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Jill Enfield

Jill Enfield

Member, Freestyle Advisory Board of Photographic Professionals

Biography

Jill Enfield, one of this country's most experienced and respected handcoloring artists, is a fine art, editorial and commercial photographer. Jill has taught handcoloring and non-silver techniques at Parsons School of Design, The New School, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York University, Long Island University and the International Center of Photography in New York, as well as in workshops throughout the United States and Europe. Jill's more recent emphasis has been on the wet plate collodion process, originally used by Matthew Brady during the Civil War. Her work is in the collections of RJ Reynolds Company, Southeast Banking Corporation, The Amon Carter Museum, The Boca Raton Museum of Art, Hotel Parisi in LaJolla, and Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellin in Colombia, where her work was shown during a three month exhibition that traveled throughout the country. Jill's commercial clients include Fortune Magazine, Kodak, Hasselblad, Nikon, Penguin Putnam, Incorporated, St. Martin's Press, LIFE, Vassarette Lingerie, National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, American Heritage Magazine, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Woman's Day Magazine and many others. Her personal work has appeared in such publications as National Geographic, Camera Arts, PDN, Hasselblad's FORUM Magazine, Nikon World, Camera & Darkroom Techniques, Archive Books, Step by Step, Shutterbug, Popular Photography, Digital Camera and ZOOM. Jill's book on non-silver techniques titled Photo Imaging: A Complete Guide to Alternative Processes was published by Watson-Guptill in November 2002 and won the Golden Light Award for Best Technical Book of 2002 through the Maine Photographic Workshop. Jill is working on an updated version expected to be released in the coming year. In May 2003, Jill's website was awarded one of the "25 Best Websites" by Photo District News Magazine. Jill's work has been featured in over thirty shows during her career, including an exhibition at The Vivienne Esders Gallery in Paris. Jill had two one-woman shows in 2003; a lecture at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York followed by an opening at Artisan Works Gallery in September 2003. In December 2003 her work was featured at the Light Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina. A workshop and lecture were included during the opening weekend. In 2006, one of Jill’s images was one of forty-two images selected from thousands in the Here is New York archive of New York City to commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9/11. The prints hung at Ground Zero in Manhattan for a year. In January 2009, Jill was also given a solo show at Tilt Gallery in Phoenix, Arizona. In September of the same year, Jill’s wet collodion portraits of immigrants in New York City were supported by a faculty development grant awarded to Jill from The New School. The same body of work was the featured exhibition at Ellis Island, in tandem with the annual Black Tie Gala for the charity organization Upwardly Global, a support resource for placing professionals from other nations with appropriate career options in the United States. A podcast about the project can be heard by going to Jill's media page. Also in 2009, Jill’s handcoloring work became part of the traveling exhibition Four Visions in a Different Light, beginning in Fall 2009 and traveling through 2011. Nikon has honored Jill by featuring her on their website as a "Legend Behind The Lens" photographer as well as in their Full-Line product guide and an upcoming issue of Nikon World. Jill has also appeared on The Today Show Weekend Edition, New York One and The CBS Saturday Morning Edition as a spokesperson for www.takegreatpictures.com on several occasions.

Website

http://jillenfield.com

Articles

Photography and Encaustic
Tintypes with Holga Cameras
The Importance of the Darkroom In Photographic Education

Ask The Experts

Hi Jim: Well your will be a happy camper with this one....Charcoal R is made with an inkjet coating and is sold by Lumijet as Inkjet coated Charcoal R. It is the same paper as the photographic one. Good luck in the big switch...you will be happy you did it after the learning curve is passed.

I started to do liquid emulsion because of the painterly affect that you can get by painting an emulsion on to any surface. It gives me a lot of choice: paper, color and paint strokes, depending on how I apply it. I liked the idea of having my hand in my work instead of just straight black and white prints that gave me little choice in paper thickness and feel. I can not draw – but love to paint. It is a way for me to have more control in how my images look and incorporate two processes that I love to do. A far as a narrative or meaning to my work...It depends on the piece or in the group of work that I am doing. I hope this answers you. Best,

Hi Michael, Let's see if I can answer the question that you are interested in! I have not done this since I was in school! It does not matter which you use - lith film (ortho) is a higher contrast film than continuos tone films. I usually use a continuous tone film to make my internegs for alternative processes such as Bergger Continuous tone BPFB-18. But I have also gotten good results with Arista which is an ortho film. I develop both of them in Dektol 1:2, changing the ratio if I need to change the contrast. I think that the author of your book uses both films because that is the result he has found works for him. Nothing is the exact rule! Experiment - have fun and even mistakes can give you wonderful results that you wish you could repeat! Best,

Brian, I never have used the spray for that very reason. It is important to check the small print on a lot of items to make sure they say that they are archival. A lot of papers are not being made anymore, as I am sure you are aware! Very glossy papers scratch when you use pencils. You can use oil paints or water colors on them with no problem, although the oils sometimes "move around" a lot and it may be hard to get an intense color to stay where you put it. You might want to try an lustre - like Kentmore papers. They do look a little flatter when you print them - but you are adding color and you can control the look that way. I think you will be much happier using a lustre paper - it will make it much easier for you to paint. Good luck. Best,

Dear Doug, I have to say that this is very different from hand painting on paper. Film is a different animal - it is silicone not paper. I know very few people that do this and the ones that do use water color paint - There are water color pencils as well. Also markers. You should do some tests - You are working in a small area on a slippery material - like acetate. This is really a question for film makers - but I hope this helped! Best,

Hi Walt - You should try Kentmere papers and Bergger. Both are very nice - give you a lot of variety and you can paint on them easily. They both have fiber and rc. Best of all - they are both readily available! All the best,

Dear Sheri - Oils can go on to any type of paper - but if it is too shiny - it slides off unless you work slowly - or spray it which gets messy. Matt papers are always recommended because it is easier. However, you can also try and use chalks which you can blend and move around with your hands or cotton. Pencils scratch papers and so I only recommend them for matt surfaces or for digital output. I hope this answers your questions. Best,

Hi Carolyn, You can try coating with a matt gesso like liquitex - you can get other brands as well. However, I would try painting your print carefully - letting the paint settle for 12 hours or so and then paint over it. You can also use water colors on glossy paper or chalks. I hope this all helps, Best

Hi Todd, I have not found digital archival papers conducive to oil paints. I have, however, used chalks with some success. You could shoot digitally, then make a digital negative and print in the darkroom. Or, you could print digitally on canvas, use a coat of gelatin and paint (but I still think this looks very different). I am sorry that there is no easy answer here! The medium has changed. I hope this helps a little. It is food for thought, and new training is inevitable. Best,

Hi Jody, Yes - You are correct - I prepare my tintypes and then have them in a box, just like large format film or paper. I have a changing tent (it is not too large) that I take with me and I use it to change my tin in the field. I like the photoflex since it gives me more room, but you can use the Arista one easily enough. The tin fits right into your holga where the film would go. Measure that space since each holga seems to be slightly different. Let me know if that helps or if you need any other information. Best,