Dave Whitehead:
[Keith Dugdale and Peter Frederick] successfully draw the
line between ...wanton destruction of the environment and sensible
small-scale practice.... If we are concerned about the environment, then
we must realise that the damage being done by a small band of sensible
photographers is but a small drop in the ocean. We must tackle pollution
from the top, as it happens on a massive industrial scale. (Then quite
frankly, the 'drop in the ocean' would be totally insignificant.)
...[E]xposure limits in industry are worked out on the basis that the
worker will be exposed for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for a working
life....Small-scale use [with] sensible and prudent practice should not
present any measurable risk....
Dunstan Perera replies:
..Thank you Peter, please keep the letters coming. I am eagerly awaiting
the signed petition ... If all else fails you can declare a Fatuwa....
[Perera cites statistics from a test in which a technician spent 45
minutes monitoring preparation of a fresh 3% potassium dichromate
solution, with filter from a dust monitoring pump showing a value of .87
micrograms, exceeding the maxiumum exposure level.]
If my claims for the Heliochrome Process are true, then we have a major
breakthrough... The Heliochrome Process can give results "similar" to the
gum bichromate process and much more. It has a long tonal range, more open
to interpretation, cleaner highlights with multiple printing and a sharper
image....
History has shown us how innovators are bought off or silenced by those
who have a vested interest... If at the door of every innovator sits a
lynch mob, we do not deserve the love, dedication and efforts of that
person....
My comment: Judging from the illustration of the "Heliochrome Process" in
the English weekly "Amateur Photographer," April 8, 1995, in which Dr.
Perera goes through the steps of making a print, the invention may indeed
be remarkable: Perera's kewpie doll Ophelia, just raised from the water --
with the leaves still on her head -- maintains a wide-eyed look despite
the impetigo all over her face (which could possibly be due to his
unidentified chemicals, though of course we cannot say). Now *that's*
love and dedication!
Trying not to let my reaction to this stomach-churning image warp my
judgement, I submit the following impressions:
A rough paper is recommended (so that fine detail is lost) and the paper
is coated with a sealer, which might well make each printing even more
high-contrast. So, although the inventor claims "a long tonal range," I
would question that, or at least ask "compared to what?" I'd also say
there is no evidence of continuous tone in the illustrations of the
various steps given in the article and would tend to conclude that good
continuous tone would require multiple coats.
I have heard, BTW, that others who have actually seen Perera's
demonstration (no, not the Kewpie doll, but with other people's negatives)
found it creditable -- HOWEVER the demo was 3 or 4-coat color separation.
Dr. Perera said he could make 4 such prints in a day.
Finally, if anyone thinks it bad of me to denounce and disparage the
Kewpie doll, just send me an SASE. I'll send you a photo copy -- though
black and white cannot possibly do justice to the original. Even so, I'm
sure you will want to join the fatuwa.
Cheers,
Judy
Judy Seigel, 61 Morton St, NYC 10014