[alt-photo] Re: metallic/chromo/gold/halochrome/Seigel/Dalla Tana

Sun May 2 13:51:57 GMT 2010

Keith,
I think I'm kinda....nuts.

But thanks for the much nicer adjective :)
Chris

Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com

On May 1, 2010, at 3:59 PM, Keith Gerling wrote:

> Chris, you're kinda amazing.
> 
> On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 4:16 PM, Christina Anderson <zphoto at montana.net>wrote:
> 
>> Dear All (and Alberto specifically),
>> 
>> OK, so I did all this researching on metallic plating out of prints because
>> I just can't give my questions a rest (instead of grading as I should be
>> doing).  Below is a lengthy list of the different chemistries involved that
>> may be part of Dalla Tana's gold process. I found out all about Halochrome
>> from the Rockland website as well as their MSDS sheets and the Halochrome is
>> all their writing, not mine as indicated by quotes (tho it is loosely
>> quoted). So I now know the difference between doing it on a non-fixed print
>> and a fixed.  I share all, below, for someone still interested in getting
>> into the darkroom. I am most positive Dalla Tana is doing it on a developed
>> and fixed/previously made print as you can see, below, in the Halochrome
>> section.
>> 
>> I share also my formula for doing chromo.
>> 
>> Those of you who do not think gelatin silver is alt, I apologize.
>> 
>> I was most happy to go through Judy's PF Journals again, but I had never
>> read these sections because I was only interested in gum at the time.  I
>> include her information here as well for comparison.  But you have to read
>> it for yourself, and get the instructions. I thought it hilarious to find
>> that I term my form of chromo "poor man's daguerreotype" and Judy in her PF
>> years ago called it a "poor person's daguerreotype".  I thought I was being
>> so clever!!! And here she was clever long before me, AND being
>> gender-neutral. I wish, Judy, you would bind all PFs in a book and publish
>> thru Lulu--so easy to make one PDF and do it nowadays....Jeremy, maybe you
>> can do the work for her like you did with Camera Work :)
>> 
>> I also read Diana Bloomfield's HILARIOUS essay on portfolio reviews.  I
>> think it is a must-read for my students.
>> 
>> And Cor Breukel and Christine Osinski did a lot of experimenting with this
>> process as well.  Wonder who else.
>> 
>> Enough procrastination for the day.
>> Chris
>> 
>> ========================================================================
>> My formula for CHROMOSKEDASIC SABATTIER
>> Activator (pH 14)
>> Weight %/ Chemical Name
>> 5-10        potassium hydroxide
>> 5-10        sodium sulfite
>> 
>> Stabilizer (pH 4.85)
>> Weight%/ Chemical Name
>> 15-20        ammonium thiocyanate
>> 5-10        sodium metabisulfite
>> 1-5               acetic acid
>> (works best with Tektol, not Dektol, so see below for ingredient
>> comparison)
>> 
>> Tektol (pH 10.35)
>> Weight%/Chemical Name
>> 10-25                         potassium carbonate
>> 7-10                         sodium sulfite
>> 5-10                         sodium isoascorbic
>> 1-5                         triethanolamine
>> 
>> 
>> Activator is always in a 2:1 proportion to Stabilizer and Tektol stock, and
>> mixed like this:
>> 2 parts Activator
>> 1 part Tektol
>> 1 part Stabilizer
>> 4 parts water
>> At time of use, mix a tray of the above and put a freshly developed but not
>> yet fixed print into it for as long as it takes to plate out silver.  Fix,
>> wash, hypclear as normal.
>> ========================================================================
>> "HALOCHROME (Rockland Website!!!)
>> "Halo-Chrome tones black-and-white prints pure silver by fusing the black
>> grains of colloidal silver into solid metallic silver. It can be used two
