Showcase for Your HCWP's

[AndrewBurns]

I tried pre-acidifying the paper this time, I don't think it did anything for dmax, mostly just made the paper very wavy and absorb the chemistry faster. Although that said I used a fairly uncontrolled amount of citric acid so it probably wasn't the best experiment.

 

[Franswa]

Onion Creek. A Kallitype I made this weekend. Toned with platinum on 8x10 on COT 320

 

[CreationBear]

8x10

Ha, I think your hobby just got more expensive, but the open shadows in the tree roots are worth the price of admission. . Otherwise the serene take really fits the riparian vibe to my tastes, though I could imagine some folks might want you to goose the upper midtones a third of a stop or so.

 

[Franswa]

8x10

Ha, I think your hobby just got more expensive, but the open shadows in the tree roots are worth the price of admission. . Otherwise the serene take really fits the riparian vibe to my tastes, though I could imagine some folks might want you to goose the upper midtones a third of a stop or so.

When I began this process a couple weeks ago I was misguided on mixing up the platinum toner and mixed and used up nearly half of what I’d received due to some conflicting information on the B&S site. Now I’m left trying to dilute in a way to stretch out what I have left, even if it adds a handful more minutes. I aim to reshoot this scene in a couple weeks in the late afternoon rather than late morning light and most likely with a polarizing filter to clean things up a bit more.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Onion Creek. A Kallitype I made this weekend. Toned with platinum on 8x10 on COT 320

Looks great! Do you have a pic of this print before toning?

Are you using B&S Kallitype kit? I'm currently making Kallitype sensitiser using a process very similar to what B&S uses to synthesise Ferric Oxalate. In this context, I am interested in knowing pH of B&S Kallitype sensitiser to compare with mine. If you have pH strips (or a pH meter) would you be able to check pH of your sensitiser and let me know?

 

[Franswa]

Looks great! Do you have a pic of this print before toning?

Are you using B&S Kallitype kit? I'm currently making Kallitype sensitiser using a process very similar to what B&S uses to synthesise Ferric Oxalate. In this context, I am interested in knowing pH of B&S Kallitype sensitiser to compare with mine. If you have pH strips (or a pH meter) would you be able to check pH of your sensitiser and let me know?

Thank you, Raghu. This was developed with sodium citrate and I am no longer using the B&S black developer that was included with their kit. I don't have any way to test ph currently, but hoping to rectify that soon. At any rate, the B&S developer I have has been tainted with ammonium dichromate.

I do have a pic of this image before toning. Taken during the clearing step.

EDIT: oh whoops, you are inquiring about the ferric oxalate sensitizer and not the developer. I do still have a bit of that, but again, no way to currently test ph. Now I am curious about synthesizing ferric oxalate as I have just received some powder from B&S. Are there more steps to that process than simply mixing a 20% solution with distilled water?

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

@Franswa thank you! The change in colour is quite dramatic after toning and I like it.

If you have Ferric Oxalate powder from B&S, you need to just follow their instructions for making 20% solution. I'm not sure if it involves anything more than dissolving (with some effort and difficulty) appropriate amount of Ferric Oxalate powder in appropriate amount of distilled water.

Living in a different geography, I am not in a position to order chemicals from B&S and hence I've synthesised Ferric Oxalate powder myself. I just wanted to check if I am getting same pH as B&S sensitiser and hence my earlier request to you.

 

[Franswa]

@Franswa thank you! The change in colour is quite dramatic after toning and I like it.

If you have Ferric Oxalate powder from B&S, you need to just follow their instructions for making 20% solution. I'm not sure if it involves anything more than dissolving (with some effort and difficulty) appropriate amount of Ferric Oxalate powder in appropriate amount of distilled water.

Living in a different geography, I am not in a position to order chemicals from B&S and hence I've synthesised Ferric Oxalate powder myself. I just wanted to check if I am getting same pH as B&S sensitiser and hence my earlier request to you.

This was at the time of misguided information on the toner where I was putting 10 drops of platinum solution into 100ml of distilled water , hence the dramatic color shift! It toned so quickly, about 20 seconds.....I still enjoy the result though. By the way, I don't intend to assume, but in the event that it's something you celebrate, Happy Diwali!

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

By the way, I don't intend to assume, but in the event that it's something you celebrate, Happy Diwali!

I do celebrate Diwali, and thank you so much for your greetings!

 

[Franswa]

Some more kitchen kallitypes. Since I started alt printing in May(or June?) this image is probably the one I spent the most time, chemistry and paper on. First one is developed in sodium citrate, second one in acetate. All the other steps I kept as identical as possible.

