Mountain Intaglio

Getting over palladium - with Bill Schwab Mar 20-23, 2025

$1,100.00

Getting Over Palladium

Gum/Palladium Printing
with Bill Schwab

It has been said that once you see a gum bichromate over platinum or palladium print, you'll never look at a plain palladium print as finished ever again. It gives a depth and control of color that is unmatched by platinum/palladium printing alone.

Please join me for an in-depth exploration into the wonderful world of gum over palladium printing, a photographic method that takes perhaps the most beautiful and permanent platinum/palladium process to an even higher level. A hand-made photographic process that involves creating light-sensitive emulsions on fine watercolor paper and processing it through light and chemistry.

We will be working first in the palladium process as base levels for printing and then adding gum layers later on with some experimentation with adding cyanotype to the mix as well. However, the emphasis will be on building gum layers to complement the palladium.

This workshop will cover 4 days which will give each student ample time to further explore the process and refine their technique. Each student will have plenty of one-on-one instruction that will be geared toward each individual's current capability. The objective is to get people hands-on experience printing which is the best way to learn. Standing around watching an instructor print will only get you so far and we want everyone printing on their own as soon as possible.

You need no prior experience of the process to join in because, although the process can be a bit intimidating in all of its finer details, this course will get the novice up and running while giving the experienced printer a chance to explore further. It gives the student a chance to work with the process right away without all of the trappings of collecting needed equipment, materials and chemistry. And, once you're hooked, it will be easy for you to navigate your way through working with the process in your studio.

Some of the topics to be covered in this workshop will include:

Making Digital Negatives with QTR
Hand-coating techniques
Characteristics of different papers
Contrast control techniques
Materials suppliers
Print retouching

This is a four-day workshop that will allow the participant plenty of time to understand and master the process. The cost of this class includes all materials needed to make beautiful prints.

This class is limited to 5 participants.

General workshop policies and information can be found here.

Bio

Bill Schwab’s career as a photographer and publisher now spans over 4 decades with work in many private, corporate, and museum collections around the world. He has been a pioneer in the area of online representation and branding of his photographic art having successfully managed a worldwide collector base for many years.

In addition to his work as a photographer, through his North Light Photographic Workshops, he facilitates classes in several photographic processes a year at his northern Michigan facility and beyond as well as leading photographic expeditions to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and more. Bill is also the founder and host of the "Photostock Festival", an annual gathering of photographers, collectors, and enthusiasts for workshops, reviews, presentations, and demos.

In addition, Bill also operates a successful YouTube Channel for North Light Photographic Workshops with over 300 videos on various aspects of different processes that get over 30,000 views per month.

Bill's YouTube channel: here