a split-tone series…

What is split-tone, you ask?
Okay, you didn’t ask and I’m no expert, but if you’re interested in a way simplified explanation…
(if not just skip to the next image – you are free to go)
just for a quick reference…
in the darkroom…
on a silver print…

Where a sepia-tone is a wash of one color toner, a brown toner that after a bleaching process washes white highlights into a creamy yellow and black shadows into a warm brown – split-toning is a wash of two color toners. One example would be to take your already sepia-toned print and give it a blue toner bath. Through the process, your highlights stay creamy yellow, but your shadows take on a blue tint.

What you’ll see here is the digitized version of that. If you have basic photo editing software, you can try this process out on your own images. Just search the interwebs for split-tone tutorials.

about this session – this is gavin and his family – here he is practicing his new talent of walking while mom and dad look on…

this shoot was done at the birmingham botanical gardens. you can overlook the lack of flowers, we just needed a comfortable green space to meet half-way and it served it’s purpose.

these guitar shots are a treat for me because they are a first – is “play the guitar” on the list?

look at this face! he is so captivated by daddy’s playing…

and now…we do a little dance…

and finally, big smiles with mommy…

In my experience, split-toning either really works or it’s really doesn’t and I never know exactly when it will and wont. I just try it out occasionally and on these I really liked it. Is it because so many of the original colors are blue, yellow, and green? hmmm…

*on a side note – I deleted those last two posts to avoid any confusion. I’m back on the grid.

Add comment July 23rd, 2009