Ilfochromes: The Finest Color Photographs Important Notice: The color papers and chemistry used by Dave to make his prints are becoming increasingly harder to find. If you want to own a hand-made Ilfochrome, we suggest you purchase soon, as the future of the process is not guaranteed. What are these funny sounding prints that are so highly praised and collected? First, the name: Ilfo, coming from one of the oldest, and most respected, film/paper/chemistry companies still in existence, Ilford; and Chrome, a reference to the chromatic color scale. Originally invented and marketed by the Ciba-Geigy company they were known as Cibachromes. Ilford acquired and improved the process. Second, the process: Imagine the photography printing world before the use of computers. What if you could make a print directly from a slide, instead of having to copy that slide to negative film and then print the negative? If you ever copied songs from LP's to cassette tapes, then you understand the concept of first and second generations. Only the original slide has all of the color saturation, sharpness and detail, that even the best copies would not have. Now for the "technical" stuff: With Ilfochromes, the color AZO dyes are applied directly into the paper as different emulsion layers, and must be selectively developed and bleached out by the corresponding chemistry. With other paper/chemistry alternatives, the "color" is in the chemistry, not the paper. You ask, what difference does it make? Well, the short answer is "seeing is believing." Ultra-rich with beautiful contrast. Dave love's the hot colors! Although Ilfochromes produce very accurate blacks, whites, and everything in between, the Autumn colors literally fly off the wall! The depth, sharpness, and color pallet makes the viewer believe "they are inside the image, like looking through a window onto nature." Color Longevity: Today, the terms "archive," or "archival," are tossed around as often as pizza pies! Ilfochromes are the only print material that ever came with a 200 year color life guarantee. They continue to set the standard to which all other color processes are compared. Value: Historically, prints made by the original photographer, in their traditional darkroom, have appreciated over time, not the other way around.
All of
Dave's prints are
hand-made limited editions in sets
of 25. The price will increase with each
new edition.
The Bottom Line: Very few color nature photographers have invested the time and money to learn any traditional darkroom printing. Dave has dedicated his creative life to this part of photography that is rapidly being replaced with computer automation. He does it for two reasons: First, he has always enjoyed working in a lab environment; Second, he truly believes the quality of Ilfochromes are superior to any color printing technique from the past, present, and most likely the future. Visit one of Dave's shows, or a gallery that displays his work, and we hope you leave with only one impression: WOW! Integrity of the Print Dave's personal views on photographic printing: "For myself, photography has always been a two-step process, each with it's own challenges and rewards. First there is image capture, the evolution of which from film to digital has been an impressive technological achievement. The digital sensor has much greater exposure latitude, and variability when compared to film. I have admiration for some of the work being done with digital capture, and believe the two paradigms will co-exist, with each contributing it's own uniqueness to the art of photography. Second, there is print production, and in this I have great suspicion for the truthfulness in some of the prints I've seen produced from digital processes. If it is the intention of the artist to use software tools, and alter the originally captured image to an extent beyond certitude, then this is no longer a real photograph, and falls into the category of graphic art. The truest photograph begins, and ends, with the click of the camera shutter." Visit one of his shows, or a gallery that displays his work. "From my Darkroom to your Home" Best Regards
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