Alternative Processes Revival Polaroid Liquid Emulsion - The Photoletariat

Alternative Processes Revival Polaroid Liquid Emulsion - The Photoletariat
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Three years after being discontinued, Polaroid’s iconic PX680 film is back in shops and selling fast.
The instantly recognizable film, described by Polaroid as “sorely missed by millions,” is part of a traditional photography renaissance happening worldwide. Photographers are discovering analog printing in general, and alternative processes in particular.
Often called historical or non-silver, most of these processes were used by early photographers over 100 years ago. Classic alternative processes such as Cyanotype, Bromoil, Salt, Gum Bichromate, Daguerreotype, Platinum, Carbon print, Kallitype and Van Dyke are once again starting to appeal to people all over the world. This is more than a bunch of trainspotting enthusiasts trading in unused relics from their attics. It’s a buzzing community that is sizable enough to justify the introduction of new printing papers such as Ilford’s Multigrade Art 300, and films like the recent high speed sheet film FOMAPAN 400 and new 35mm Kentmere film.
Many of these distinctive-looking processes have digital simulators, either in the form of a Photoshop plug-in or iPhone/iPad apps, with some more convincing than others. So why are photographers choosing to get their hands messy and practicing these often lengthy and laborious processes again?
To some, the unconvincing digital imitation acts as an incentive. The exceptional tonal range found in platinum prints like Edward Weston’s “Pepper”, for example, cannot be matched by digital simulators.
To others, the answer is the immense sense of achievement derived from holding a print that is the fruit of physical labour.  And far from requiring significant investments of time and space, many of these processes can be done very efficiently. Some, like Cyanotype, do not even require a darkroom or an enlarger. Some companies sell readymade kits for photographers who are curious about processes like kallitype, VanDyke, Platinum, Palladium, Gum Bichromate, Cyanotype, Van Dyke Brown or Argyrotype.
It is also worth noting that the term Alternative Processes refers not just to the historic ones but to any printing method that is not within the current mainstream. Liquid emulsion, where you dip a brush in developing emulsion and apply it to a surface, and Polaroid transfers, where you separate a developed print and join the image to another surface, are both relatively recent.
These beautiful processes are guaranteed to give your images a new lease on life and boost creativity. Even images of the most mundane objects can be imbued with substance, as shown by Olga Yakovleva’s tonally rich prints of plastic cups.
Digital may have once killed the analog star. But now it’s starting to come back.