Give Life Back to Alternative Process: Exploring Handmade Photographic Printing Experiments towards Digital Nature Ecosystem

Abstract

The proliferation of smartphones has made it easy for anyone to take digital photographs, and the recent popularization of text-to-image models has made it easy for anyone to create images. In this age, by combining digital technology with the tactile experience of handmade processes, we can rediscover the joy of creating with our own hands and the emotional connection that comes from physically interacting with our work. Previously, we proposed a new printing framework that integrated computer processing with full-color cyanotype printing. In this work, we demonstrate expanding the range of aesthetic expressions with computer processing for tone adjustment with several alternative processes such as salt print, platinum print, and cyanotype. In the installation, we present our printing framework with the user interface and exhibit works utilizing our proposed method. The use of new media developed after the digital age and the integration of computer processing in photo printing may be a way to create a new photographic life with the joy of materialising scenery.