August 11, 2007

For the seeable future, I am going to try to combine two aspects of silver gelatin exploration:  new paper emulsions and three-color gum over AgGel printing.  (Known henceforth as Silver Gum.) 

I have gotten lazy.  I♥ emulsion is now to my taste, and mostly predictable and repeatable.  It's a temptation to hole up and just print.  You know the fantasy - the one where the really good galleries come to you and beg to represent your transcendent photography.  Come on.  Fess up.

But, in actual truth, I am a lab rat far more than a gallery rat.  I can never make it clear through a reception.  So, research ho!

I have been collecting recipes as I've been reading through one hundred years of emulsion literature.  I will be taking the recipes one by one.  Hopefully, I won't see too much Crap (my pet name for really ugly emulsion). The great thing about the gum-overs is that they hide a multitude of sins.  I don't plan on wasting much silver.  The marginal emulsions should still be useable for gum play.  I promise to share all details and results - successful and otherwise. 

September 10, 2007

OK.  Starting down the road.  I will be repeating many of the same original images with different pigment sets.  After I work out a half dozen or so with one image from a digital camera (Seal Rock Seep) and one from a handcolored original (Courage) on "I ♥" emulsion, I will branch into different emulsions and negative sets.  I will try to present the exploding weed patch of information in as organized fashion as possible.  I will likely change and edit somewhere along the line.

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