[alt-photo] Re: Pt/Pd printing Video

[Keith Gerling]

I was told recently of an incident where a catalytic converters was stolen
for the platinum it contained.  I tried to find it on-line, and discovered
it was quite common.

http://www.google.com/search?q=catalytic+converter+theft&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 1:38 PM, Judy Seigel <jseigel at panix.com> wrote:

>
> Aside from Diana's very cogent points is perhaps the fact that, presumably
> at least, world supply of platinum is finite, perhaps diminished enough to
> justify the cost....  Then think how much of the remaining supply gets
> flushed down the drain in making a print.  (Does anyone feel guilty yet???)
> And what if it's a really STUPID print?  (OK, I won't go there.)
>
> As I understand it, dichromate, on the other hand, is made from plentiful
> chemicals... The evil there, of course, is poisoning by way of the runoff
> water... Tho I recall Mike Ware's explanation that in a large body of water,
> the dichromate breaks down into a relatively harmless 3rd party of some
> sort, and I was assured by the water department in NYC that the amounts I
> (and all my students at the time) used were trivial (he actually laughed) --
> in a city where 7 million (or like that) toilets flush every minute.
>
> (The "captain" asked how much we used, I estimated that my students and I
> probably used maybe a pound a year... He said, as I recall, that they're
> dealing with air conditioning systems that use something like a pound every
> 45 minutes.)
>
> Where chemicals of this order would be quite serious, though, would
> presumably be in small towns that have private ... I forget what you call
> them: a cistern is a private well of water, the thing I'm forgetting is the
> private waste water pit. Cess pool?  (We had one of those in the house I was
> born in on Long Island... but I wasn't doing gum at the time.)
>
> J.
>
>
> On Thu, 29 Apr 2010, Diana Bloomfield wrote:
>
>  Well, I think beginners probably should shy away from the process.  I do
>> think pt/pd is an inordinately expensive process, and not all that
>> satisfying, really (for me, anyway).  I stopped platinum printing, for the
>> most part, because I never felt I could raise my prices enough to offset the
>> costs, or to make it worth my while.  I also found most people (unless
>> knowledgeable photographers or collectors) didn't really care about whether
>> something was a platinum print or not, and had no idea what you were talking
>> about when you said it was a platinum print.  You can educate people, of
>> course, but in the end-- honestly-- I don't think anybody much cares. I've
>> printed some of my same images in other processes, and no one was ever put
>> off that it wasn't a platinum print.  Maybe it was my printing ability (or
>> lack of?), but I think people mostly appreciated the other processes more.
>> It really is expensive, and heaven forbid if you're prone to making
>> mistakes. Not that I am, of course, but I have heard that people do--you
>> know-- make mistakes.
>>
>> Diana
>>
>
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