Reykjavík Museum of Photography

In addition to the traditional silver-gelatine method, she uses the palladium-platinum process and bromoil printing technique, which makes her highly unusual in Iceland. Interestingly, Icelandic photographer Pétur Brynjólfsson (1881-1930) continued to use the platinum-palladium method for copying until World War I (1914-18). 

Jóna takes her photographs on an antique camera, using sheet film in 8x10 format (20x25 cm). She develops the films in trays, then makes contact prints on high-quality watercolour paper in ultraviolet light or daylight. Jóna’s visual world is imbued with mystery and tenderness, and these qualities are magnified by her use of these old processing techniques.


Jóna says about her work: “I care very much about the printing, I always print my images myself.  I enjoy spending long hours in the darkroom, that is my meditation.  I let the imagination run free and sometimes the images come out completely different from what I expected which makes the photography process so exciting … Most of my images were made when I managed to follow my insight.  I prefer to deal with each project as it comes, let things happen and work from there.  It is a good feeling when I believe  that I´ve managed to capture on film and print the image in a way that depicts the atmosphere I experienced while taking the images.“

Jóna Þorvaldsdóttir studied photography at the European Institute of Photography in Poland in  1997-2000. She has lived in many different parts of the world, and has attended a large number of photography courses, mainly in the field of alternative photography, such as: a Handmade Photograph course with Elisabeth Opalenik at the Workshop in Maine, USA, in 2001; a course with Mary Ellen Mark in Mexico in 2006; Introduction to Alternative Process with Brenton Hamilton at the Workshops, Maine, in  2008; and in the autumn of 2009 a course in bromoil processing with Daniel W. Lewis in Oregon, USA.

Jóna Þorvaldsdóttir│Senses

Photographer Jóna Þorvaldsdóttir is known for her use of alternative photography, i.e. methods used in the early days of photography.

Jóna Þor­valdsdót­tir│­Senses

Photographer Jóna Þorvaldsdóttir is known for her use of alternative photography, i.e. methods used in the early days of photography.

Jóna Þorvaldsdóttir│Senses