RE: Daguerreotypes and Tintypes

Ehud,

     Tintypes are fairly easy and not dangerous. There is even a kit out.
Porter's Camera as it I think.

      Concerning daguerreotype: I am a daguerreotypist and a retired
experimental physicist. What
follows is my opion and there are those wo may disagree with me.
       First the process is dangerous, mostly because of the mercury vapor
and the bromine. If you obtain the proper safty equipment and know how to
use it you will be OK. But you must learn
how to handle these materials.
       Second, the process is expensive. I have literally thousands of
dolllers tied up in my daguerreotype equipment.
       Third, you must be capable of building your own equipment or paying
someone else to build it.
        Fourth, even though there are specific directions for making
daguerreotypes, for example,
Daguerre himself wrote a manual, which has been translated from the French,
there are certain things which cannot be learned from verbal discription.
Namely, how to know when the plate is properly polished, how to know when
the plate is properly fumed in iodone and bromine, how to
determine exposure. etc. These things and many other things , I believe, can
only be learned in person from a daguereotypist looking over your shoulder.
        For all of these reasons above, I would strongly recommend that you
sign up for a workshop
run by a master daguerreotypist. This will save you a lot of money and greif
and perhaps your health.
        Now there is a relatively safe daguerreotype process that does not
use mercury and bromine that you might look into. Its called the Becquerrel
Process. I'm sorry that I can't give you any references on this process but
I believe you can get some help from the Daguerrian Society.
Go to my web site and locate the information page for their URL. There you
will also see some of
my daguerreotypes.

Best wishes,

Bob Schramm

Check out my web page at:

  http://www.SchrammStudio.com

>From: Ehud Yaniv <eyaniv@telus.net>
>Reply-To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
>To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
>Subject: Daguerreotypes and Tintypes
>Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 22:04:22 -0700
>
>Hi all,
>
>I lost the message from the gentleman who is doing Daguerreotypes but it
>got
>me thinking.
>
>I will preface my request by stating that I understand that the process is
>difficult and can be dangerous and that it should not be attempted without
>instruction by a practitioner. That said, however, are there any
>contemporary and easy to find books that detail the process with enough
>details that one could do the process? The same question goes regarding
>Tintypes.
>
>I am asking this now as the topic came up (which it rarely does).
>
>Thanks in advance and back to lurking.
>
>Ehud
>
Received on Tue Apr 18 09:31:35 2006