From: Keith Gerling (keithgerling@att.net)
Date: 02/24/03-09:20:01 AM Z
Hi Christina,
My 2 cents:
1) I've used hundreds of different colors, both from the tube, and as dry
pigments, and I've found NO colors that "didn't work". Certainly some are
stronger, and some have a strong tendency to stain (use them as a 3rd or 4th
coat), but all colors "work". Some blues and greens (cerulean, cobalt, for
instance) seem to be rather weak. Whites can be tricky. There is often a
"dry down" effect. The print looks great out of the wash, and then turns
gray. It would liven back up when wet, and then always dry down to a rather
blah appearance. I once had a series of work I rather liked done on black
anodized aluminum, but it wasn't very practical because I had to spray it
with water to make it look good! Varnish helped, but varnished anodized
aluminum just didn't cut it...
2) I always use pot di. There is a contrast difference between pot and am,
but nothing that can't be had by changing the ratio of di to gum.
3) I don't use a clearing agent.
4) The lemon juice trick never worked for me. I get similar results by
"flashing" the print: expose the entire print to light for a tad, then
insert the neg.
hope this helps
Keith
-----Original Message-----
From: Christina Z. Anderson [mailto:zphoto@montana.net]
Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2003 4:18 PM
To: Alt Photo List
Subject: gum printing
Hi List,
My usual barrage of questions for the week--but hey, at least I post my
test results, too, huh?
Gum questions:
1. Which colors absolutely do not work? I have these notes: hooker's
green (washes out), emerald green, and any chromium based colors. I've loved
the quinacridones in the past...moonglow by D Smith seemed to wash out quite
a bit but could've mixed it up wrong. Do all whites work OK and has anyone
tried a white on a dark paper?
2. Do you use am di or pot di? I learned on am di and am wondering if it
is worth it to buy some pot di. Webb/Reed say only use am di if you can't
get pot di. Hirsch says use am di. Go figure. I just want to know what
you guys use, and I do have the notes from the past about am di being lower
contrast/muddier but then those saying that isn't the case. Does it boil
down to what you are used to?
2a. If you diluted am di to the same percent as pot di would it be
equivalent in speed?
3. What clearing agent do you use? I have come across sodium sulfite,
sodium bisulfite/metabisulfite, potassium bisulfite, and sulfuric acid 1%
solution. Does sodium sulfite truly do the trick so I don't have to choke?
the metabi literally gives me instant asthma.
4. Has anyone used lemon juice in the sensitizer to insolubilize it,
decreasing exposure and giving better midtones? (Demachy, Photo-Aquatint,
p. 39).
5. Dare I ask this, has Demachy's stain test been hashed out on this list
already or is it worth mentioning? His book is from 1898, before Paul
Anderson's 1911. Is it possible to talk this out civilly? If he has not
been discussed, I can sum up his test and post it. Considering I've only
been on the list 3 yr or so, you all could have been around this block
before.
6. How many gummists are there? I know Judy, Dave, Katherine, Joe, but who
else isn't speaking up? Even part-timers?
BTW, why I keep asking questions is I am in the starts of developing a
"user friendly" alt course as to how I would teach it if given the chance.
I did it with experimental. Now I want to with alt. I've figured out I
would "hook" the students first by doing easy enlarged negs (paper,
imagesetter, ink jet), start them out with instant gratification cyanos,
argyros, (then vdb, kalli, salt) to really get them hooked, then get into
easy one coat gum with spray starch or acrylic sizing, then teach such
things as better enlarged negs, better sizing, etc. afterward, before
progressing into the more expensive platinum/palladium/zia. The biggest
whines I hear is "it's so time consuming, I can't stand gelatin dripping all
over, I don't have any good large negs, etc." Kinda like the view
camera--forget the zone stuff in the beginning, get them out there fooling
around with the camera til they get seduced by the large neg and camera
movements, and then go thru the complex stuff. They have to know "what's in
it for them" first. My philosophy for the day (of course, 10 processes in
one semester is probably total overload).
Chris
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