Inside the Garden Isle, New Work in Platinum/Palladium.
The Clearing Cafe
2772 NW Thurman St., Portland, OR 97210
March 6-May 1, 2012
Opening Reception, March 7, 2012, 5-7PM

QUIRKS is now showing online at The Photo Continuum an at Gallery Obscura in Portland, OR.
I find myself drawn to visions of the paradoxical, subjects that one cannot quite place in time, space or context.
The apparent tracks on the surface of the water with the cloud-vulture looming overhead; the nautilus-like iron staircase; the smooth hard nut within its fragile prickly skin; a lone mushroom collecting fresh rain water by the sea; these all evince “Quirks” of man and nature that comprise the idiosyncratic, eternal crossovers from one sphere to another.
Quirks always surround us but become visible only when we have the luxury to look, see, and, occasionally, record.

The Photo Continuum Gallery is what we hope to be the next step in the evolution of online galleries, in artists' growth and achievements, and most importantly the next step for collectors of photography to explore work by contempory artists.

The Gallery Obscura website, http://www.galleryobscura.com, has temporarily closed, and the URL directed to this one, http://platiniumprints.org. Because my work is entirely devoted to platinum/palladium printing and other classical techniques, the digital work on the gallery site became redundant. Over the coming months, I anticipate reopening the Gallery Obscura site with focus on the Gallery and special topics and exhibitions.
Meanwhile you can contact me through the email on the http://platinumprints.org site, gallery@platinumprints.org.

The Minox Historical Society http://www.minox.org periodically holds a contest for photography with the minox subminiature cameras, the prototypical spy cameras of the mid 20th century. My Woman in Central Park took Best in Show as well as a 1st place in the "Technical Merit" category. In addition, I took second in the "People" category as well as honorable mention in the other categories. All winning images appear on the Minox.org site as well as winners from previous years. In addition, all entries appear in the societies, Minox Gallery http://www.minoxgallery.com.

Michael Van Buskirk is the Guest Artist for the Month of May at the Classic Contemporary Photography online gallery, www.thephotocontinuum.com.

Many of the prominent 19th and 20th century photographers made prints from the metals platinum and palladium because of their archival permanence, broad tonal range and rich velvety blacks. Compounds of these metals are less sensitive to light than the more traditional silver halides and require a contact print exposed for several minutes to intense ultraviolet light from the sun or artificial sources. The platinum/palladium emulsion is prepared by mixing the metallic salt solutions and immediately applying it to slightly acidic watercolor paper with a brush. This later handcrafted aspect makes each platinum/palladium print unique even if produced from a negative that can be printed again.

The prints exhibited here were prepared from large negatives, 10 inches wide by 10-13 inches in length. The negatives were enlarged from conventional photographic film using computerized digital enhancement, then inverted and printed on transparent media as a negative. After drying, the negative is then taken to the darkroom.

The final prints were printed from these negatives on hand coated 300 gsm watercolor paper hand coated with the specially prepared metallic salt emulsion. The negative and specially coated paper, sandwiched between sheets of plate glass, were then placed under a bank of ultraviolet lights for 3-6 minutes. Developing the exposure print in potassium oxalate causes the platinum/palladium metals to precipitate into the paper to create a permanent print.

Being made of platinum and palladium metals, these prints are the most archival of any form of photograph. Platinum/palladium prints are among the most valued and collectable of photographic prints.