News of the Arts


Curiosity, Anthropology, Perception

A Reading List

Down a nineteenth century rabbit hole of first person narratives, history, curiosity, and at the end of the day all very entertaining anthropology. These writings are generally from the c. 1800s, scanned original published works in all their original typeset, layout, structure and spelling glory. …

Voyages of Discovery & Research

Michael Palin’s ‘Erebus – The Story of a Ship’ proved thoughtful, introducing the harsh reality of a handful of historic British HM captains and officers midway through their careers, adventuring to the ends of the Earth on a mission of scientific discovery and research.

Photographic Sleuthing (Part 4)

Roman Cement: A fascinating article passed my way discussing the efficacy of 2000 year old Roman cement. A cement used for many things, notably the well preserved ancient Portus Cosanus sea walls of Orbetello and the (link)tomb of Caecilia Metella

Nine Films, Nine Photographs

Color Science Straight Out Of Camera

Producing a photograph straight out of camera with uniquely tuned color grading has reduced my post operations to a simple matter of making the selects ready for print. Ready for print to me is a matter of minor adjustments to brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpening for viewing distance if necessary – image qualities that differ most between screen and print presentation.

Fuji X100T UV/IR Full Spectrum

A UV/IR Bench Guide to Fitting Out Hardware and Software

2015-2021, retired the X100T after six years only for it to phoenix itself into a lovely UV/IR full spectrum converted image creation machine. Maybe that’s a bit much, but certainly better than sitting on the less used camera shelf with the Olympus OM-1 and Canon 1D X.

When Nature Calls

Redwood Estates, CA
Santa Cruz Mountains
September 2020 – February 2021


If you are out at night you are food for apex predators … excepting cars. You need to avoid the cars.

Seems the critters are out and about to play and eat. …

Photographic Sleuthing (Part 3)

Going Deeper: In this Photographic Sleuthing (Part 3), the adventure goes deep into hard to locate territory. We have sharpened our collective teeth on these easier ones, mostly, leaving two pretty hard images from Part 2 still to be resolved.

Sled Printing Digital Negatives

Executive Summary Up front
To eliminate pizza wheel marks from your digital negatives, use a posterboard media sled to carry the digital negative OHP material printing from the Epson 3880, P800, P700, and P900 manual front feed tray.


Greeting Cards

Connecting with people … with accessible art

Creating art that is accessible is always a great goal. Connecting with people is always a wonderful activity. Combining these will bring smiles to faces and make for happiness. 

In the many ways to make photographic art accessible, prints - posters - books, greeting cards are a way to send the gift of art while connecting with others is a positive way. …

Cabinland

The Redwood Estates
January 1927: Every worth-while accomplishment may be summarized by the words “vision put into action”. That, in brief, tells the story of the Redwood Estates. During the past twenty years or more, thinking men and women in every walk of life have more keenly than ever realized the strenuous pace of our modern civilization – the nervous and physical wear and tear due to the artificiality of city life. …

World Cyanotype Day 2019

Land / Sea / Sky
Saturday, September 28th, Two Thousand and Nineteen

Using Dr. Mike Ware’s newly devised Simple Cyanotype process (link) to celebrate World Cyanotype Day, Land / Sea / Sky, I’ve produced a series of greeting cards entitled ‘Cards of Blue’. …

Chris Morrison – June 2019 Gallery Show

June 2019, the final Special Edition Gallery Show presented HERSELF: A Conversation with Society, the platinum photographic work of Chris Morrison.

Chris can be reached on Instagram at Vintage_rollei

If you missed the show, the following is partially how it was presented


B&W Highlight Dithering v1.5

Update May 20th, 2020: Release Version 1.5

  1. Added two new dithering tools to the original set of three Soft Dither tools for 6%, 12%, and 18% highlight dithering. New additions are 12% and 18% highlight Hard Dither tools to produce a denser 10% minimum pixel density highlight dithering. …

Photographic Sleuthing (Part 2)

We could use your help - where in the world were these images taken? 
Please contact us HERE if you have information leading to their identity!

FirstSixUnknowsWhere


Going Deep: In Photographic Sleuthing (Part 3), the adventure goes deep into hard to locate territory. …

Photographic Sleuthing (Part 1)

When, Where, What, and Who of a set of deteriorating Lantern Slides

60Found pair

Special Edition Photographic Sleuthing (full image)


In Photographic Sleuthing (Part 2) we introduce a set of images we need help identifying - a community photographic sleuthing excursion as it were. 


The Special Edition has been working on a fun photographic project which will result in a handful of early 1900s B&W Magic Lantern glass slides printed in Ziatype (Palladium & Gold) to be displayed in a local Italian cafe.

Photographs of British Algae – Cyanotype Impressions

The botanical works of Mrs. Anna Atkins in Cyanotype

“The difficulty of making accurate drawings of objects so minute as many of the Algae and Confervae has induced me to avail myself of Sir John Herschel's beautiful process of cyanotype to obtain impressions of the plants themselves, which I have much pleasure in offering to my botanical friends.” …

2018 Refections & Achievements

Welcome to the new year of 2019!

2018 was loaded with world wide goings on at all kinds of macro levels – the pendulum was swinging wide. We can leave the macro levels to historians.

At the personal micro level, a reflective deep dive into personal growth and accomplishments are in order.

