U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: haunted VDB

Re: haunted VDB



On Fri, 2 Oct 2009, Joao Ribeiro Globo wrote:

Hi Judy,

I'm not sure it is the plastic as some pictures changed and others didn't.
I can buy selenium powder here but the cost is hi (higher than silver nitrate)
Hi Joao,

I haven't bought silver nitrate in a long time because at one point it got very cheap & I bought a kilo... But in my practice anyway, far more silver nitrate got used than selenium powder, so the price comparison isn't so relevant. You need just enough selenium to tone a layer that's made of something else, and you only tone the "successes." But you need enough silver nitrate to coat the paper fully and a lot of those prints will get thrown away; you don't only print your successes, but a lot of misses. Also, a lot of that coat gets fixed out, so it too goes down the drain (or wherever your wastewater goes).

Which is to say, when I was using silver nitrate, I used several pounds; I haven't yet finished the small jar of selenium.

Not to start that argument again but I'm planning producing gold salts using Lyan's method in PF.
The thing is I like the brown color and gold will shift it to purple black isn't it?
It's been a while, but I recall the purplish hues of gold (tho not black -- I'll have to check). But look at it this way, the brown color could be anything ... the gold-toned print (besides permitting the magic word "gold") does look different (at least to the discerning eye).

Well, trying is part of the game, who knows I might fall in love when I see it in my hands.
Thanks,
Joao
Good luck, enjoy ! I am myself these days in thrall to gum printing, but .... there is something about that gold. (Devil get thee behind me!)

J.

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