Showcase for Your HCWP's

drew tanner

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koraks said:
Yo-wow! Those are big prints, awesome!
So is the camera negative actually 10x50"? Where'd you get 10" rolls of film??
Click to expand...

Yes indeed! Actually, the negatives themselves are closer to 6 feet in length. I’m spooling my own from expired aerial film. I also have a couple bulk rolls on order from Ilford’s annual ULF sale. I can upload some pictures soon of my processing setup, but you can see a short video of the process here:
 

KYsailor

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Drew,
That is really amazing.... I am just blown away by the processing equipment and the camera. Having just built a 20"X 25" UV box I am very impressed with yours. The images are just wonderful as well. I have seen antique large panoramas of large groups ( bands, military, etc) and have always wondered how they were captured, I assume it was camera similar to yours. Just wonderful images - I am downstream in Louisville and occasionally one of these big riverboats docks and I am hard pressed to get a decent shot even with a 12mm lens on an aps-c camera.


The contact frame is amazing, if I may ask where did you find the spring "fingers" to hold down the segments. I have also built my own contact frame but have struggled with finding a way to fabricate those spring fingers, and use a jerry built "strong back" assembly.

Again, wonderful images and processing.

Dave
 

drew tanner

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Thank you, Dave. Yes, many, if not most, of the old panoramic photos of school groups, military, bands etc. were taken by Cirkut photographers. Eugene O. Goldbeck is probably the most well-known and prolific of them all.

For the springs on the back of my contact frame, I picked up 1/8”x3/4” aluminum strips from Lowes. I may swap them out for steel if I can find some thin enough, as I worry a little that they aren’t giving me enough pressure for good contact.

Here are a few snapshots of the frame and UV box in my darkgarage. There’s an 8x10 contact printing frame in there for scale. The box has a hinged door. It just happens to be open in these photos.
 

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KYsailor

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Drew,

Thanks for the info and the photo's of your set up. I will give that a try - I looked at some of the metal shapes at Home Depot, but was not sure what would work best. I agree that steel may make a better "spring" compared to aluminium, it will depend on the alloy and thickness. I am using a repurposed picture frame that has a groove around the inside, so if I can find the right material it should be straightforward.

Here is one of the "American Queen" a few years ago in Louisville -


Thanks again for the details and a look at your wonderful images.

Dave
 
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nmp

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Hi, Dave: I am using a similar set-up with grooved frame I bought for less than $10, using 3 of these galvanized strips bent at the center, from The Home Depot:

Simpson Strong-Tie LSTA 1-1/4 in. x 9 in. 20-Gauge Galvanized Strap Tie LSTA9 - The Home Depot

Simpson Strong-Tie - LSTA9 9 in. 20-Gauge Strap Tie - Used where plates or soles are cut, these straps are engineered for use on 1 1/2 in. wood members at wall intersections, and as ridge ties. - THD SKU# 333431
www.homedepot.com

Seem to work fine.

:Niranjan
 

KYsailor

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Learning gum dichromate printing......tried a couple of prints - this was the one that came out the best - the colors are a bit "overcooked", need to back off that magenta! Hopefully I will get better as I learn more and get some experience. Attended a workshop with Diane Bloomfield at Clay Harmon's studio in Asheville, Highly recommended. With and without mat ...
...
 
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nmp

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Lovely!

If you get any better than this, I will take your workshop.

:Niranjan.
 

KYsailor

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Thanks Niranjan,

I didn't show the others that did not come out so well..... I think the negs were mislabeled, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Regardless, thanks for the kind words. I will probably use this process over cyano, kallitypes and photogravure to see how it adds to those images. Bill Schwab has done some nice video's on gum over cyano and Pl/Pt . Others at the workshop produced some amazing prints, much better than this one. I was really impressed with some of the prints that Diana brought to the workshop, such as these: https://www.dhbloomfield.com/the-old-garden

Dave
 

AndrewBurns

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And another one, the paper 'grain' really shows through in lighter tones. It's a bit inconsistent currently, which I think has to do with my coating technique (specifically how much chemical I paint on).

 
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KYsailor

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Andrew,

Those are great prints - I am constantly circling back to cyanotypes, I find it works really well for images with a well defined central subject and not a lot of clutter in the background/foreground. I actually like the "grain" in the second I think it adds to the image. What paper are you using for these...

Dave

https://davidnajewiczphotography.tumblr.com/
 

AndrewBurns

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Thanks Dave, yeah I originally started with cyanotype as an easy way to test my process but I was never a fan of them vs. other alternative prints from what I'd seen previously. However having made a few now they've definitely grown on me.

There are clearly photos that they're better suited for though, as you say I've found photos that don't rely heavily on small details/textures with moderate to strong contrast to be the best candidates.

The paper I'm using is basically the cheapest watercolour cartridge paper I can get from the local art supply shop here. Called "Gordon Harris Wet Strength", each sheet has a rough canvas texture side and a smooth hot-press texture side, I'm using the hot-press side. I'm not sure who actually makes the paper (Gordon Harris is just the name of the chain of art shops) so it's probably not available outside of New Zealand. I'm using the 230 gsm version, it warps a bit after drying but not too badly and I think it adds to the 'object-ness' of the prints.

I've also used Magnani Portofino cartridge paper which is heavier and higher quality paper. It has a distinct warm/cream colour to it and seems to hold smoother midtones better but it adds a slightly annoying diagonal-line texture to the prints in dense areas.
 

koraks

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AndrewBurns said:
Magnani Portofino
Click to expand...

