Work in Progress - Faux Orotone

Faux-rotones??? What fixer are you using? You may want get out one of the old acid hardening fixers that make toning silver prints such a bite in the butt.
I like the look. Are you mounting them on a substrate? Let us know how things progress.

Mike! This is very cool. More details, please.

yeah, Faux-orotone. The process Ed Curtis used to do. Best understanding I have is he used collodion process on glass plates, then coated the back side with gold pigment and banana oil.

Since this is a work in progress, it is the first semi-successful image managed to get. This all started after you showed me the image by Raymond Meeks last weekend. Made me wonder is using Ortho Lith film would work for this process as well. Had some Arista Ortho film, made a contact print - processed it in paper developer (Ilford Warmtone) mixed 1+9. water stop, and Ilford Rapid fix - 1+9.

Plan to try different substrates - glass and plexi, mount the film positive on one side, and try different gold coatings on the back (gold leaf, gold foil, and of course gold pigment with banana oil).

Have seen a few Orotones at the Amon Carter, and a couple really have a wonderfull 3-D look to them, plus that rich, warm color.

Thanks for the comment Clay.

Thank You for the comment Kerik, hope the info above covers most of the process. Thinking that this is the first little baby steps, because would like to take it much further than this. Lots of ideas going on...

lovely image---I'll be hoping for more results--positive I hope!

Great stuff, Mike, very resourceful and inventive. I just wanna know who that jackass is that stepped into the frame? =)

Is it a negative or a postive image on the film? That is what I was never able to figure out on the Meeks print. I am a little reluctant to tear it apart to satisfy my curiousity.

wonderful Mike. looking forward to more.

Thanks Jos, Jeremy and Gay - appreciate the kind words.

See Jeremy, told you it had kind of a cool look to it...no jackass at all...I like it.

Clay, if Meeks did what I think he did...and it is what I did hear, the image is a positive on film. The same as you might do for unsharp maks or for making an enlarged negative (to be contacted again onto regular film). A film postive, then give it a background - in Meeks case the white enamel, in this one it was the back of box of Christmas cards...hey it's was the only thing I had to see if it worked. Plan to pick up some gold leaf and plexi-glass to start with.

Overall I think the process works, played with some frame glass earlier today and it does add some depth to the overall image. To be honest, was not sure if this would work at all. A bit surprised it worked this well. Now how to put it all together in a frame will be the next challenge...understand why Meeks did his the way he did now.

BTW, Clay would be happy to send a you one...let me know.