Exploring the beauty of black and white photographs printed on silver gelatin baryta paper
I make all kinds of prints, from the usual archival inkjet on paper to handmade cyanotypes, but my favorite — and in my opinion, the pinnacle of photographic printing — is the silver gelatin print on baryta surface fiber paper.
In this quick video, watch as I unpack, examine, and sign a set of 16 x 24-inch enlargements that I recently had made for a client in Charleston. We will look at the paper surface in detail, and discuss why their contrast and tonal range make silver gelatin prints the best of the best.
See all my black and white photographs of Charleston here
!["The Ladies of Meeting Street," printed on silver gelatin baryta paper at 16 x 24 inches](https://icatchshadows.comwp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_1122-Charleston-Silver-Gelatin-Print-595x595.jpg)
In the photograph above, you can see how much volume and dimension the silver gelatin paper is capable of creating — these decorative brackets seem almost three-dimensional. And the dynamic range of the paper is incredible . . . the blacks are black and the whites are white, and the grays between are rich and subtle.
![Detail photograph of architectural details, printed on silver gelatin baryta surface paper](https://icatchshadows.comwp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_1125-Charleston-Silver-Gelatin-Print-595x595.jpg)
![A rolled-up silver gelatin print. Notice the thickness of the paper.](https://icatchshadows.comwp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_1113-595x595.jpg)
![Detail section of one of the Charleston photographs](https://icatchshadows.comwp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_1106-copy-595x793.jpg)
![Signed and dated in archival ink on the front, bottom right, in the white margin of the print.](https://icatchshadows.comwp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_1101-595x793.jpg)
View my entire Charleston portfolio here
![Framed Keith Dotson photograph of a crusty old house in Charleston.](https://icatchshadows.comwp-content/uploads/2018/09/DSC01868-Charleston-Old-Corbel-in-Frame-960x960.jpg)
Thanks for reading!
Be sure to visit me on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, or on my website at keithdotson.com.
~ Keith