The Photograph Considered number fifty one – David Tatnall

Casuarinas beside Edgars Creek. 30.5 x 24 cm silver gelatin print. 2025

Making the photograph.

I’ve began a new series of photographs in 2025. Called Five Creeks this is a series of large format photographs of the Merri Creek, Darebin Creek, Salt Creek, Central Creek and Edgars Creek. All in the municipal area of the City of Darebin in Victoria.

 I’ve had a long association with one of these creeks, the Merri Creek, only one kilometre from my home in Northcote, Victoria.  Merri Creek runs 72 kilometres from Heathcote Junction to join the Yarra River at Abbottsford. I first made photographs there in 1970. Since then, I’ve had three solo exhibitions of the creek. In 1992 I was involved in a community project A Week in The Life of Merri Creek that involved hundreds of people making photographs of the creek for an exhibition. Also, I worked with sound recordist Duncan King-Smith to make a medium format audio visual presentation of the whole length of the Merri Creek, I walked the whole length of the creek twice.

The Casuarina grove in this photograph is beside Edgars Creek close to Edwards Park Lake in Preston. I made the photograph early in the morning on an overcast but bright day in January. Once I decided on the composition, I set the 4×5 camera on the tripod. I’d already decided that the standard 150 mm lens was the one to use.

There was very little camera adjustment movement to make to get the whole scene in focus with the aperture of f16, but to be absolutely sure I decided on using f22. I’ve used the zone system of exposure calculation since I began using a large format camera 50 years ago. With a one-degree spot meter I took a reading of an 18% grey card against the tree trunk. I’ve always used FP4 film as my standard film. As I process it in Pyro developer I rate the film at 80 ISO. With the decided aperture of f22 I worked out the exposure as 15 seconds, with reciprocity, the exposure was increased to 60 seconds.

I made several other exposures of different compositions all at around 60 second exposures. Several hours later I’d finished just as the sun broke through the cloud and completely changed the scene.

 Developing the negative.

When I started large format photography in 1975 there were only two ways to process 4×5 sheet film, deep tanks or tray development. I choose tray development, and I continue doing that today.

I’ve used Pyrogallol developers since I began large format photography. ABC Pyro was my favourite for many years, I used other formulations, but I now use Bergger PMK developer. It’s the easiest and most fool proof Pyro developer around and has an extraordinarily long shelf life.

With FP4 4×5 film exposed at 80 ISO it is processed for 10 minutes at 21 degrees. I really like the extended tonality I get using it.

After development the negative is washed in a water bath (instead of a stop bath) then fixed then washed and dried.

Making the print.

When the negatives are dry, I make contact prints on resin coated paper that I’ve cut to 4×5 size. When dry I arrange them on a table and spend time looking at them. I’ve found using a white mat cut to 20 x 25 cm with a 10 x 12 cm window helps to view any contact print more like a finished photograph would look.

For this set of prints I used Foma 131 warm tone fibre base paper 30.5 x 24 cm. Once the negative is focused and the lens aperture set, I cut a sheet of paper into strips and begin to make a series of test exposures.

I view these under a strong white light or sunlight. From these test strips I can work out the exposure and any burning or dodging needed.

This negative required an exposure of 22 seconds at f11, minimal burning in on the top right-hand side and bottom left.

The print was developed in Dektol for two minutes, then after 20 seconds in stop bath the print is treated in a two-bath fixer.

The print is then rinsed, then put into an archival print washer while other prints are made. When all the prints in the session are made, they are treated in hypo clearing agent and washed in the archival print washer before being toned in selenium then washed again in the archival print washer.

Fibre based paper prints almost always dry slightly darker than they appear while still wet. Toning in selenium changes the print intensity, the print at this stage looks slightly lighter than when dry.

After washing, excess water is removed, then they are dried face down on fibreglass flywire racks overnight. When dry they are pressed between sheets of acid free rag board with very heavy weights.

After a couple of days of pressing the prints are closely inspected for any spotting needed.

The Five Creeks series will probably take a year or so to complete. The importance of urban creeks and open spaces around them is hard to underestimate. Most of these creeks have been trashed since Europeans arrived not understanding the low rainfall environment here. A long and slow rehabilitation of these areas has been undertaken by volunteers, Friends Groups and organizations tasked to manage them. 

David Tatnall edits View Camera Australia. His work has been collected by The National Gallery of Victoria, the Museum of Australian Photography, the State Library of Victoria, the Australian Embassy in Washington as well as regional Victorian galleries.

Technical details.

Camera: Chamonix 45F-1 camera with 150mm Nikkor W lens.

Light meter: Pentax one-degree digital spot meter.

Film: FP4plus 4×5 rated at 80 ISO.

Film developer: Bergger PMK. Film processed in trays.

Enlarger: Durst Laborator 1200 with CLS 450 colour head and a Schneider Componon 150 mm lens.

Photographic paper: For contact print Ilford MGRC pearl.

For final print: Foma 131 warm tone baryta fibre base paper.

Paper developer: Kodak Dektol 1:3

Toner: Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner

Archival print washer: Paterson Major Print Washer 12 x 16

The previous fifty articles in this series can be seen here.