The Albumen printing process was the first to enable commercial reproduction of photographic plates. Prior to its discovery in 1850, photographers were only able to produce unique Daguerrotypes and Tintypes, or use the rather imperfect Calotype or Salt Printing processes pioneered by Henry Fox Talbot. The Albumen print has a much clearer image, made by first coating paper with a layer of egg white to create a smooth surface, before re-coating with a layer of silver nitrate. This sensitised paper can then be used to contact print negatives by exposure to the sun or ultra violet light.
Three of the darkroom team (Milena Michalski, Elisabeth Scheder-Bieschin and Phil Grey), have been exploring this 19th century process popularised by the likes of Julia Margaret Cameron and Eugène Atget.
It starts with eggs, a lot of eggs, which are separated and the whites whisked with chemistry that settles overnight to produce the clear albumen liquid used to size the paper.
Once the liquids had separated, a selection of papers were coated, using brushing and ‘floating’ techniques. Achieving an even coating and avoiding bubbles was a bit of a challenge, but by the end of the day a good range of papers and substrates were left to hang and dry.
The next stage involved sensitising the prepared paper with a silver nitrate solution. This was to prove even more of a challenge than the albumen coating! It was discovered that getting just the right amount of the liquid and brushing it on evenly and gently is key to the quality of the final image. The first attempts, exposed using sunlight, turned out to be largely disappointing, a consequence of brushing on the sensitising solution too firmly.
Going back to the drawing board, having not used all of the albumen coated paper, a second attempt at applying the sensitising solution with a lighter touch produced far better results. That and using our UV exposure unit for more accurate timings.
The journey is far from over, so watch this space for further developments.
One other thing this experience taught us was that using gloves is essential throughout the whole process, including washing up afterwards!
