonal depth and layering. Say 6seconds for the first, 4 seconds for the second. It helps reduce the risk of making a mistake if you can work with the same f stop as for the negative exposure.

Once you have cut the templates and worked out the relevant exposures, place the neg in the enlarger, align the image as you planed and expose the paper for the same time as the test. ( If the paper was developed at this point there would be a standard photographic image in the centre of the paper surrounded by a large white boarder.)

As the paper is not safe until it is fixed, remember to work just with a safe light through all these stages.