Tuesday, February 23, 2010

"Passed by...." / On Selinium Toner



An old snap with slide (yes, the expensive slide). This shot was shot on ISO100 slide, handheld at approx. 1/4s, scanned with film scanner, and digitally altered to monochrome with Selinium tone.

Speaking of Selinium tone, it is actually more than an artistic style.

In the good old days of black-and-white photography, the photo paper was treated with chemicals. Because of the acidic nature of the 'fixing' process, b/w photos are prone to color fading over time, particular when photos are not washed in running water long enough. For additional stability of the photo-print, an additional step called 'toning' is often used. Most toner will alter the color of the print, e.g. Sepia Toner will add a brown tone to the print. Selinium Toner is the most stable toning chemical, and often used in gallery display.

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