D/O Salt

Awesome! I really wanted to try D/O salt printing. Could you share some formulae? I was going to try the way outlined in 'Primative Photography'.

Sure thing, Jarvman. This latest batch was done with Bostick & Sullivan's salted print kit, but both the sensitizer and the silver nitrate diluted 2 parts stock + 1 part distilled water. The B&S kit's sensitizer is a mix of ammonium chloride and some sodium citrate, but I've done developing-out with table salt (sodium chloride) sensitizers and it all works well.

I expose with the open sky, but just until the shadow's are clearly visible and the highlights are just starting to show, then I develop it the rest of the way, to taste, in a 0.5% solution of gallic acid (which I also sourced from B&S). Then rinse, fix in pure hypo (also B&S) and then a long wash.

I figure I cut my exposure time down to a third or so, which might be of interest to those with UV boxes.

I should say I shoot on contrasty film and develop for maximum contrast. The 4x5's I've show earlier were selected mainly because they were generally overdeveloped for projection printing...yup.

I've got to credit Alan Greene: I've got three or four books on salt printing, but Greene's is the only one that makes the case for developing out. However, his calotypes and salted paper prints are all done with floating paper on trays of solution instead of brushing, but that would require a larger budget, given the price of silver.

Cheers for that! the main thing that's put me off trying it is the method of floating the paper. So you brush the salt and silver on and develop in a tray of gallic acid?

Yes. Keep one brush for the salt solution and a separate one for the silver nitrate, separate eye-droppers, pipettes, etc. I tried the foam brushes, but they cause my paper to 'pill up', so now I use hake brushes from the art store. I brush with salt sensitizer then let them dry for several hours, then the silver, and let it dry completely. A split-back contact frame to figure if it is sufficiently 'printed out', then straight into the gallic acid. I only do two consecutive prints in 500ml of working gallic acid as it saturates with the unexposed silver, but it's so dilute and cheap I'll never run out.

Good paper, 100% cotton rag, heavy weight, hot pressed, satin, with minimal sizing works best for brushing. I like the Crane's cover stock and the Arches paper that comes in those blocks.

This is one of the most beautiful salt prints I have ever seen. Fabulous tones, incredible richness. Well done.

I'm with Allen. This is amazing

Thanks Allen and Victor! Means a lot.