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

[Diana Bloomfield]

Hi Judy,

Yeah, I think that would be a septic tank. ??  One reason I won't live in the "country."

I'm happy to hear that about dichromate, though.  I always feel slightly guilty about that washing down the drain, as diluted as it is.  So, thanks.  Now that's one less guilt I can eliminate.  Only 1,010 more to go. :)

Diana


On Apr 29, 2010, at 2:38 PM, Judy Seigel 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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