update on black walnut and tea toning

["Christina Z. Anderson" <zphoto@montana.net>]

     So, got the black walnut hulls, ground to a chunky powder, $3.50 a lb
from a basket manufacturer.  I brewed it up like tea--about 4 T. of the
stuff in a nylon kneehi stocking to 2 1/2 quarts water.  It makes a very
dark brown brew and tones (surprise surprise) like...walnut stain you buy at
a store.  It is a deep rich reddish almost chocolate brown, quite beautiful.
Side by side the tea is a definite yellow brown, beautiful in its own way,
too.  Be sure to prewet the prints and agitate continually to prevent uneven
toning.  It takes about 10 minutes to tone, or longer to get your print
darker.  It also tones your fingernails a nice dirty brown, for the brief
amount of time my hands touched the stuff.
     I also toned an RC print in it and wasn't impressed at all.  I mean,
it's OK but looks muddy and not rich like the fiber prints.
     I found out probably why the tea (and the black walnut, too, but less
obviously) got darker in a day of sunlight outside.  Tannic acid is photo
sensitive, I see in my Tri Ess Sciences catalog.  I just betcha the sun
darkens the print because of the high presence of tannic acids.  Which is
probably why the process is not considered archival, as the print is
probably quite acid after the process.  The darkened marks have not
diminished with keeping the prints out of light.  I am leaving one each of
the prints outdoors for a couple days to see if they get really dark, or if
there is a stopping point.  I thought about exposing a neg to a piece of
toned plain paper...
     I consider both processes to be another valid experimental thing to do,
if you like the print to be all over toned, highlights included, in an old
timey color.  Fun.
     End of story.
Chris