Alt chems.. help me get my fix

hi

I just ordered a few kits from the states to get me started with cyanotypes and Pt/Pd printing...

In the future I thought I might dig into the net a bit further and attempt to purchase the chem's in larger quantities and hopefully more directly from the manufacturers (those to usually go hand in hand) to get more bang for my buck - Is there anyone here in NZ keen to share orders with me with these processes or other similar types ? - I gotta get my head round the processes first but thought I'd just see at this stage - perhaps people are already doing this ?

In any case I would love to hear from anyone in AK who has worked with either cyanotypes or especially pt/pd ...

and also, out of interest>> anyone else excited about the film fest ?

cheers,
nick

I got a cyanotype kit from the photo place in gt nth rd, it was enough for a few prints but pretty pricey for what it was

Id like to find somewhere i can get hold of chems to make my own solution
Ive tried everywhere in NZ and have also posted in another thread of yours.

Id be totally into sharing orders

pm me if yr interested

If you can order the kits from the USA, have you looked into ordering the bulk chemicals from the US?

100 grams of Ferric ammonium citrate and 50 grams of Potassium ferricyanide will make about a liter (500ml of each) of cyanotype solution. Which would last you a long time. From Bostick and Sullivan, the 100grams of the FAC is US$8 and the P. ferricyanide is US$5.25 for 100grams. Of course it looks like shipping would cost more than the chemicals.

They also sell cyanotype kits -- the chemicals pre-measured in bottles one just adds water to. In 2x250ml ($25), 2x500 ($38), and 2x1000ml ($65) sizes.

But good luck in finding what you need!

Vaughn

I could try to open an account with ajax, not as an individual, and if sucessful could bulk up an order with others to make it attractive to them. I am in Southland though so one of you would have to collect it up and post it on.

David

sent mdm a pm about possible places in nz to bulk order from, if anyone else is interested pm us! I live in wanganui and I desparately want bulk cyanotype chems

Ajax are fine ... they do smaller/smallish quantities for the photographer

Get a paper catalog

nick mulder said:

Ajax are fine ... they do smaller/smallish quantities for the photographer

Get a paper catalog

Click to expand...

Im sure they are just lovely

but they do NOT ship chems to nz.

um,

The Ajax I refer to are in NZ ...

http://www.ajaxfinechem.co.nz/

argh Ive been mixing up ajax and vanbar(who are in oz) for the whole week for some reason, apologies.

ok the problem with ajax is
a) they are more expensive than buying the stuff from america and having it shipped, Im an art student on a budget, a small budget.
b) they do not sell to individuals, you need to be a registered company (which Im not) and get through their screening process and have things like referees you can call upon to do so, and Im just not that kinda guy
so thats my ajax beef

vanbar who are in the same town as you I believe will only ship in melb/oz
this whole thing is quite the mindf**k, its all so frustrating.

Ajax,

hmmm - well, I've had no issues, not a registered co. - I explained I was a photographer and wanted to some chems for some alternative processes, I've even gone out to the warehouse to pick it up - nice guys ... My freezer at home is filled with a fair few Ajax bottles and containers.

Something has changed.

Perhaps it is your approach - as you say you're "not that kinda guy" - why expect them to make an exception for you ?

As for the cost - Photography has never been a cheap enterprise, let alone hobby.

I am working 80hr weeks at the mo' and am moving house from one place without a letterbox to one I don't know where yet, in the next don't quite know how long yet either - I wont be able to help you with delivery, sorry mate !

nick mulder said:

Ajax,

hmmm - well, I've had no issues, not a registered co. - I explained I was a photographer and wanted to some chems for some alternative processes, I've even gone out to the warehouse to pick it up - nice guys ... My freezer at home is filled with a fair few Ajax bottles and containers.

Something has changed.

Perhaps it is your approach - as you say you're "not that kinda guy" - why expect them to make an exception for you ?

As for the cost - Photography has never been a cheap enterprise, let alone hobby.

I am working 80hr weeks at the mo' and am moving house from one place without a letterbox to one I don't know where yet, in the next don't quite know how long yet either - I wont be able to help you with delivery, sorry mate !

Click to expand...

when i said "im not that kinda guy" I mean im not the sort of person that has upstanding members of the community he can call upon for referalls to chemical supply companies, I hang with muso's and artists not judges and doctors, I didnt mean i wasnt up to jumping through a few hoops and certainly wasnt expecting them to make an exception for me as you said I was.

