From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 11/13/02-03:01:04 PM Z
On Wed, 13 Nov 2002, Steve Bell wrote:
> also, it seems my potassium dichromate solution has taken a strange turn. i
> pulled out the bottle and discovered that some of the dichromate had
> recrystallized (is this a word?). there were orange crystals at the bottom
> of the bottle. why did this happen? i warmed the solution and they
> dissolved with some stirring, and it happened again. what's the deal?
Which dichromate at what % did you mix? If you're at or near saturation
point, if the ambient temp gets lower, some chemical with precipitate out.
but -- oh -- I suppose maybe WITH A KIT YOU DON'T GET DETAILS LIKE THAT !!
(Please excuse the jibe, even if unfair I couldn't resist... kits are my
3rd biggest peeve. Don't ask the first two -- they're rotating.)
In any event, don't worry about it. Pictorialists used to dump a pound of
K di in a bottle and fill it up with water, then add water as the level
dropped, always with a reserve of chemical. In & out of solution is
apparently OK.
> in regards to doing it 'straight' to begin with. this is exactly what i'm
> doing. i've kind of taken that approach with almost all of my photography,
> it seems. when i first started taking pictures, i read everything i could
> get my hands on regarding technicality. i read Adams' "The Negative", and
> other books. textbooks and everything. i did my best to understand how to
> produce good negatives, and i've moved on from there, bending the processes
> to fit my needs. i think it is a very good idea to understand things from
> the "straight" approach, before experimenting, that way there is a more
> thorough understanding of all facets and nuances of the process.
I'll add to that that the best piece of photo advice I ever read was in
one of those old Kodak "how to make good pictures" books. It said simply,
"the viewer should know why you took the photograph." Now of course even
tho all that theory gets inverted and conceptualized, and ain't nature
grand is no longer enuf, it's STILL nice to have an IDEA why the
photograph was taken, as sometimes is only "because it could be" -- and
then with a month's work & a staff of 20 building stuff. But that's not
this e-mail either.... anyway, good luck, and maybe consider getting some
flourescent blacklight bulbs...
If you're working small you can buy four fixtures at home depot about $15
each and four bulbs about $12 each (24 inch long)... still about $100, but
will last a lifetime.
Judy
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