exposing existing negatives onto dry plates

[r u t h]

hello all,

i am planning on getting into dry plates this summer with my 4x5 camera. i have a basic understanding of the materials and techniques, but i was curious if it is possible (or advisable) to expose a film negative onto a dry plate and display it as a positive. i am working on a project where i display backlit medium and large format positives and thought that this could be a cool addition to that.

thank you!

 

[Vaughn]

Sounds like a plan. Contact print onto the plate, or enlarge?

 

[Donald Qualls]

Should work fine, pending the dry plates having a similar Dmax to what we're used to as film. Film positives displayed on a light panel can be very nice. Harder to dodge and burn in an exposure that might run a couple seconds under the dimmest enlarger light, but if you have a negative that produces a nice straight print it should work. Might be expensive to get to the right development to give the contrast you want, though. Probably easier/cheaper to just intentionally overshoot and then bleach back with Farmer's Reducer.

 

[removed account4]

have fun !