DROR MAAYAN
Good Old Days photo art
Niepceotype/Hyalotype - the highest photographic resolution ever
The albumen on glass negative was invented in 1847 by Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor (1805-1870), a cousin of Nicéphore Niépce, the inventor of photography. Originally using starch, Niepce de Saint Victor found out that egg albumen can be used as a binder for silver iodide on glass plates (Osterman-Romer, History of Photography, 31). The process was called Niepceotype. In 1848, a positive on glass contact printing from albumen on glass (Hyalotype) was invented by Langenheim brothers, Philadelphia. Prof. Mark Osterman (GEM, Rochester, NY) states that because of the long exposure time as well as long development of plates, this process was not used for studio photography but only for field, landscapes, architecture or still-life. No photographic technique could surpass the quality and resolution of Niepceotype ever since.
My art is my way of life, my identity and native tongue.
For over two and a half decades, I worked with the most advanced digital cameras. Then, several years ago, I discovered the alternative photography. I moved back to the 19th-century photographic techniques and was totally captivated by the possibilities they revealed to me. Five years ago I opened the first and only natural light “Victorian” studio in Israel.
Of all the variety of techniques, I embraced especially Niepceotype/ Hyalotype, one of the oldest and rarest photographic techniques invented in1840s. Apparently, I am the only one in the world creating with this rare technique, this is according to Prof. Mark Osterman (GEM, Rochester, NY), who initiated my passion for it. During the past two years, I immerse myself in research expanding the limits of the original Niepceotype process, and now, use it as in-camera direct positive on metal (an application that was never done in the 19th century). Recently, after months of experiments, I managed to increase the speed of the original albumen technique, almost equaling it to the wet-collodion exposure time. Thus, the main obstacle of the original technique is solved, enabling me to create portraits. I find Niepceotype technology (with my improvements) highly potential and rewarding since it is a dry technique (no need for a portable darkroom and in-situ developing). Its unique beauty and super high quality of fine details are overwhelming.
