PERSONAL REALITY: Nikola Dyulgyarov

Nikola Dyulgyarov is the second artist from the creative collective of RadLab Studio who visited us in Gabrovo as part of our annual program.

In his three-day stay with us, we did various experiments and got involved with a rather exciting process that none of us had practiced before: bromoil.
Briefly, bromoil is a technique that involves making a silver-gelatin print from a negative on bromide photo paper. The prints are then bleached in a solution of copper sulphate, potassium bromide and bichromate until the silver particles in the print are removed.
The resulting blank is retouched by applying printing ink to achieve the final image. Bromoyle’s process requires quite a bit of time and work to master. Although we achieved successful images, quite a few questions popped up in the process. We are extremely curious to revisit it again soon.

In between the experimental part, we also organized a workshop with students of the National Aprilov High School. After Nikola introduced them to his work, we got into a conversation about demystifying emulsion photography: what is the role of light-sensitive materials, how do chemistry and physics help us lead the reality around us in creative way?



Finally, we decided to illustrate the discussion with experiments on making photograms:

Photograms are a kind of cameraless photography. A sheet of light-sensitive paper is placed in a darkroom, and the objects to be “photographed” are physically placed on it. The paper is then exposed to light from the enlarger. After exposure, the paper or film is developed in the conventional manner to reveal the image. Places where light has reached the paper appears in black, and where it has been blocked by the placed objects remain in white. The rest is play!



Nikola is a true adventurer in the world of emulsion photography! Since childhood, he has spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours in a lab that he built with his father in their basement. Driven by a pure curiosity, he experiments with different reagents, improves familiar processes, creates photosensitive emulsions, studies the 200-year history of photography, and weaves it into his own creative pursuits. It is a particular pleasure to be part of our team once again!
Our annual creative and educational program of RadLab Studio are part of the project “Alternative Photography in Contemporary Art and Education“, which is realized with the financial support of the National Culture Fund, Bulgaria.

PERSONAL REALITY: Nikola Dyulgyarov

Nikola Dyulgyarov is the second artist from the creative collective of RadLab Studio who visited us in Gabrovo as part of our annual program.

In his three-day stay with us, we did various experiments and got involved with a rather exciting process that none of us had practiced before: bromoil.
Briefly, bromoil is a technique that involves making a silver-gelatin print from a negative on bromide photo paper. The prints are then bleached in a solution of copper sulphate, potassium bromide and bichromate until the silver particles in the print are removed.
The resulting blank is retouched by applying printing ink to achieve the final image. Bromoyle’s process requires quite a bit of time and work to master. Although we achieved successful images, quite a few questions popped up in the process. We are extremely curious to revisit it again soon.

In between the experimental part, we also organized a workshop with students of the National Aprilov High School. After Nikola introduced them to his work, we got into a conversation about demystifying emulsion photography: what is the role of light-sensitive materials, how do chemistry and physics help us lead the reality around us in creative way?



Finally, we decided to illustrate the discussion with experiments on making photograms:

Photograms are a kind of cameraless photography. A sheet of light-sensitive paper is placed in a darkroom, and the objects to be “photographed” are physically placed on it. The paper is then exposed to light from the enlarger. After exposure, the paper or film is developed in the conventional manner to reveal the image. Places where light has reached the paper appears in black, and where it has been blocked by the placed objects remain in white. The rest is play!



Nikola is a true adventurer in the world of emulsion photography! Since childhood, he has spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours in a lab that he built with his father in their basement. Driven by a pure curiosity, he experiments with different reagents, improves familiar processes, creates photosensitive emulsions, studies the 200-year history of photography, and weaves it into his own creative pursuits. It is a particular pleasure to be part of our team once again!
Our annual creative and educational program of RadLab Studio are part of the project “Alternative Photography in Contemporary Art and Education“, which is realized with the financial support of the National Culture Fund, Bulgaria.