Naturalistic Photography

We have not until now discussed the referenced books written by P. H. Emerson Naturalistic Photography in these pages. Suffice it to say there are three editions – the First Edition was quickly replaced by the Second Edition in an effort to better clarify and state the ideals of naturalistic photography. …

Cyanotype Coffee

So you like Cyanotypes, and you like coffee, and you have some images that are not well suited to being imaged in the Prussian Blue of raw Cyanotype. No problem! Lets make a good desert patina toned print using coffee as the tannic iron replacing the iron that makes a Cyanotype so impressively strident!

Care & Feeding: Light Sensitive Iron Salts

Decomposing like all good organics, light sensitive Ferric Ammonium Citrate and Ferric Ammonium Oxalate iron compounds used for Siderotype printmaking processes will self-destruct. Sunlight, heat and time are all aggressors of a good iron based light sensitive emulsion. …

Film Developing: Process User Guide

To make the best use of the wonderful printmaking processes at the Special Edition, we have put together our Special Edition Process User Guide. This film processing section of the user guide will get you aquainted with our developing process and chemistry used. …

Our Doors Are Now Open

The Who, What, Where, and How of the Special Edition Art Project

What is the Special Edition Art Project?
Our space on the West-side of Santa Cruz is a purpose-built Analog and Digital photo workshop and art gallery. The facility was designed and equipped to enable artists and photographers from beginner-to-pro to create photo-based images of all kinds. …

Readying for Artistic Community Creations

Now beyond our successful and heartwarming family & friends gathering, we are readying our facility for the general public. The facility is fully fitted for printmaking, with final touches to kitting underway. As we field and tune our processes & workflows with our early practitioners, we are also preparing for our public welcoming; providing details on how we have fitted our facility for print making, our services, our pricing schedules.

Build-Out Update

Update to build-out - December 13th, 2017: Expectation continues to be making prints within the facility during the winter holiday season 2017. Construction is complete. Electrical is complete. Lighting is complete. Plumbing is complete. …

A Word About Printers

Starting at around $1000 USD, anyone can pick up a high quality, high resolution, high color gamut, archival pigmented ink, color printer. In the hands of a professional these systems allow for the highest grade of gallery and museum print creation. …

Build-Out

Expectation is to be making prints within the facility during the winter holiday season 2017. Darkroom is in place, plumbing is ready for hookup, electrical mid-pace. Inspections going smoothly, drywall is mudded, then painting, lighting, more inspections, and ready to rock.

Science a wrap…for now

The science of our supported photo chemistries has come to a wrap, for now, while we work on build-out of our new West Side Santa Cruz analog–digital photo workshop and art gallery. The summation of our initially intended photographic processes will provide creators with even ordinary skill in the arts an abundance of character and tonalities for their creations.

Vandyke Brownprint Exploratons


VDB Thoughts: Nice looking process

• Exposure correction curve much like B&W, so no need for a SEAP-C condition curve. Use a dedicated VDB curve and be done with it.
• Chart-Throb tool works efficiently once a good exposure is reached.

Cyanotype Underwater

One of the more interesting plays with Cyanotype is to create images that actually work well with Cyanotype. It can be tough. Early morning before sunrise when the sky is dark blue and the scene before you is cast in cool monotone color for example. …

We have a home

After much looking, squinting, pondering, LoopNet trolling, and Craig’ List hunting, we have found our landing spot on the West Side of Santa Cruz in the Swift Street District.

We are soon to receive the keys and can begin building, fitting and kitting out the new facility We are going to have a very busy summer. 

A Home Needed

Special Edition Art Project is looking for a second home. Ten to thirteen hundred square feet of light-industrial light-retail studio space is needed. Room for a gallery, studio, and dark room for rent. I see a recurring theme here.

Proficiency with Classic Two-Part Cyanotype

January 2017 - Completed the science of characterizing the Cyanotype specific digital negative, various types and brands of paper media, and re-development toning chemistry with tea, coffee, and other tannins, understood to a proficient level. …

Cyanotype

December 2016 - Cyanotype classic 2-part chemistry processes and characterization. Crystalized Cyanotype response details & paper behaviors for both Prussian Blue and tannin toned re-developed images.

Proficiency with B&W Silver Gelatin

November 2016 - B&W print development processes and characterization understood to a proficient level (novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, expert). Finalized silver gelatin response curve, paper behaviors, and print results using single- and multi-contrast filter exposure techniques.

Water where there is none

September 2016 - Portable water delivery and recirculating print washing system operational.

Special Edition Art Project is Alive!

August 2016 - The Special Edition Art Project is alive! First B&W silver gelatin prints produced, beginning the science of characterizing the digital negative, Ilford multigrade B&W papers (fiber and resin), and LegacyPro Eco-Pro development chemistry.

Kitting Out

July 2016 - Studio Versuch begins kitting out to become a functional facility. Try. Attempt. Experiment. Learn by doing.

Fitting Out

May 2016 - Facility space gets fitted out as the Studio Versuch fabrication studio & experimental darkroom laboratory.

Lawrence Hall of Science

September 2015 - Begin dabbling with Cyanotype and tannin re-development of Sunprint papers from Lawrence Hall of Science.

Breaking Ground

August 2015 - Ground breaking and construction of an experimental studio facility and getting our collective feet wet with B&W darkroom refresher classes at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco. Lets go jumping into the deep end and see where is leads!


© Special Edition Art Project, LLC 2022