> Yes I do size onto Fabriano hot pressed 300gsm. I use a 1% gel of Croda
> deionised ossein applied hot, around 45 C and then dried rapidly in a
good flow > of warm air. When dried the paper is then humidified before
it is sensitised > and redried and rehumidified before exposure. > > Try
it. It will knock your socks off !
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Terry,
Yes, I'm putting my socks on to test Fabriano. But I don't know what
Croda deionised ossein is, or where to get it. It's not in any of my
books of my limited library or on lists of mail order companies in my
files. Can I purchase it by mail order (do you have an address/phone
number) or should I expect it to be present in Toronto--which is pretty
well stocked for different chemicals?
RE: Manuals....
I'm, unschooled. I've learned my photography from books. Here I must
give my highest praise to Ansel Adams' multi-volumes in the 80's and
earlier in the 50's for conventional processes. What makes them
successful for the novice is that they elaborately EXPLAIN how chemicals,
film, paper work together, so that when you get to how-to-do procedures,
you have a context to carry out the process. Problem with Adams's books
and for that matter any manual or text is that the novice eventually
discovers he/she is also learning the author's photographic style. I
struggled with Adams type negatives, always looking for something much
softer, more muted. Even more difficult was getting past my initial
propensity to create monumental type landscapes. I didn't want that style,
but it was just there! Not only was Adams peering over my shoulder in the
darkroom, he was there outdoors when I was behind the camera.
Dick Arentz's "An Outline..." is what I have followed for
platinum/palladium. It's O.K to get started..., but much too brief to get
to a satisfying proficiency, .... there is very little background to the
instructions. I also have books by William Crawford and Luis Nadeau, and
Bostick and Sullivan's Lumen notes. Do you have a book on Platinum that you
would recommend?
RE: Westerns, and all that spelling jazz...
Watch out for all program spell checkers, especially when you're about to
nod off. They will wizz past you changing Eastman to Eastern and Weston
to Western.
My spell checker wants to change your "sensitised" to "sensitized".
ron