I’ve been really fascinated by this kind of image-making, where photographs have an almost painterly, etched or lithographic quality. I love the coarse textures, irregular grain, soft and hazy areas, and the way parts of the image seem to dissolve, bleed or merge into the background.
I’m trying to understand how these results are actually achieved, particularly through analog processes rather than simply adding a digital effect.
Are these effects created mainly through the choice of film, exposure, focus and movement during shooting, or can they be achieved through darkroom printing and manipulating the photographic paper afterward?
For example, could techniques such as lith printing, unconventional developers, physical manipulation of prints, or combining photographic emulsions with drawing or painting produce something similar? Would printing a photograph onto textured paper make any meaningful difference, or is the texture more likely to come from the photographic process itself?
I’m interested in experimenting with a hybrid analog process and would love to hear from anyone who has worked with these kinds of textures. If you recognize a particular technique or know where to start experimenting, I’d really appreciate your suggestions regarding film, paper, chemistry, printing methods or post-processing.
I’ve attached a few visual references to illustrate the kind of result I’m interested in. I’m not necessarily trying to reproduce one image exactly, but to understand the processes that can create this painterly, imperfect and almost tactile quality.