We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Subramanian PV a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Subramanian, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I started photography in 1988, when digital did not exist. For over 15 years I shot analog and learnt the ropes of picture making. Inevitably I joined the digital bandwagon in the mid 2000s.

But the allure of analog was too strong to ignore. After shooting only digital for over a decade I decided to go with a hybrid approach for photography. So I now shoot Digital and Analog and select the medium based on the subject, mood and aesthetics required for the output.

A few years back I decided to push myself and learn the art of photographic printmaking-Digital and Analog.

Digital printing involves digital images, processing software, computer with screen, a printer and paper. The key to good digital printing is calibration between the computer screen and the printer and paper combination. This is important to make sure the print looks exactly like it looked on your computer screen. Computer screens use the RGB gamut and printers use CMYK inks. A ‘profile’ is required to act as an interpreter between the screen and the print. I now print archival quality (lasting about 100 years). This is done using archival quality paper and pigment inks.

Analog printing is all about ‘not’ using any digital device. This can be done by shooting Analog-on a film camera, developing the film in chemicals to get a negative and then using the negative to print on photographic paper using an enlarger.

the other, older and more complicated Analog print making processes are called ‘Alternative Printing’. Among these the oldest, most prestigious and highest archival quality bearing process is called Platinum Palladium Printing. These monochromatic prints have a very rich tonal range, are completely hand made and last for over a thousand years.

The process starts with coating a combination of platinum, palladium and ferric oxalate solutions on cotton based paper. The coated paper is sensitive to UV light so it should be dried in a non UV light environment.
Once dry, the negative is placed on the coated paper and exposed to UV light. This creates the image on the paper and once developed and cleared the picture emerges and is a permanent imprint.

Platinum Palladium prints are the gold standard (or platinum standard) in analog print making and are expensive. If anyone desires to create an archival quality print there is nothing today better than a Platinum Palladium Print.

My vision is to create Platinum Palladium prints for my clients who want to leave a legacy of their photographs for generations to come.

Subramanian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Photographer and Platinum Palladium Printer. Platinum Palladium is one of the oldest photographic printing processes dating back to the late 1800s and is known for its tonality and archival quality. Platinum Palladium prints last for about a thousand years without fading. They are hand printed and use actual platinum and palladium solutions along with ferric oxalate to create light sensitive material on which the negative is printed.

My Digital and analog prints can be viewed and purchased at printsforposterity.com

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Photographic printmaking is an art. The art of printmaking is lost on most people as printing today is known only as digital printing. The effort to get everything right on a print is a factor of lot of experimentation, wastage, knowledge of chemistry, expensive materials and immense amount of time invested.

The other problem is that most people cannot discern a good print from a bad print and have no way of knowing the lasting or archival quality of prints. they do not understand inks and quality of paper etc

But the biggest problem of them all is that prints themselves have started losing significance as digital screens are the go to medium for viewing. Holding a print is an amazing experience. Framing a print on the wall for generations is magical.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Looking at and holding a Platinum Palladium print in hand in itself is a reward. I recently had an exhibition of my prints at the Williamson Museum in Georgetown, TX and explaining this historic process and gaining the appreciation of people was very rewarding too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.printsforposterity.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/printsbypv/