[alt-photo] Re: casein

[Christina Anderson]

Hi Kurt,

Good question...probably because I've been doing gum for 15 years and casein for 1 1/2 makes me much more comfortable with my "native language" so to speak. In fact I never intended on even doing the damn process until Sam Wang set me up for it by telling me about the Enos archives in Kentucky, so when I was there doing a workshop I couldn't resist...research is my drug of choice, like a treasure hunt where everything is free!

I would consider casein a dichromated colloid process just like gum, but the practice, though having similarities, does not seem directly translatable. Peter Blackburn could answer that question better since he's done so many of both.

If you look at http://christinaanderson.visualserver.com/Portfolio.cfm?nK=11961 these are all casein prints, but I don't have the same print in both gum and casein, but that's a great idea. WIll be doing more of that when I get back home after my NY trip. Virtually all of those prints were spray developed. The one of the comb was literally scrub developed so to me that is about as grainy as you're gonna get. Personally, that is my favorite print of the bunch....all of these prints were my first working with casein, casein powder, not fresh casein, though I have not noticed an appreciable performance difference.

Evan, my casein from 1/4 c cottage cheese rinsed (60ml volume, rinsed weight 48g) ended up in 20ml 10% ammonia +30ml water. I think your solution is too thick. I printed casein on Yupo and it didn't budge.

Don, I think with perfect practice in casein they would be as subtle as any print. I can't believe the subtlety of the few prints in Enos' archive in Louisville KY. The layer is so thin and fine-grained that the subtlety would be greater than gum perhaps even. But if you're referring to a "soot and chalk" effect, I think that is due to what feels almost like an on/off exposure scale. In fact, I printed bitmap negs and they look good.

But hey, I'm just learning all this stuff so don't take my word for it.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get some answers in the library why it didn't take off...

Sorry answering all these at once in one email.

Chris



Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com

On Jun 19, 2012, at 5:40 PM, Kurt Nagy wrote:

> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> Seems like it is a definite improvement, so why would it not replace Gum in your process?  
> 
> Also would this be considered a completely diff alt process, a "casein print" or does it still fall under the gum bichromate umbrella. 
> 
> Does anyone have any examples of the same image but one gum, on casein?
> 
> 
> 
> On Jun 18, 2012, at 7:09 PM, Christina Anderson <zphoto at montana.net> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Kurt,
>> 
>> Casein is replacing gum in my testing.
>> 
>> There are benefits to casein. Will it replace my gum practice as my process of choice, no. But here are some advantages off the top of my head.
>> 
>> Cheap and easy.
>> 
>> Little dichromate.
>> 
>> Grain is verrrrry fine.
>> 
>> No gloss at all with powdered pigments.
>> 
>> Exposure is quick, as little as 15 seconds to no longer than 4 minutes in my practice.
>> 
>> Development is quick, as little as instantly to 15 minutes.
>> 
>> Colloid is tenacious as hell. Can be printed on plastic easily.
>> 
>> Colloid holds a HUGE pigment load.
>> 
>> Flaking pretty much non-existent.
>> 
>> Chris
>> 
>> Christina Z. Anderson
>> christinaZanderson.com
>> 
>> On Jun 18, 2012, at 2:38 PM, Kurt Nagy wrote:
>> 
>>> I havent really been following this thread too close but I'm confused on the reasons for casein and all this cottage cheese talk.
>>> 
>>> Are you using the casein as a size or is it replacing the gum bichromate?
>>> 
>>> What is the benefit of this vs Gum?  Are the prints smoother or clear easier?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Jun 18, 2012, at 10:32 AM, Christina Anderson <zphoto at montana.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Alberto et al,
>>>> 
>>>> Oh my, now i hate to tell you that not even those are necessary anymore so I'm glad you and Bob and Mark like it :0. Now I'll just have to rinse them and wear them (NOT!!!).
>>>> 
>>>> Last night I just took some nonfat cottage cheese and put it in a kitchen strainer, rinsed off the liquid in about 30 seconds, measured it, weighed it, liquified it in ammonia in an hour and it was ready to go.
>>>> 
>>>> I also tried it unrinsed, just as is. I notice an interesting thing. When the ammonia is added, the little curds turn clear like tapioca in pudding pretty instantly, but the white stuff surrounding cottage cheese stays white. Hence the next test I rinsed. Today the unrinsed remains white and the rinsed looks just like the casein that you buy from Kremer.
>>>> 
>>>> I also scrupulously measured and weighed everything by weight and volume and came up with (how clear is this, Paul!!!)  a 12% solution using your and Peter's .23 calculation of pure casein in the mix.
>>>> 
>>>> With the fact that cottage cheese is already separated into curds for you, to me there is not much reason to do skim milk or any other method aside from using casein powder. It was a complete no-brainer, ready to use in an hour with a nice pure casein. For a beginner anyway, not knowledgeable about the nuances of different brands of cottage cheese.
>>>> 
>>>> Off to Rochester for research tomorrow AM....
>>>> Chris
>>>> 
>>>> Christina Z. Anderson
>>>> christinaZanderson.com
>>>> 
>>>> On Jun 16, 2012, at 1:40 PM, Alberto Novo wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Those plastic glasses wearing stockings are very sexy indeed :-) 
>>>>> Alberto
>>>>> www.grupponamias.com
>>>>> www.alternativephotography.com/wp/photographers/rodolfo-namias-group
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