>> ways, one on a finished print and one on a freshly developed but not fixed
>> print. The first, bleaching and retoning an already finished print, produces
>> silver in the blacks of the image so a silver image on a white background
>> (if it were a black tree against a white sky).  The second, no bleaching but
>> just toning a not-yet-fixed image—produces silver in the whites of the image
>> so a black image on a silver sky (if it were a black tree against a white
>> sky).
>> "Bleach Formula:
>> CUPRIC CHLORIDE Percent: 38
>> WATER Percent: 62
>> Prepare the bleach solution by adding the entire contents of the small
>> bottle of green copper bleach to one quart (1 liter) of water. Add one
>> tablespoonful (approx. 1 oz.) of table salt. Store this solution in a glass
>> or plastic bottle marked "Bleach." Do not use stainless steel or other
>> metals, as the bleach is corrosive.
>> 
>> "Redeveloper Formula:
>> Halo-Chrome® Silver Toner (1)
>> AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE (SARA III) Percent: 30
>> SODIUM HYDROXIDE (SARA III) Percent: 2.5
>> NON-HAZARDOUS INGREDIENTS AND WATER Percent: 67.5
>> © Rockland Colloid Corp.)
>> Make up a fresh working solution of Halo-Chrome by mixing one part of
>> concentrate with 7 parts of cool water. (Use the same day).
>> 
>> "Bleaching and Redeveloping a fixed print
>> Choose a high-contrast negative. Expose normally onto paper, either
>> fiber-base or RC. Develop with paper developer such as Dektol, and fix with
>> Kodak Fixer (or other hypo-based fixer. Avoid rapid or liquid fixers, which
>> may fade the image.) Wash the print thoroughly to remove all fixer.  The
>> remaining steps can be done under room light. Immerse the washed print in
>> the Bleach solution until only a yellow ghost-image remains. Rinse the
>> print. The bleach can be re-used. Pour enough Redeveloper solution to cover
>> the print in a tray and immerse the print with constant agitation until
>> silvering is complete. (A second print can be toned immediately after.)
>> Rinse the toned print and put back in fixer for a few seconds, until any
>> stains disappear (or not at all if you don’t need it—it is a “develop to
>> completion” process). Wash 5 minutes and dry.
>> 
>> "Silvering out a not-fixed print
>> This procedure does not require bleach. Make up a fresh working solution of
>> Redeveloper  by mixing one part of concentrate with 7 parts of cool water.
>> (Use the same day). Choose a high-contrast negative. Expose the print for
>> twice the normal time. Develop the print in paper developer, but do not
>> shortstop or fix. Pour enough Halo-Chrome solution to cover the print in a
>> tray. Rinse the developed print one minute in running water, drain and
>> immerse in the Halo-Chrome solution with vigorous agitation until silvering
>> is complete. Rinse the toned print and fix for one minute. Wash and dry like
>> a normal print."
>> 
>> ========================================================================
>> 
>> POST FACTORY  © JUDY SEIGEL
>> 
>> Silver Mirror Printing, or as Seigel calls it, Specular Silver (SS) Toning
>> (the “poor person’s daguerreotype”) Issue 3 pp. 28-29, 38, Issue 4 p. 43,
>> Issue 6 pp. 31-32, Issue 7 pp. 23, 26. Issue 3 is the one you want to buy.
>> 
>> BLEACH
>> Copper Bleach (CB)
>> 300ml water
>> 10g. sodium chloride (2 ¾ tsp)
>> 10g. copper sulfate (1 ½ tsp)
>> At time of use, dilute bleach 1+1 water.
>> (and lots of other formulae)
>> 
>> STEP TWO:  REDEVELOPER FORMULAE STOCK SOLUTIONS (mix 1 +10 at time of use)
>> 2 g. hydrazine sulfate
>> 1g hydroxylamine hydrochloride
>> 50ml 25% ammonia
>> 120ml 10% sodium hydroxide
>> 40-200ml distilled water.
>> (and LOTS of other formulae).
>> 
>> 
>> Christina Z. Anderson
>> christinaZanderson.com
>> 
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