DAVE AHARONIAN

I’ve been taking photographs since I was 12 years old, but it was only after attempting a career as a civil servant that I decided to plunge into photography as a full-time career.  I attended the Western Academy of Photography in Victoria as a student in 1999-2000.  I returned there to teach the course in Architectural Photography 4 years ago.  My commercial photography is primarily architectural photography and I split most of my work  between Vancouver and Victoria. 

D. Aharonian | 2010"My fine art photography has centred on themes of the West Coast landscape and the nude figure in the landscape.  For many years I have been intrigued with the Platinum printing process and finally, about two years ago, I learned how to print using this unique method. I am now fully converted to this beautiful way of making black and white prints." 

Platinum/Palladium printing involves hand-coating various types of papers  with an emulsion containing platinum and palladium metals.  My prints actually contain very little or no platinum, being mostly palladium, but the term “Platinum” is used to describe the many variations in this process.  This is a contact printing process where once the paper is coated and dried, the actual negative is placed on the paper and exposed to ultraviolet light.  A large negative is required and I shoot my photographs with a variety of large format cameras.  The print is then rinsed, cleared and dried.  Because of the metals involved, these prints are the most archival form of photographs ever made.  Platinum prints are generally characterized by a slightly warm tone and a very long tonal range, which perfectly matches the vision I have always had for my black and white photography.  

COLLECTIONS

New Work, a collection of Platinum Prints

Coastal Landscapes
a curated collection