Taken outside in open shade

 

[CreationBear]

Excellent, I was hoping you were saving this negative for last. . As much as I love the hues of the citrate developed print, the second is more successful for me as a photograph because there’s more intrinsic contrast helping the karst outcrop break free of the background. Experiments in dichromate next?

 

[Franswa]

Excellent, I was hoping you were saving this negative for last. . As much as I love the hues of the citrate developed print, the second is more successful for me as a photograph because there’s more intrinsic contrast helping the karst outcrop break free of the background. Experiments in dichromate next?

I have to agree with you on that this particular print came out better in acetate developer, which does have an additive of dichromate in it already. I'd held off on printing this negative as I wasn't sure how it was going to be translated with a different process curve.

 

[fgorga]

Wonderful print and a nice demonstration of tone vis-a'-vis developer.

Personally, I prefer the warmer (citrate-developed) print. But then again I have always had a bias for warm-tone prints. However, both tones are nice.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Lovely prints! If you were to Pd tone, which one would you choose?

 

[Franswa]

Wonderful print and a nice demonstration of tone vis-a'-vis developer.

Personally, I prefer the warmer (citrate-developed) print. But then again I have always had a bias for warm-tone prints. However, both tones are nice.

Thank you, Frank.

 

[Franswa]

Lovely prints! If you were to Pd tone, which one would you choose?

Thank you, Raghu. Why not both?! Pd is definitely on the horizon and if I only had to choose one it would be the one developed in citric. When viewing prints developed with citric they have a perceivable luminance to them that isn't quite the same on prints developed in acetate. I think that luminance would go well with a palladium toning. I have to read up on double toning, though I am not seeing much information available out there, so if you know of any resources that would be appreciated!

 

[CreationBear]

Pd is definitely on the horizon

As I said, it looks like your hobby is going to get more expensive. I’d be interested in whether you find scenes that work better with one noble metal or the other—I suspect this one, which despite the contrejured canopy seems to have rather sedate lighting, might be optimized with a lot of Palladium; while the Onion Creek scene might work as a platinum print, especially if you reshot on a bright sunny day. (Provided of course you could find a time it didn’t turn into Dazed and Confused:TNG.)

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Why not both?!

Indeed! I was only curious to know your thought process, as a printmaker, on how you approach toning and whether or not the ovearall tonal rendering and colour of the untoned print influences your choice.

When viewing prints developed with citric they have a perceivable luminance to them that isn't quite the same on prints developed in acetate. I think that luminance would go well with a palladium toning.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. This is exactly I wanted to know.

 

[Tom Taylor]

Try combing the developers 50/50 and see how that works.

 

[Franswa]

Try combing the developers 50/50 and see how that works.

Thank you, Tom. I had just recently read about that and will most likely try my hand at that as well.

Pd is definitely on the horizon

As I said, it looks like your hobby is going to get more expensive. I’d be interested in whether you find scenes that work better with one noble metal or the other—I suspect this one, which despite the contrejured canopy seems to have rather sedate lighting, might be optimized with a lot of Palladium; while the Onion Creek scene might work as a platinum print, especially if you reshot on a bright sunny day. (Provided of course you could find a time it didn’t turn into Dazed and Confused:TNG.)

It has indeed become a more costly hobby, but it's been a pretty gratifying way to learn something new. Weather is starting to cool off a bit now which means it's time to get back out and take new photos before leaves start falling, and to continue surveying the remainder of this small-ish state park(in the city limits!)

Indeed! I was only curious to know your thought process, as a printmaker, on how you approach toning and whether or not the ovearall tonal rendering and colour of the untoned print influences your choice.



Thank you for sharing your thoughts. This is exactly I wanted to know.

You're welcome, Raghu. Now I think about making new pictures out in the field, how my thought process will have changed compared to before, where now I have a final print to consider and then perhaps work backwards from there.

 

[AndrewBurns]

Got 6 of my toned cyanotypes framed for a darkroom/alt-process exhibition next weekend, really pleased how they turned out.

 

[tnp651]

Onion Creek. A Kallitype I made this weekend. Toned with platinum on 8x10 on COT 320

Very, very nice image and print, Franswa. I love the composition and your print is absolutely perfect. Bravo!

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

@Franswa , there is also the practice of adding Pt/Pd to Kallitype sensitiser, discussed in some references, in the ratio 1:10 IIRC. It could be a route to achieve split tones, I've not tried though.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

@AndrewBurns: great prints! Love the softness of tone and excellent composition.

 

[drew tanner]

Got 6 of my toned cyanotypes framed for a darkroom/alt-process exhibition next weekend, really pleased how they turned out.

These turned out beautifully. Can you say more about how you toned these prints? And I really like your presentation. The (cherry?) wood frames really compliment the color of the toned cyanotypes nicely. Are these under glass with spacers?