The Analogue Academy, India

15/07/2021

Can we print a cyanotype using an enlarger?

Will give it a shot and report results later. For now, a scene from Goa as a cyanotype.

21/05/2021

Continuing our exploration of Marbling. Knowledge sources say choice of paper is critical for success of the process. We couldn’t agree more. We made 4 prints on different papers - Print 1 - on A4 Executive Bond Sheets, Print 2 on cold pressed Water Colour 300 gsm, Print 3 on hot pressed 300 gsm paper and print 4 (which was featured yesterday) on Japanese Cotton Paper. We like the smoothness of the Hot Pressed paper, though the texture of the Print 2 is also quite interesting. Which are your favourites?

20/05/2021

Floating sized paper on a aqueous surface (in this case water mixed with Carrageenan) with ink or paints to create patterns that are similar to smooth marble or other kinds of stone. Technique known as Marbling. Marbling has different names depending upon the materials used to make the ink/ paint float on the water. In the Turkish way, a thick mix of water and w**d extracts is used. In Japan a “surfactants” are used to ensure the ink floats. We will explore more of this technique to create prints in our studio going ahead. Starting with this one that we are yet to title. Help us with a title, if your suggestion is selected, we will send you a small surprise.

P.S. - Text inspired from Wikipedia article on Paper Marbling.

21/09/2020

Gum Dichromate Prints at the studio. Gum prints require a strong negative to transfer the shadows and highlights and we used transparencies printed locally. We like this one.

18/09/2020

Today we processed a roll of black and white film using the stand development method. And the film came out with these stripes. informs us that this is called The Bromide Drag. Further reading on the topic reveals that this drag is a by product of stand development and happens if the agitation is less. Lesson learnt. This roll had good photos.

development

28/08/2020

Photos from a travel can be transported in time using the salt print technique of printing. We created the above prints of these pictures taken on a road trip couple of years back. As we go about learning the ropes of various alternative printing methods, we see memories come to life.

20/08/2020

We are thrilled to present to you our newsletter, The Viewfinder, which will feature artist talks, insights on various analog practices & activities we undertake in our studio at The Analogue Academy. At the outset, it will be a monthly feature & we seek to bring forth quality knowledge & learnings about our journey in the world of Analog.

On the occasion of World Photography Day, we released the inaugural edition of our newsletter. It features Thasin Jeelani, a film enthusiast based in Chennai, who runs his initiative, The Analog Geek. Through his years of practicing Analog, he has established an ecosystem that enables & supports every person who sets out on their analog journey.

Your feedback will be greatly appreciated!

The first edition of our newsletter
https://the-analogue-academy.format.com/blog

To subscribe to our future editions, kindly join our mailing list at https://the-analogue-academy.format.com/7974fcbc63-content

The Viewfinder on The Analogue Academy 's Portfolio

14/08/2020

This is our favourite spot in the studio. It's our Thinking Spot. It brings a cool breeze on warm days & becomes our window to the outside world when the rains push us in.

09/08/2020

When the weather doesn't permit any photography outdoors, stay indoors and make cyanotypes. Like this one we made on a recent rainy day in the studio.

05/08/2020

A fulfilling, exciting day was spent in the dark room today learning news bits of developing & printing films..one important aspect of dark room printing is the making of good test prints. It is the easiest way to bring about efficiency in the process of printing.
With the enlarger aligned and print in focus, we exposed our test strip in 6 parts, exposing each part for 3 seconds. On slipping it into the developer, we realised that the distribution of blacks was a bit unbalanced and a portion of the film was exposed more than the other. Hence, we decided to expose the entire strip at once for 3 seconds. And, much to our joy, it exposed beautifully and presented us with a print that we love, though it may be imperfect.

02/08/2020

Get ready to be wonderstruck if you’re not already. This effervescent advertisement created by Prasson Pandey for the Kodak KB 10 is such a lovely memory. Released in the late 90’s the Kodak KB 10 was a huge success commerically, primary due to its easy operation, strong usability and technical assuredness. The camera manual advocated the use of 400 speed film and use of flash even in day light to ensure that the images remained technically correct, we suspect some magic was done at the developing labs as well by pushing the rolls by one stop. The KB 10 has a 30mm fixed lens with a fixed aperture of 8 which meant that objects beyond an arms length would always be in focus, the flash would fill in for shadows if any. Good for a selfie in the pre handphone era! The light plastic body and sliding lens cover that doubled up as the on and off switch made it a worthy companion for daily and vacation travel. We have a couple of KB 10’s in the studio and don’t we just love them to bits!