FUJIFILM AND HEWLETT PACKARD CREATE LASTING IMAGES OF VICTORIAN BRITAIN
by Catherine Milner

Photographers Graham Diprose and Jeff Robins from London College of Communication, have worked for the past ten years to revisit and recreate images from Victorian Henry Taunt’s ‘New Map of the River Thames’ (1885). When it was agreed that their digital photographs would be taken into English Heritage’s National Monument Record archive, they became concerned that Taunt’s silver based prints from 130 years ago might have a longer life than their new digital images. With the help of Fujifilm and HP, they have now been successful in re-printing over 60 pairs of ‘then and now’ ink-jet images of the Thames, which, thanks to advances in digital technology, and should last for at least another 300 years. 30 of these pairs of stunning new shots and restored images of some of Taunt’s finest photographs were launched at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley in October 2007 and are presently on a national tour. They can be presently be seen at Abingdon Museum until the end of February 2009.

Graham, lead tutor in photography in the School of Graphic Design at LCC, and professional photographer Jeff embarked on their ambitious project to recreate Taunt’s series of images taken alongside the River Thames in 1999. Graham says: “Henry Taunt’s early use of ‘wet collodion’ on location made him a cutting edge landscape photographer for his time and we have always admired his work. When we began this project we were using the highest resolution Phase One digital camera backs available in the UK, so we have much in common with his pioneering spirit”.

“Having visited over 100 of Taunt’s ‘tripod spots’ between Thames Head Spring and Westminster, we then searched the archives of English Heritage’s NMR, Oxfordshire Studies and River and Rowing Museum. While these organisiations are responsible for protecting Taunt’s original prints, Jeff and I decided to use digital technology to retouch and restore his images, so that the remarkable detail could be seen and distractions of any damage could be removed. Taunt shot over 50,000 images in his lifetime and 13,000 can still be seen on English Heritage’s Viewfinder website. We felt that he had been grossly under-rated or neglected by comparison with other photographers of the era, such as Frances Frith and hope this project will rectify that.”

Graham and Jeff were helped in their extensive research into the best way to preserve Taunt’s restored photographs and their new images by Mike Seaborne, Senior Curator of photographs at the Museum of London. “One of our biggest concerns was considerable risk of loss when images are only stored as data, however good the archive. Thankfully, Mike knew of some research by the Wilhelm Institute which suggested that Fujifilm’s Baryte 300gsm media in conjunction with an HP Designjet Z3100 large format printer would produce superior quality images that could last for more than 300 years. Once again, Jeff and Graham were keen to use the most advanced technology available for this project and so approached the two companies to see if they could help.”

They were in luck. HP provided them with a loan of the Designjet Z3100 printer and Fujifilm provided them with a supply of 300gsm Baryte paper to help with their exhibition output and prints for archive. Offering a spectrum of unique features, the HP Designjet Z3100, which is being marketed by Fujifilm, delivers extreme high-end colour and superb quality results, all beautifully rendered with accurate detail and efficient processing print after print after print. Available in 24” and 44” models, it boasts a host of unique benefits, including a built-in Eye-One spectrophotometer from X-Rite for automatic colour adjustment and easy ICC profiling – a world first for this class of printer.

Fujifilm’s 300gsm Baryte paper offers a digital alternative for fibre based silver hailde prints and offers stunning results for black and white or sepia toned images thanks to its high density rating (d-max). When used in conjunction with the HP Designjet Z3100 printer and vivera pigment inks it produces results with a permanence that, according to tests carried out by the Wilhelm Institute, will outlast traditional film prints. Three years ago, digital photographs were only expected to last for around 30 years, with the lifespan of traditional images estimated to be 90 years, so the findings are expected to mark a significant turning point for those still using conventional photography methods.

Graham continues: “Both the printer and the paper have been pivotal to our project. While the process was long, the results that we have been able to achieve with the Designjet and the Baryte paper have been amazing and have the ‘look and feel’ of traditionally made C-type colour prints but with a much longer life.
We were also able to use the system to print our captions and 8ft x 2ft banners for the exhibition, using ‘In Design’, again with perfectly controlled colour management”.

“Large enough to accommodate the 24” paper that we were using, with the added benefits of efficient processing, amazing colour depth and detail, the HP Designjet printer has helped us to create some truly impressive images. One of its key advantages is that it can switch quickly between black and white and colour with no need to change the inks. It also produces a continuous tone that stays true when using black and white inks, which achieved perfect results when trying to achieve maximum depth and detail, particularly in the shadows. Combined with the quality of the Fujifilm Baryte paper, which offered a superb level of reproduction and sharpness, we were able to produce a collection of beautiful prints that will help Taunt’s work, and our project, live on for a very long time.”

“The workflow also gave us complete confidence in our colour management for proofing and checking the book of the project ‘River Thames Revisited …in the footsteps of Henry Taunt’. This was published by Frances Lincoln in October 2007 and is one of their very first ‘digital photography only’ books that was to be printed in China. Jeff and I are delighted that the photographs in the book and exhibition both match exactly and are precisely how we intended them to be reproduced”. The project has appeared on ITV Meridian and in January 2007 was a topic discussed with John McCarthy in BBC Radio 4’s Excess Baggage programme.

“We understand that this project is a ’first’ in terms of living photographers having their digital images and prints taken into archive by English Heritage National Monuments Record, and are confident that our collaboration with Fuji and HP has given the project images the very best possible chance of being enjoyed by scholars of photography, Victoriana or the River Thames in 250 years from now”. Peter Hayward at Fujifilm said: “We are delighted to have been able to assist Graham and Jeff with this groundbreaking project. Their work clearly demonstrates the merits and capabilities of the HPZ300 when used with this type of paper and proves just how far technology has come in recent years.”

For more information on the HP Designjet Z3100 large format inkjet printer or Fujifilm’s extensive range of media please contact the Photofinishing team on 01234 572 057.

Notes:

• Henry W Taunt was a Victorian photographer who worked out of premises in Oxford between 1860-1922. His main interests were Oxfordshire and surrounding counties, the River Thames, customs and local history. He produced the first guide book to the Thames in 1872 using photographs and maps and had a huge influence on the Victorians, sparking their interest in the Thames and leisure activity. As well as being a landscape and architectural photographer, Taunt was a keen observer of human nature, recording the activities of ordinary people at work and play. Books such as “Three Men in a Boat” or “The Wind in the Willows” might never have been written or have been as successful, were it not for Henry Taunt.

• Graham and Jeff’s images are published alongside those of Henry Taunt in a new book entitled ‘The River Thames Revisited: In the Footsteps of Henry Taunt’, (Frances Lincoln Limited). An exhibition of their work, in association with English Heritage, launched at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley in October and is at Abingdon Museum Museum until 28th February 2009. Their prints have been be presented to English Heritage NMR, Oxfordshire Studies and River & Rowing Museum, Henley to be added to their permanent collection and archived in perpetuity.

• For further information on the Wilhelm Institute please visit www.wilhelm-research.com

• Further details of the project and touring exhibition can be found on the project website
www.henrytaunt-footsteps.co.uk