Silver, Salt and Light:

How soil chromatography connects to the history of photography in Edinburgh and Scotland.

It's worth mentioning here that all the advancement in chemistry and innovation of photography might not be possible (or certainly delayed by who knows how long) if it weren't for a brilliant Scottish Chemist; Elizabeth Fulhame who discovered photoreduction with light, water and metal salts(silver nitrate!) She published An essay on combustion : with a view to a new art of dying and painting. Wherein the phlogistic and antiphlogistic hypotheses are proven erroneous in 1794!

Only four years after the invention of photography was announced to the world in 1839, two Scots had mastered the new medium and were producing works of breathtaking skill in extraordinary quantities.

Photographs by Hill & Adamson explores the uniquely productive and influential partnership of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, which lasted a few short years from 1843 until early 1848. These stunning images, which belie the almost unimaginable technical challenges faced by the duo, are arguably among the first examples of social documentary in the history of photography. 

          - extract taken from 'A Perfect Chemistry Exhibition at the National Galleries Scotland.

Scott Monument on Princess St Edinburgh 
a salt print made from a calotype. 1843-47 year unkown
Monument was completed 1844

Whats so great about Hill, Adamson and Jessie Mann was that they really shaped the way we utilise photography- they were complete pioneers who used a very scientific and precise methodology to create amazing documentary and art photographs. Back in the day women weren't really credited often or even allowed to participate in many activities - so the team is usually referred to as Hill & Adamson- however Jessie Mann's work with them was a huge contribution to their success and is now hailed as Scotland's first woman photographer (that's why she gets her own link.)

Some gentlemen having a nice afternoon. 
James Ballantyne, Dr George Bell & David Octavius Hill
Taken by Adamson with likely help of Mann.

The photographs they made using the calotype process- which is really pretty tricky to get down, and not many people in the world still make them. Here's a link to the Calotype Society. Once they had an exposed and processed negative they would contact print the image onto salted and silver nitrate sensitised paper with sunlight and process it to get a positive print. 

It's neat because the chemistry we're using with the soil chromatography is really similar to the salted print process they used. They were using the most modern technology of the time and mastered it really quickly! Today's equivalent of the calotype negative would be similar to some crazy high res million megapixel camera, or even our smartphones.  The scenes they photographed look crazy old timey to us today- but that was contemporary life- well composed artful innovative photographs. 

Flowering of Photography @ Tate Modern

Below is a calotype negative I made to try it out and the positive salted paper print below. I figured the Standard Life building on Lothian Road in Edinburgh looked pretty contemporary so I thought it might make a good modern Edinburgh shot using the same processes as Hill and Adamson. It was a few years ago- maybe I should photograph the new St James Centre in Edinburgh, or maybe the trams... What can you photograph that speaks to the contemporary life of today? 

you can see here my technical skills are not quite what Hill and Adamson's 
were with the Calotype process- if my negative were better the Salt Print
might look a tiny bit better!