Mastodawn

Karsten Schmidt

Kellenspitze (2025)

(latest 8x6" Kallitype print from last night)

This mountain is the tallest peak in the Tannheimer Alps, here seen from a narrow ridge path in the north east. It was a fabulous warm day with so many mountain flowers in full bloom and clouds forming/drifting between the passes and nearby peaks, later developing into a heavy thunderstorm (thankfully only when I was already descending again...)

#FootpathFriday #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #BlackAndWhite #NoirCountry #Kallitype #AltProcess #Mountains

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

...and because sometimes a video is worth a 1000 images, here's a short clip from the earlier mountain pass nearby, giving more of an impression of the mood of this place!

#FootpathFriday #NaturePhotography #BloomScrolling #Alps #Mountains #Video

@toxi you're living the dream.

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@bit101 Hah, only trying! I'm not rich, but these moments/memories/experiences (even if fleeting) mean the world to me and I'm super lucky to have such places in around an hour's driving distance (some even less)... 🥹

quietsnail Apr 24

@toxi Amazing !

@toxi I would like to visit there for eternity

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@Michigander Me too. I will try to do a long recording up there this summer. That day I couldn't because a thunderstorm was slowly brewing and I didn't want to be there for it in terrain like that...

Barbara Monaco Apr 24

@toxi Looks like heaven to me.
If you don't mind telling us, where is this magical place?

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@Barbramon1 Yeah, I too would have loved to stay longer... 😍 The place is mentioned at the beginning of the thread :)

https://mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi/116459235300247906

Well, this pass itself is called Gehrenjoch. Another view of it is here (the pass is the grassy part in the bottom right corner):

https://mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi/115201297729038155

Karsten Schmidt (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Kellenspitze (2025) (latest 8x6" Kallitype print from last night) This mountain is the tallest peak in the Tannheimer Alps, here seen from a narrow ridge path in the north east. It was a fabulous warm day with so many mountain flowers in full bloom and clouds forming/drifting between the passes and nearby peaks, later developing into a heavy thunderstorm (thankfully only when I was already descending again...) #FootpathFriday #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #BlackAndWhite #NoirCountry #Kallitype #AltProcess #Mountains

Mastodon Glitch Edition

Steven Novakovich Apr 24

@toxi Absolutely gorgeous!

Mark Wyner Won’t Comply

OMFG. I can’t believe this is real.

Please draw me a map so I can begin my journey to this destination. 😂

BrambleBearSnoring Apr 24

@markwyner @toxi

Make that 2 please!

@toxi beautiful!

Stefan Bohacek Apr 24

@kimlockhartga @toxi What a view!

Thank you for sharing.

DoomsdaysCW Apr 24

@toxi 💚 🍃

Neil Jenkins Apr 24

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@netpraxis 🤩 (It looks better IRL! I really need to invest into a scanner rather than just taking these phone images...)

I’m curious—for alternate process prints—how are you creating negatives? I’ve been away from it for a long enough time that in my mind it’s always from a camera-original.

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@NM8A Since the process uses contact printing you need negatives of the same size as the print. Quite a few people are using vintage large format cameras, but I came to this as a hybrid, using digital negatives which are printed on transparencies. These negatives need to be carefully calibrated (tone curves) based on your specific printer (here Epson P900), emulsion mix and developer mix. Both the printer and the transparencies need to support a certain level of (ink) density to achieve a decent tonal range. The negatives are then exposed via strong UV light. Both the challenge and excitement come from the large number of parameters involved (at each step along the way), creating a lot of room for experimentation and making each print a unique handmade artifact...

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@NM8A Ps. Also just posted this a couple of days ago:

https://mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi/116448212984553368

Karsten Schmidt (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Preparing the digital negative & letting it dry before tonight's printing session... (Already inverted the photo to better see the inverted image...) #AltProcess #DigitalNegative #Kallitype #PrintMaking #LandscapePhotography #Alps #Mountains

Mastodon Glitch Edition

Interesting and thanks for sharing! The first half of my career was all large format commercial, and it piqued my interest when you mentioned a non-standard size.

I dabbled with palladium printing back in the 80’s, and Tmax film was revolutionary as it simply didn’t shoulder out with exposure and development. One could really access the tonal range platinum and palladium are capable of.

Pau Guerrero Apr 24

@toxi wow! what a gorgeous print!

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@pyrenaicus Thank you, Pau! Means a lot! 🙏

Pau Guerrero Apr 24

@toxi I'm looking forward to find the time + setting to experiment with digital negatives. Did some things with alternative processes in traditional darkroom, long time ago...

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@pyrenaicus I think quite a few your pictures would be very suitable for this kind of process and the mood it creates/adds! If you trust me, send me one of your images and I will mail you a print back...

Pau Guerrero Apr 24

@toxi That's very kind of you. I would love that.

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@pyrenaicus Let's do it! It's best if the image has a decent contrast already (and 16 bit TIFF if possible)...

@toxi beautiful!

Karsten Schmidt Apr 24

@leah Thank you! :)

Damn...