From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 08/02/03-01:20:02 AM Z
On Thu, 24 Jul 2003, Dave Rose wrote:
> Although some of my gum exposures are made with saturated solutions of AD or
> PD mixed 1:1 with gum (the 'traditional' formula), I'll often vary the
> strength of the sensitizer solution and/or the ratio of sensitizer to gum as
> need dictates. I think we can all agree that varying the ratios between
> gum/pigment/dichromate/water has a significant impact on the results.
> Utilizing the flexibility of the gum process to it's fullest advantage and
> practicing superb technique can result in beautiful and finely detailed
> prints.
Reading back over this thread in an attempt to clean up the queue, I get
the impression that some folks seemed to think that to vary the strength
of the dichromate you have to have a whole lot of different solutions
(like platinum contrast agent???). Not so -- you dilute as desired at
time of mixing. One bottle only.
> .... John Pouncy is credited with
> developing the gum process around 1856. Gum over platinum was being done
> 100 years ago. Study the history of photography. Certainly techniques can
And apparently his prints were very sharp AND archival...
> be refined and improved upon (as demonstrated by Stuart Melvin), but
> ultimately the gum process remains much as it was during the past. Had
> there not been such a plethora of soft, fuzzy and romantic gum prints made
> during the heyday of pictorialism, gum might not have its undeserved
> reputation as a low-resolution and muddy process.
As noted,, I'm not sure that "pictorialism" is the reason... Because most
"art" photography in every medium was soft & fuzzy at the time. And by the
30s most photography was silver gelatin on commercial bromide paper. My
hunch is that it was coincidence -- that by the time the mood for fuzzy
passed, gum technique had been corrupted. And/or it was easier to print
gum (by the late 30s it was somewhat of a lost art) on rough paper with
loose register...
J.
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