First go at Gum Bi(di)chromate over pt/pd - alone...

Technically not my "first" go at this... but my first go at it here in my actual darkroom (AKA apartment)

A few weeks back, myself and Jeremy Moore visited Clay Harmon in Houston to get a one day (and night) crash course in the basics of 'Gum bichromate over pt/pd' printing.

I gathered all the various chemicals, materials, etc over the last few weeks whenever I could spare the $$$ (suprisingly not that expensive all in all) and finally got everything I needed last week. so...
Over the last week Ive made my first three gum bichromate over platinum/palladium prints.

I didn't have anyone to share them with in the immediate vicinity so I thought Id share them with my fellow APUGers.


Here is the original straight pt/pd print of the first one.
http://www.matthewmagruder.com/photography/gum_over_ptpd/717_JC_carousel_ptpd.jpg

the Gum Over print:
http://www.matthewmagruder.com/photography/gum_over_ptpd/717_JC_carousel_GUMptpd.jpg
I did two layers on this one.
1st layer: 0.4g of Burnt Umber, 0.3g of Burnt Sienna, 10ml Gum, 10ml of Ammo. Dichromate
75% UV Exposure
2nd layer: 0.2g Van Dyck Brown, 0.2 Indigo Blue Hue, 0.2g of Burnt Sienna 10ml Gum, 5ml Ammo. Dichrom.
25% UV Exposure


Straight pt/pd print:
http://www.matthewmagruder.com/photography/gum_over_ptpd/7x17_deaddeer_ptpd.jpg

Gum Over print:
http://www.matthewmagruder.com/photography/gum_over_ptpd/7x17_deaddeer_GUMptpd.jpg
1st layer: 0.4g of Nap Yellow, 0.2g of Burnt Umber, 10ml Gum, 10ml of Ammo. Dichromate
70% UV Exposure
2nd layer: 0.4g Burnt Sienna, 0.2g Burnt Umber, 10ml Gum, 8ml Ammo. Dichrom.
50% UV Exposure


Straight pt/pd print:
http://www.matthewmagruder.com/photography/gum_over_ptpd/7x17_FWswiftbldg2_ptpd.jpg

Gum Over print:
http://www.matthewmagruder.com/photography/gum_over_ptpd/7x17_FWswiftbldg2_GUMptpd.jpg
1st layer: 0.4g of Nap Yellow, 0.2g of Burnt Umber, 10ml Gum, 10ml of Ammo. Dichromate
125% UV Exposure
2nd layer: 0.3g Burnt Sienna, 0.1g Az. Crimson, 0.3g of Perylene Maroon 10ml Gum, 8ml Ammo. Dichrom.
30% UV Exposure

You can also see the prints compared next to each other here....
just scroll down the window.
http://www.matthewmagruder.com/photography/gum_over_ptpd/

Id love any input, critiques, comments, thoughts from anyone. Especially the few whove been doing this sort of printing.

I want to publically and profusely thank Clay for all the help hes been in answering the plethora (yes I said a plethora El Guapo) of questions Ive flooded him with. Not to mention to thank him yet again, for having us down there and opening up his home and darkroom to a couple of struggling youngins

these look great, Matt! really lights a fire under my butt... i'm still just lacking a quick trip to Lowe's to get the foam rollers, but time has been at a premium when I haven't been at work.

Very Nice Matt,

I'm looking forward to learning this process as well. The work continues to grow.

best,

monty

Very nice Matt. Kerik's comment about how you'll "never look at a platinum print again and think it is finished" after doing gumover makes a lot of sense. So much more depth and detail. The school room print sings in comparison to the straight print. I never noticed the lines in the blackboard and the bookshelf in your previous print. Same with the graffiti interior... Nice work.

Bill

Matt, as I told you in an earlier PM, these just blow me away. While gum over may not be appropriate for every print, it sure was for these. Now how/why did you pick these particular prints? Is there something that helps you decide which ones will work over another.

