Re: Fred Foster Ferric

Keith Schreiber (KEITH@server.ccp.arizona.edu)
Sat, 15 Feb 1997 19:37:23 -0700

Hi all,

By strange coincidence, about a month ago my professor from a
few years back, Todd Walker, called to say that someone had sent him a
sample of some supposedly magical ferric oxalate to try, but since he
is no longer doing chemical photography he thought I might like to
try it. So I finally went to visit him this afternoon and indeed it
turns out to be the famous "Fred's Formula Ferric Oxalate" which had
been sent to him by Curt Richter.

I'll try it out soon and report back. In the mean time, I am
wondering if there are any other former students of Todd's on the
list. He is doing some beautiful digital work mostly using software
I had not heard of before such as QFX, HeightLine, and Perceptions of
Vision (or something like that). Do any of you know of these?

Keith
On 17 Jan 97 Kerik Kouklis wrote:

> It is my understanding that Fred Foster is no longer among the
> living. Before his death, he sold his formulae/method for making
> ferric oxalate to Curt Richter in NY. Curt now sells it by the pint
> for about $50. I have tried it with generally good results. It
> seems a bit faster and a bit warmer in tone than B&S ferric which I
> buy in raw powder form and add EDTA and Oxalic Acid to for my final
> mix. It is also a much greener color than the yellow-green I
> associate with B&S ferric. I prefer the image tone I get with B&S
> ferric on Platine paper. Richter's was a little too warm for my
> taste on that paper. I am still testing it with other papers.
> According to other printers I know who use Curt's ferric, it has a
> very long shelf life compared with B&S. I haven't had it long
> enough to make such a judgement.
>
> Curt can be reached at:
> 37 W. 26th Street #1204
> New Yawk, NY 10010
> 212.889.0057
>
> Kerik Kouklis
> http://members.aol.com/kerik717/
>
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Keith Schreiber, Rights and Reproductions
Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona
PO Box 210103, Tucson AZ 85721-0103
Fon: 520-626-5164 Fax: 520-621-9444
Email: keith@ccp.arizona.edu
WWW: http://www.ccp.arizona.edu/ccp.html
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