Re: Gums a la Demachy and Puyo and all sorts of other things

Hi Terry,

Thanks for the explanation.

You can get PDNRex at : Precision Digital Negatives--The Book
(www.PrecisionDigitalNegatives.com)

Caution, the eBook contains curvy stuff.

Best Wishes,
Mark Nelson, FPITA
To NSA: When you read this email, would you please search your database for
my other black sock?
Precision Digital Negatives--The Book
PDNPrint Forum at Yahoo Groups
www.MarkINelsonPhoto.com

In a message dated 7/17/06 4:03:44 AM, TERRYAKING@aol.com writes:

> Mark
>
> Two things.
>
> In my long time in the alt game I have tended to be a bit cynical about
> people who appeared to think up names for 'new' processes which were 'invented'
> to solve problems which had arisen as they had not understood how to make the
> original process work, (sometime, in the early days, I was in danger of doing
> it myself).   Obviously there were 'new' processes which did offer something
> new.. When the 'inventors' then incorporated their own name in the new
> process, I would laugh out loud. But then when Lorenzo Cavini and I saw what was
> possible with the gold and and cyanotype processes we had arrived at in our
> retro-invention experiments, we knew we had something so special that it
> deserved a name. Obvious problem.
>
> Mike Ware had already used 'new chrysotype' and 'new cyanotype'. Both of
> these appear to achieve nothing special, one tends to discolour after ten years
> or so and they are both  over complicated.
> Incidentally, in his recent article on iron processes in History of
> Photography, MW does not mention the two new processes we had arrived at  This was
> proabably as he was just bringing out a new book on chrysotypes which misses
> the principle that enables very short exposures although  Michael Maunder had
> coverd it in a series of articles in AG and I had presented my version at
> APISs in Santa Fe and  in Scotland and at the Object Glass of Science conference
> in Oxford where Michael Maunder had presented his work on the principle as
> wel, .and there have been articles in the BJ and View Camera..
>
> So what were we going to call ours. As, many years ago  I had presented on
> this list a long list of silly names including some with Greek and Latin
> derivations,  including the Pteritype (reference to pterodactyl), I had to be
> careful . But then I realised that it would be easy. We had a couple of things
> that really were special. They gave beautiful results, they drastically reduced
> exposure times, they needed no special chemistry and they were easy to do So
> in the world of cladistics, giving scientific names to animals ands plants
> and so on, when they have something BIG they call it rex which is the Latin
> for 'king' ( hehe !). So we called them cyanotype rex and chrysotype rex which
> sort of reminded me of tyranosauraus rex and the 'pteritype'.
> I suppose that it was a piss take of myself. But then I have never been able
> to take myself too seriously although someone once accused me of having
> megalomaniac tendencies as  live in Napoleon Road !
>
> As to curves,  I do take them very serously, I have both of Dan's books and
> I would not have asked him to speak at APIS if I did not take curves
> seriously.. But that is for processes like platinum. applying curves to achieve
> standard development times is, as Katherine has pointed out, quite inappropriate
> for gum as
> emulsions are different every time you apply a coat and one has infinite
> control in development..
>
> A joint workshop might be fun though,as Don Bryant suggested, but I was
> thinking of Richmond, Surrey, not Richmond Va. How do I get a PDN rex ?
>
> Terry
>
>
Received on 07/17/06-09:55:36 AM Z