Photographs using a silver image have been the standard for "fine art" photography for many years and the silver photograph continues to be the norm against which other forms of photography are compared.

ALthough the term "alternative photography" has referred to those forms of photography other than silver, in today's digital world I believe silver photography has become an "alternative" to more widely used digital image.

The gelatin silver image remains however, one of the most beautiful forms of photography.

The image is made by enlarging or contact printing a negative onto paper coated with a silver impregnated gelatin, either by hand or commercially producted. The exposed paper is then placed in a developing solution, followed by stop bath and then two fixing solutions..After fixing the paper is washed and toned then allowed to dry.

The resulting image has an extended contrast scale and can be rendered in a number of tones depending on the agent used. The following images are examples of gelatin silver images with various toning agents. The standard toners are sepia (deep brown) selenium (red-brown to slight purple-black), gold (deep blue to red), and iron (green to blue).

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