I've sampled a couple of Magnani papers, but found them very poor quality indeed. Wet strength was disappointing, boitches easily formed, and the papers were all loaded to the brim with optical brighteners. Maybe the Portofino is better than the ones I tried, but I tried two or three and they all performed virtually identical. The only paper I've seen perform as badly was a very cheap German-made paper, and some generic "supermarket" grade drawing papers.
 

AndrewBurns

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To be fair I haven't sampled many papers yet, the Portofino and the cheap cartridge paper are the only two hot-press options I've tried so far (which I selected based on their surface finish rather than any other property).

I have noticed that the sizing of the Portofino can take a little time to wet out when painting on the chemistry, particularly if you put on too much at once, it will tend to bead up rather than soaking in immediately and it takes a few brushes back and forth to get it absorbed. But that said, I haven't really seen any issues with coating evenness, just the annoying diagonal lines from the surface texture I mentioned before.

Given that the 'store brand' paper seems to work quite well and how cheap it is I'll probably keep using that for the time being, the only annoying aspect of using it is that it warps and buckles around the edges quite a lot as it dries so the final print isn't particularly flat. I don't have a heat press to try out and see if that would help flatten the print. Another option I've heard of people using to keep prints flat as they dry is to tape them down to a piece of glass by the edges, which I imagine would slow down the drying process quite a lot but probably prevent the warping.
 

koraks

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I've tried Incisioni, Pescia and Corona IIRC. What all these papers had in common was that the paper base swelled significantly during coating, and unevenly so. I've only seen this happen on very cheap papers with short fibers and a high content of non-paper material (chalk mostly, I suspect). None of these papers are hot pressed and I've not tried Portofino specifically.
Apart from some quick tests I did not pursue the Magnani papers given my initial experiences. They were cheap, they've got that going for them.
 

fgorga

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Regarding paper for alt process printing, it is my belief that more beginners are turned off from alt process printing by using cheap paper. Sure there are some cheap, chain art store papers that work but there are many more that have issues with various processes.

Furthermore, these no name or store brand papers change properties (sometimes with a change in packaging, sometimes not) without warning and more often than you might think. These store are looking for the best price not for consistency when they go to purchase a lot of paper.

When I teach workshops, I recommend that folks stick to paper from the big mills to avoid, well minimize, paper problems when starting down the alt process path.

Thus, I am a bit surprised to hear the comments about papers from Magnani. They are a smaller, but well known mill. But I don't have any experience with any of there papers., so I can't be of specific help.

I also tell folks that if you try a paper and it does not work well for a process don't spend too much time trying to get it to work. Rather, just move on as there are many other choices out there.

That said, for cyanotype my go to paper is Fabriano Unica White (it comes on other shades), a decently heavy (250 gsm) 50% cotton printmaking paper. Another inexpensive paper that works well with cyanotype is Fabriano Studio watercolor paper (300 gsm, 25% cotton; I think that there is a lighter version available as well).

More recently, I have also been using Hahnemühle Bamboo Mixed Media (265 gsm) for cyanotype. This paper is not as smooth as the other two and is a bit warmer white, but the texture is subtle.

All are available in pads/blocks as well as large sheets. (However, I've yet to find a source for sheets of the Bamboo Mixed Media paper in the US.)

I do not pre-treat these papers to remove the carbonate buffer when using them for cyanotype. Rather, I 'develop' my cyanotype using 10-15% (v/v) vinegar in the first tray before extensively washing the prints. This gets rid of the carbonate quickly enough that the Prussian Blue is not significantly hydrolyzed and it helps with the contrast in the mid-tones.
 

Patrick Robert James

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fgorga said:
More recently, I have also been using Hahnemühle Bamboo Mixed Media (265 gsm) for cyanotype. This paper is not as smooth as the other two and is a bit warmer white, but the texture is subtle.
Click to expand...
..........

How do you like that Bamboo paper Frank? I saw that at an art store and thought about getting some but I have such a pile of paper these days. How does it work?

I always use a bath of Citric Acid in the first tray. One of my cheats to get papers to work better is to use Citric Acid in the mix before I coat. I have an eyedropper filled with what I think is a saturated solution (been meaning to ask about that) and use one drop for every ml of each part A/B. So 20ml/20ml/20 drops. Works pretty well. Anything to get around acidifying paper...
 

fgorga

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I really like the Hahn. Bamboo Mixed Media paper. I'm on my second block of the 9x12ish size that I have been using for the final prints of a series of toned cyanotypes I am working on.

Given that my working principle is that one can not have too much or too many types of paper, I say go for it and buy a test batch!!!

As for acid in the first tray for processing cyanotypes, I don't think that the nature of the acid is important as the only thing that matters is having a mildly acidic pH for the first tray.

I am interested to hear about your method of adding citric acid directly to the sensitizer. I have not heard of anyone doing that before. Do you do this in addition to using citric acid in the first tray?

FYI... to have a saturated solution of anything, there must be solid compound (citric acid in this case) remaining at the bottom of the container. I'm not sure if that is waht you wanted to ask about, but there it is.

I do agree about "anything to get around acidifying paper". Life is too short!!!
 

fgorga

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Cyanotypes printed yesterday, toned this morning and hot off the scanner...

All from a trip to the Cornish, New Hampshire Fair a couple of weeks ago.

Motorcycle Riders (toned with tarragon)


Best Friends (toned with tarragon)


Ox Pull #1 (toned with sumac gall)


Ox Pull #2 (toned with sumac gall)
 
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