After months of reading and then gathering of materials, I spent yesterday afternoon and evening in my dimroom making my first salted-paper prints. I made four prints total; two each from two different digital negatives.
My very first print (a 15 min exposure)
One from the second negative (18 minute exposure)
I followed, quite closely, the method outlined in the "Creating Your First Salted Paper Print" section of Christina Anderson's book "Salted Paper Printing. A Step-By-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists".
My 4x5 inch digital negatives were made using the curve shown in Anderson's book. However, I used my own digital negative 'recipe' otherwise (i.e. I did not follow the instructions in the book). This is the largest deviation I made from the above cited instructions.
I salted the paper by immersion in 2% (w/v) saIt with passive drying on a screen.
I coated Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag paper with silver nitrate using a cotton square I found in the cosmetic section of the drug store. (Not a place this geezer spends much time!). In a deviation from the above cited instructions, I used a two-stock sensitizer. Part A is 30% (w/v) silver nitrate and part B is 6% (w/v) citric acid. These were mixed in a 1:1 ratio just before coating the paper. The paper was, again, passively dried on a screen.
Exposures were made using my homemade blacklight LED unit. The processing of exposed paper was exactly as described in Anderson's book except that I omitted the gold toning step. The prints were washed in non-running water; five trays and ten minutes per tray. (Only time will tell if that is sufficient!)
I have a series on nine images from this Missouri River bottom homestead in central Montana that I am hoping to eventually print as large-ish (11x14 inch) salted-paper prints.
My very first print (a 15 min exposure)
One from the second negative (18 minute exposure)
I followed, quite closely, the method outlined in the "Creating Your First Salted Paper Print" section of Christina Anderson's book "Salted Paper Printing. A Step-By-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists".
My 4x5 inch digital negatives were made using the curve shown in Anderson's book. However, I used my own digital negative 'recipe' otherwise (i.e. I did not follow the instructions in the book). This is the largest deviation I made from the above cited instructions.
I salted the paper by immersion in 2% (w/v) saIt with passive drying on a screen.
I coated Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag paper with silver nitrate using a cotton square I found in the cosmetic section of the drug store. (Not a place this geezer spends much time!). In a deviation from the above cited instructions, I used a two-stock sensitizer. Part A is 30% (w/v) silver nitrate and part B is 6% (w/v) citric acid. These were mixed in a 1:1 ratio just before coating the paper. The paper was, again, passively dried on a screen.
Exposures were made using my homemade blacklight LED unit. The processing of exposed paper was exactly as described in Anderson's book except that I omitted the gold toning step. The prints were washed in non-running water; five trays and ten minutes per tray. (Only time will tell if that is sufficient!)
I have a series on nine images from this Missouri River bottom homestead in central Montana that I am hoping to eventually print as large-ish (11x14 inch) salted-paper prints.
