If the phrase “go big or go home” can be seen as relating to photography, Allan King would have it all covered.
King, a photographer who specializes in platinum photographs, has eschewed the convenience of small format film and digital cameras in favour of a massive 12 x 20-inch view camera for his work, which will be featured at the CAG gallery in Canmore’s Elevation Place, Nov. 14-24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Wednesdays.
King’s images for the exhibition include those from the Canadian Rockies, S.W. United States and the prairies. Each image is hand-crafted from traditional ultra-large negatives by brushing platinum solutions on fine paper, then printing the negatives onto the emulsion with ultraviolet light.
In his artist’s statement, King wrote, “Since 1991 the majority of my work has been the crafting of these images as fine art black and white prints for exhibitions nationally and internationally. However, for the last 15 years I have chosen to express these images in the medium of the hand-crafted platinum/palladium print because this classic process more fully reveals the entire original tonal scale. It conveys a sense of three dimensionality, and enables me to convincingly translate the elements of space, water, atmosphere, and land with a delicacy unattainable with any other process. In other words, from the viewer’s perspective, it creates a sense of presence.
“My preference is to photograph with large format view cameras utilizing sheet films ranging in size from 8 x 10, 7 x 17 and 8 x 20 up to and including the ultra-large 12 x 20. I chose these formats because of their exaggerated rectangles, which extend the sweeping narrative of the landscape, and because it most effectively articulates the way I see the world. And, from the viewer’s perspective, it invites a different way of seeing, more like a journey through a new land. The view camera also has the unsurpassed ability to control perspective and capture the greatest amount of detail.
“The unique printing process and impressionist interpretation are brought together through a photographic technique which is as unusual as it is rare and which also had its origins in the nineteenth century. In addition, and for some projects most importantly, the unsurpassed archival characteristics of the platinum print provides an enduring legacy and conduit to the past for future generations.”
King is managing director of PhotoVision in Calgary and a professional photographer who crafts classic images in silver gelatin, platinum and color using traditional and antiquarian processes.
Following the establishment of his photographic enterprise in Bangkok, Thailand 30 years ago, King pursued corporate/commercial, industrial, portrait, food and fashion photography as well as fine art photography in SE Asia, India and China. Since moving back to Calgary 18 years ago, he’s expanded his portfolios to include much of Western Canadian and Southwestern United States landscapes.
