Glossary
Rawlins oil pigment print
See oil print.
Recto/verso
The recto of a photograph is the side on which the image is printed. The verso is the back of the photograph or of the
support on which it has been mounted. Occasionally another photograph will be attached to the verso side of a mount.
Rephotographed
A photograph of a photograph, referring to the original image and its transmutation by way of reproduction. This technique
of appropriation raises questions such as the value of artwork as a commodity, artistic originality, and individuality of an
original work.
Retouching
The manual manipulation of details of a print or negative. Retouching is customarily used in portraiture to soften outlines
or wrinkles and remove highlights. Through this technique, compositions and backgrounds can be changed, elements added,
and values intensified or weakened. Common tools and materials are scalpels, pointed brushes, airbrushes, pencils,
watercolors, inks, dyes, and bleaching agents.
Salted paper print
A print made from a calotype negative on plain writing paper light-sensitized with alternate washes of a solution of
common table salt solution and a bath of silver nitrate. William Henry Fox Talbot invented this "photogenic" drawing paper in
1834. Salted paper prints are characterized by a matte finish, soft focus, and broad effects of light and shadow because the
texture of the paper prevents sharply detailed images. Because the light-sensitive emulsion soaked directly into the uncoated
paper, fibers are clearly visible. The prints have a warm quality, ranging from reddish-brown and purplish-brown to pale yellow,
and limited tonal range.
Shutter
The device that keeps all light out of the camera until the picture is taken. A button activates the shutter, which opens for
an instant to admit light and create an image on the film.
Silver dye bleach process print
A color print noted for its vibrant color and high-gloss surface, also known as a dye destruction print.
Cibachrome is the trade name for these prints made using a color transparency or negative and photographic paper containing three emulsion layers of silver salts (halides) and
dyes, each sensitive to one of the three primary colors of light (red, blue, and green). At the time of exposure to the negative, each layer within
the paper reacts to its designated color (the red layer records red light and the other layers react accordingly). A separate silver image is also
formed on each layer at this point. This image is developed and then bleached out in a process that correspondingly destroys a portion of the
associated dye, creating a color separation of the photographed image. Further chemical manipulations follow, and the print is then fixed and washed.
The dye layers that remain create a full-color image when seen on the white paper support.
Solarization
The extreme overexposure in the camera of a light source like the sun, causing a reversal in tones. This effect usually occurs accidentally, but
in 1862 Armand Sabbatier (1834-1910) discovered an intentional way to reproduce a similar effect in the darkroom. During development, a
negative or print is momentarily exposed to light and then developed normally. The Sabbatier process produces unpredictable effects, with
tone reversal usually occurring in the lighter background areas. A distinct black outline is created around areas where the reversal of tone meets
areas where it has not occurred.
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