I sent them a polite email explaining who i was, the chems I wanted, and exactly what i was going to do with them and they just sent me an email back essientially saying youll get nothing till you have been thoroughly checked out. Im not completely stupid so as to approach a chem supply company with anything approaching attitude, give me a little credit please dude, Im not a total fuckwit.

regarding cost, Im not a photographer, Im a sculptor who wants to do contact prints on silk and cotton, make a frame and animate them in real time using strobes, Im a student so i dont have the budget of a professional photographer living in melbs such as yourself, Im sorry. Thats why money is an issue for me. Primarily I recycle all my materials from commercial skip bins for my sculpture. But its not something you can do with chemicals, which is why i came here to seek advice from real life actual photograpers, not to be patronised.

and i was merely enquiring as to wether you knew what the situation was with sending chems through the post, i certainly wasnt being so presumptuous as to ask you to help send me anything, what with moving from one house "without a letterbox" to another you "dont know yet" you clearly you have alot going on in your glamourous photographers lifestyle.

thanks mate.

I've never been paid to take a stills photo and the 'glamour' of Melbourne certainly isn't why I'm here.

I suggested it maybe your approach, which is the issue I had to begin with... I too was a student doing pretty much the same sort of carry on and getting the same kind of response, it was when I approached them instead with a professional front that I got results. I found that when it comes to chemical supply companies it's easier for them to fob off students, they do quite well without them.

Didn't mean to sound like I was on a high horse or anything, I'm just busy - that being said, I think you should stop writing emails and posting here and next time you're up in AK head over to Ajax with your shopping list and a personalized variation of pleasant expectation... Maybe then we'll all be patronized and you'll discover as you suggest, they are just lovely.

phbbbbt! :rolleyes:

Thanks again

"I've never been paid to take a stills photo and the 'glamour' of Melbourne certainly isn't why I'm here."

please replace the batteries in your sarcasm detector, yours clearly arent working nick...

"I think you should stop writing emails and posting here"

well yes after coming across people like you i certainly see no point in coming back here at all for any information whatsoever.
Im sure there are many people in the forum who arent utter
c*ntwaffles, but if its people such as yourself I have to deal with when i ask an honest and simple question, clearly i would be better off going to see the chemical companies by myself unaided.

Thanks for making that clear if nothing else.

having said that i fully intend to keep on with photography:
as a 'hobby',and one I intend to keep as inexpensive as possible,
its easier that way being a full time multimedia art practitioner.

Unfortunately more money doesnt necessarily make better art.
you could do well to think about that.
Was that a high-horse or cock-horse you're riding there?

thanks once more for your very helpful and insightful comments nick


regards

Xtiaan

golly,

forum fail

ah well...

having had a bit of time to reflect I'll say its not everyday I get called cuntwaffles, and its stuck with me - you're an inspiration - in that a colleague here has decided to call me that from now on (he was tending towards a similar term anyhow)

Back on topic:

Why not get the other students, musos and artists and form a kind of co-op - basically pool your resources and get a better bang for your bohemian buck - have a look here:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

This also solves the issue in that you'll no longer be the individual you seem to be having problems with.

uh thanks nick,
Im glad youre being called a cuntwaffle on a regular basis by a colleague, you must be just as likeable in real life as you are here. You do realise its just a 'friendly' way of calling someone a total fucktard, you might want to check those batteries again...

As for "bohemian buck" thats just the kind of reductive patronising attitude that got us here in the first place. You might want to work on that, as a "professional photographer" you work with people, yet you seem to have so few interpersonal people skills.



meanwhile back in reality....


BACK ON TOPIC:

Many thanks to all the others that offered a veritable weath of tips and advice.
I havent been able to source the chems in NZ without avoiding an elaborate approval process.
But talking to mike at artcraft photographic chemicals in america, he has given me a good price and assured me they will get through customs etc. They also accept international money orders, for those of us who dont have credit cards, available from your local bank.
ill make a final post and provide links when/if it all gets here and is hunky dory.

good luck to all those who come after me.
email xtiaan@orcon.net.nz if you have any questions about getting cyanotype chems in nz

Oh for gawds sake quit the melodrama will ya - it will be hunky dory ...

Artcraft, Bostick & Sullivan, Photo Formulary, B&H, Adorama, Megaperls Workshop, Silverprint UK, Robert White UK, Fotoimpex have all delivered fine to NZ - watch out for customs charges - I forget the exact amount but anything over around $200 will attract duty.

There is always Ajax Finechem in Auckland also - YMMV