A Couple of Questions regarding Gum Prints

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From: Steve Bell (veracity000@earthlink.net)
Date: 11/11/02-12:33:46 AM Z


alrighty here goes:

last night i mixed my first sensitizer solution for Gum printing. this
morning i woke up and looked outside, and of course it was my luck that it
was overcast. i was so excited to do my first gum experiments, that i tried
it anyway. it was a 20 minute exposure, and it was quite underexposed. so i
dried it, coated the paper again, and of course more bad luck as it started
raining. i understand that the emulsion deteriorates rapidly, but i'm
hoping not as rapidly as to make it pointless to try this coated paper
tomorrow. hopefully it will work.

now i don't want to get ahead of myself, but i'm very excited with the
prospect of doing gum bichromates. there seem to be endless, and i mean
endless, possibilities as to how far i can stretch this process to fit my
vision. i've seen so many different gum prints, and they are all incredibly
different and wonderful. i mean, in Christopher James' book alone there are
so many different ones, and i also have a book called "Photography's
Antiquarian Avant Garde" which also has a lot of different interperations
of the process. so i've a question.

my first print/emulsion solution was done according to and with the Photog
Formulary kit. in the kit, they include directions for shrinking and sizing
the paper. the sizing is done with a gelatin and glyoxal solution. is this
the only way to size paper? i don't want to get too picky, but i try not to
consume animal products. i realize that gelatin is used in so many
photographic processes, so i've come to terms with the fact that it's hard
to avoid. but it would be nice to avoid it when possible. if not, so be it.

one thing i am interested in doing regarding gum prints is including
newsprint. i want somehow for the newprint to be embedded in the image. one
of the series that i plan on doing will be one of baltimore. i really love
this city, and i want to show the world how i see it. i think gum will let
me do this. so i want to include newsprint from local papers. kind of
collages within the image that add some text to identify the area in
which/of which the image was made. i was thinking i could embed this
newsprint during the sizing process by laying the newsprint down and then
coating the paper with the sizing solution. will this work? i'm thinking
the majority of respones i get will be 'try it and see', but i figured i
would send a message to see if anyone has any experience, that might have
some useful information.

also regarding negatives. what are the best negatives to use? i'm scanning
my prints and making negative transparencies in photoshop. the printer i'm
using is an HP Photosmart. i forget the number of it, maybe 7550? something
with a 7. it's my parents' printer and really the only one i have access
to, so if it isn't top of line, i don't really have much choice. i'm on a
budget. anyway, should the negatives be on the denser side of things? of
course i understand that this process it extremely trial and error, and i'm
willing to be patient, but any information would be wonderful.

i think that pretty much sums things up.

thanks in advance,

Steve

PS- i would like to formally apologize and thank all of you who responded
and gave me advice on schools. i didn't get a chance to respond to
everyone, and hopefully this en masse expression of gratitude isn't too
impersonal. this weekend i'm going to NY and Boston to visit a couple of
schools and next weekend i will be heading to Chicago. So wish me luck,
hopefully i will find one i like and successfully apply. thanks again.


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