Liam Lynch: Dragons and Horses | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2025

“Imagine setting up a studio under the surface of the sea. To capture this body of work Lynch composed each image under water then with the help of an assistant diver holding a backdrop and specialised underwater lighting, carefully maneuvered behind these mysterious creatures in their natural habitat to create a studio feel. Lynch’s trademark and contribution to the natural world is to capture unique rare and endangered species.

Each of the palladium photographs he handcrafts is unique – fitting for the incredible natural beauty of the subject – just simple and elegant. Palladiotype photographs are considered the more enduring of the photographic print processes – juxtaposition to the fragile nature of the species.”

Beneath the surface of the temperate waters of southern Australia live truly unique species that are found nowhere else in the world.

After weeks underwater finding then communing with these unique animals in their natural habitats he’s soon elbow-deep in alchemy: paper stocks are hand-coated with emulsion, and chemicals mixed from scratch. Finished prints look genuinely antique in many ways drawing inspiration from Joseph Banks’ catalogues, or Darwin’s specimen collections. Yet these works have a modern edge… Combining the ancient palladiotype method with new technology and equipment to produce the final result.

For Lynch crossing the line from machine-made to hand-made does necessitate a substantial commitment, and the work is certainly labour-intensive. But in the end, what unfolds before the eyes is no ordinary photograph each print is a handmade one-off… which seems fitting to do justice to the incredible natural beauty of the subject that is captured within the image.

Liam Lynch palladium prints are housed distinguished galleries and private collections thought the world and in the renowned archive of State Library of Victoria.

Websites:
www.liamlynchphotography.com.au
instagram.com/liamlynchphotography
facebook.com/LiamLynchPhotography