Re: pinhole negatives without electricity?
Judy,
Could she bring lith film and use that for negatives? Cover the
windows with Rubbylith and you have a darkroom.
Or use photo paper for the pinhole cameras and not worry about
reversing the tonalities - there's a Chinese pinhole artist who sells
large paper pinhole negatives to museums for as much as $35,000. No
reason they have to be printed as positives.
For cyanotype, I would just use found objects: leaves, hands, snakes,
etc. and not worry about negatives.
Sam
On Oct 18, 2007, at 8:53 PM, Judy Seigel wrote:
A friend of mine who has taught many workshops on pinhole and
camera obscura, now contemplates something trickier: teaching in
the countryside of South America, in places without electricity.
For the prints she'd use the same precoated cyanotype squares she's
used in children's classes all along-- they can be exposed by
sunlight and developed in water.
The catch is making the negatives. In the US, even if she's not in
a lab or regular photographic setup, it's easy to turn a room, a
closet, or other space into a "darkroom," and expose & develop
black & white photo paper to make a paper negative by pinhole camera.
But "in the field", that is, literally outdoors, not. Friend asked
me if I knew of an emulsion "fast" enough to make an image by
pinhole camera that could be coated in, say, heavy shade, ie.,
without a darkroom. That struck me as a contradiction in terms.
(Yeah, I thought of Terry K's vaunted "rex" emulsion, but didn't
recommend it.)
I figured a pinhole neg wouldn't be feasible by handcoating, but
negatives from a digital camera could be printed on a "portable,"
that is, battery-operated inkjet printer. True, that requires some
access to electricity for recharging and more expense for the
printer than, say, a shoe box and a piece of tin foil, but odds are
she'll have some access to electricity at night, even if not "in
the field."
In any event, I promised I'd "ask the list," where there may be
better knowledge or experience. Suggestions would be very welcome,
also any experience or advice about battery-operated printer for
negatives.
(One suggestion I got already was "take spare batteries." Definitely!)
with thanks in advance for info or advice,
Judy
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