The splash! - Chemigram print

The splash! (chemigram print) ~ Philli Overton

Another example of an alternate darkroom print is the Chemigram, where the developer fluid is brush painted onto the photo paper after the enlarger head has made the exposure, rather than dipping the paper into the tray of developer fluid. Splatters, flicks and dribbles can all enhance the finished image such as I have shown above.

The original photograph as a subject wasn't a stand-out image as it purely demonstrated a technique.

The original image was a simple, fast shutter speed capture of a wave breaking over a rock as part of a coastal themed photoshoot at Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast as part of my TAFE Queensland certificate III in Visual Arts. It was purely an assignment piece to capture the elements of movement, texture and rule of thirds in the one image, and it was the splash effect of the wave that I was looking for to produce a Chemigram image that would complement the splash effect of the developing fluid when developing the image in the darkroom.

• Camera: Olympus E-M10MarkIV
• Aperture: f/4.4
• Exposure: 1/2500 second
• Focal lens: 58 mm
• ISO-400

The image was inverted using Adobe Photoshop to produce the negative and then printed onto clear film that could be placed over the photo paper once the easel, timer and enlarger head were setup in the darkroom. Making use of TAFE Queensland's darkroom studios was one of the highlights of my time studying Certificate III in Visual Arts at their Soth Bank campus. 

The inverted image was printed onto clear negative film prior to heading into the darkroom.

The enlarger showing the easel holding the negative in place. The light-sensitive paper was only brought out and placed beneath the negative was the darkroom was secured and in use.

Once the enlarger head made the exposure, the paper was taken to the developing basin and the developer fluid painted onto the paper using a wide flat brush in a zig zag motion. I then used a smaller brush to add another layer of splatters, flicks and dribbles over the top. The rest of the developing process follows the same order as when developing a standard photo.

The finished photo I called the splash! It now resides in my study as a fine example of photographic art, and a reminder of my time spent studying photography full-time during 2024.

Philli O.