Roger Harrison was inspired by a process invented by the great pioneer of photography, William Henry Fox Talbot

SPOTLIGHT

S a l t P r i n t s Roger Harrison

I was introduced to the salt printing process by Ken Keen FRPS on an RPS day at Gloucester Cathedral in 2019, although it wasn’t until lockdown that I started experimenting with salt prints myself.

Above: Wern Works – Abandoned aluminium works, Briton Ferry, South Wales where the wings of Concorde were reputedly made. Right: Transept, Ewenny Priory, Vale of Glamorgan – This is the right hand half of the JMW Turner painting ‘Ewenny Priory, Glamorganshire, painted around 1797.

SPOTLIGHT

S a l t P r i n t s Roger Harrison

The process was originally devised by William Henry Fox Talbot in the 1830s and consists of coating paper in a solution of salt water and then coating with a solution of silver nitrate. A negative is then placed in contact with the paper and exposed to UV light. It may then be toned, typically in gold, before ‘fixing’ in sodium thiosulphate (‘hypo’).

Above: Abandoned Boat, Old Harbour, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. Left: Ghost ship in the Mist, Old Harbour, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.