As has been mentioned above, the school shot is the one that really grabbed me....it goes from really nice to WOW!!!

Monty you off now until next season?

lee\c

photomc said:

While gum over may not be appropriate for every print, it sure was for these. Now how/why did you pick these particular prints?

As has been mentioned above, the school shot is the one that really grabbed me....it goes from really nice to WOW!!!

Click to expand...

I've made hundreds of gumovers and I've found very few pt/pd prints that are not made better in some way by the addition of one or more layers of gum. The effect can be subtle or dramatic, but almost always better than the straight pt/pd print by itself.

Good job, Matt!

Matt these are really good! The only one that I like better w/o the gum is the abandoned warehouse one, but thats probably only b/c of the color. I like the darkness of the non gum one. Perhaps a gum of a darker shade or cooler tone would be good to try with it. In any case, excellent job!

looks like your trip was time well spent.

Kerik said:

I've made hundreds of gumovers and I've found very few pt/pd prints that are not made better in some way by the addition of one or more layers of gum. The effect can be subtle or dramatic, but almost always better than the straight pt/pd print by itself.

Good job, Matt!

Click to expand...

Thanks Kerik, that is good info...knew that I liked alot of yours when you started the gumovers, but thought that maybe there was something inherent to a negative. Now I know wonder what a gumover Ziatype would look like...it is after all a pld print.......hmmmmmmmm!! Something else to learn.

Nice work Matt. Really gives a good idea of the versatility you can get with all the combinations. I especially like the carousel gum over image.

Hey Lee,

I got a few more still to go before it all said and done (maybe a month or so), but fore long I should be shooting quite a bit. Am looking forward to getting some as good as Matt's here.

Monty

Way to go Matt. It looks like you are well on your way. These are very good for your first 'alone' attempts. The cool thing about gum is that you have never learned it all. And you really haven't asked that many questions!

photomc said:

Matt, as I told you in an earlier PM, these just blow me away. While gum over may not be appropriate for every print, it sure was for these. Now how/why did you pick these particular prints? Is there something that helps you decide which ones will work over another.

Click to expand...

to be honest mike, I picked these three as my "first" ones for a few reasons,
the graffitti abandoned building one because I wanted to experiment with trying to get the yellow tones in the highlights, chose the carousel print because I wanted to see what a "foggy" image looked like with the gum over, and chose the dead deer one because its a favorite negative of mine and wanted to experiment with browning the tones in the bones etc.

I think I am leaning towards Keriks statement that a majority of pt/pd prints can/could be improved by the gum over layers. but who knows.... Ill let you know if 70 yrs when Im dead and cant print anymore

thanks everyone for the kind words. I really appreciate it.

clay said:

Way to go Matt. It looks like you are well on your way. These are very good for your first 'alone' attempts. The cool thing about gum is that you have never learned it all. And you really haven't asked that many questions!

Click to expand...

thanks clay.
I think one of the things I like most about it is that Ill never stop learning from it. so many possibilities.

WOW! They totally kick ass! Your regular platinum stuff is great, but these really kick it up a notch.

Sunny

clay said:

Way to go Matt. It looks like you are well on your way. These are very good for your first 'alone' attempts. The cool thing about gum is that you have never learned it all. And you really haven't asked that many questions!

Click to expand...

Well on his way? I'd say hook line and sinker.

Welcome to the rabbit hole my friend.

Now you will spend time lamenting over which color combinations you like better, and researching pigments. It sure is a fun way to spend your weekends, though. Just keep away from the orange Koolaide.


---Michael

Scootermm, Wow! Those are very good photographs you've made. I like it the way you see things. I meant it. The tone also looks great on my monitor. Can't help getting sucked into it, but I keep hearing good things about Gum-Over Pt/Pd. Never seen a real gum pt/pd print before. Is there a good website discussing this process? Thanks.