[Alt-photo] Re: 1st attempt

[Jack Brubaker]

Laura,

That is a very good beginning for someone working by your self. If you want
to have the effect of a personal tutor with huge knowledge of gum get Chris
Anderson's book on gum. It is the ultimate resource.

There are many variables in gum. Changing one of them will effect all the
others. So while it looks like your exposure was a bit short so that the
gum is sloughing off in spots that may be more likely from too thick a
coating. Gum is most controllable in thin coats with multiple layers used
to build deep tones. A thin coat will be better bonded to the paper (the
exposure will penetrate to the paper), and can withstand a longer
development that will help clear whites and allow physical development if
needed.

 It is most helpful when showing a print that you have questions about to
tell what your mix is of gum, water, and color, what your exposure is, and
how long it developed, and whether by just floating on the water or with
physical intervention. You will be more likely to get a meaningful response
on you problems with that kind of info.

It is too bad the gum layer broke down some on the sky because this is
really a very good example of a one coat print.  Most gum printers only
work in multi layers to avoid the problem you see in your print. With a one
coat print it is often customary to get either a break down in the dark
tones like you got, or if the exposure is long enough to lock in the dark
tones the whites wont' clear.

Welcome to the addiction of the ever elusive perfect gum print,

Jack


On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 9:38 PM, Laura V <laura at lavatop.com> wrote:

> Actually, it's the 2nd attempt, the first one peeled right off the paper
> and washed away. It felt like the gum was thicker and stickier than I
> remembered using before, it was like honey, so I thinned it out to more of
> the consistency of maple syrup. I also increased the exposure a bit for
> good measure. This stuck to the paper much better, and the exposure seems
> right, but you can see there is still some peeling at the top in the sky.
> Has anyone had this problem? How do you like your gum  mixture, thick or
> thin?
>
> The other problem I'm having is that the light source (my mercury vapor
> bulb that I put inside the vacuum press) is much closer to the glass that I
> had hoped...it is only about 20 cm away. So I guess that explains why the
> image gets whiter on the sides. I'll have to figure something out with the
> lighting.
>
> http://lauraval.com/mountain.**jpg <http://lauraval.com/mountain.jpg>
>
> Laura
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