Katherine Collins

Brackish is a series of abstract salt prints from photographs taken at Clevedon Pill, set in reclaimed slide mounts arranged to echo a halite crystal structure.

Salt printing is an early photographic technique, invented by William Henry Fox Talbot in the early 1830s. To make the prints, I coated Carnival tissue paper in salt solution, then silver nitrate solution, letting the paper dry completely between coats, and keeping it in the dark.

I placed a photographic negative then a layer of glass over the coated paper, then let it sit in the sunshine until the silver chloride had darkened. I used sodium-thiosulfate to fix the prints.

I cut them into 4x4cm squares and enclosed them in second-hand slide mounts, which I glued together to evoke the shape of a salt crystal. I actually prefer the piece before I did this.

I followed this advice to make the prints.

There was an exhibition on salt printing at the Tate in 2015.

I got my solutions and fixer from Zebra Dry Plates. They were great.

Here are some of my photos from the salt marsh at Clevedon Pill:

© Katherine Collins, 2026