About the Creator of the TruNeg Application

In the 2020’s, Australian landscape photographer John Riches became interested in and began working with carbon prints. However, he soon ran into the digital negative problem. With a history of working in the fine print aesthetic, he was particularly demanding of the quality of the image and the negative that produced it. Researching various approaches and methods provided no real answers; some lacked a clear explanation, others appeared overly complicated, and none provided a coherent reason why the inverted image did not work.

Riches went on to investigate how the image is recorded, the mathematics of the inverted image, and what constituted a genuine digital negative. With this knowledge, he developed the algorithms needed to invert the positive image into a true photographic negative, ultimately resulting in the development of the TruNeg application.

Further research into alternative processes led to the concept of profiling and how to adapt the straight inverted negative to work with different processes.

John Riches - Collections and Exhibitions.

1979 – Eighteen Black & White works entitled “Forest” collected by National Gallery of Victoria
          – Joint exhibition with Max Pam NGV
1980 – Six works from “Forest” collected by Biblioteque Nationale de France
1982 – Cibachrome exhibited at New South Wales Gallery as part of a review of 
Australian landscape photography
1990 – Joint exhibition at the Australian College of Photography Art & Communication
2004 – Eight landscape prints exhibited at Bar Santo, Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
2006 – Joint exhibition in Apollo Bay of Cambodian people and temples at Ankor Wat.
Fundraiser for Medecins Sans Frontier to help tuberculosis patients in Cambodia.
2017 – Joint exhibition at Apollo Bay Gallery as part of the Winter Wild festival
2017-20 – Prints exhibited in Apollo Bay Art Show, Hello Coffee Gallery, Apollo Bay Art Gallery

John Riches - Work History

1966-67 Studied Photography at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
1967-1976: Worked in commercial photography
1976-1987: Lecturer at Photography Studies College Pty Ltd
1984 - 89: Judge at Australian Professional Photography Awards (APPA)
1986 - 89: President Victorian Division of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography
1987: Established the Australian College of Photography Art & Communication Pty Ltd (ACPAC)
1987-1993: Senior lecturer at the Australian College of Photography Art & Communication Pty Ltd
2003: Accepted by the Victorian Building Commission as a Registered Building Practitioner -
Architectural Draftsperson.

Copies of two Carbon prints showing the full range of tones produced by the TruNeg negative.