[Andy Stockton]

No personal experience with Hg, so I won’t comment on your questions, but congratulations on reaching that milestone.

[Andy Stockton]

Silly works for me. 🙂  The traffic light may be the cheapest way to get an array.

 

[Andy Stockton]

Thanks for the very interesting reply Rob. I suppose that hot mercury is one smell we never want to experience, but it is certainly something to remember. If I’m ever working with mercury and notice an unusual odor I will evacuate first and ask questions later.

[Andy Stockton]

I also noticed that the company that produced the chart Irv posted (OkSolar sells a 12″ diameter red traffic signal bulb for $188.50 plus shipping. Since those are produced in large quantity, that may be the cheapest way to go.

[Andy Stockton]

I am replying to this post in a new thread entitled LED based Becquerel development – so this one can get back on topic.

[Andy Stockton]

Interesting idea. It would be fairly simple to set up a test rig. Has there been any work done on the critical light frequencies for Becquerel? I will have to find something on what is passed by ruby/amberlith and find an LED with the right output. Of course then I would need a light-tight box to put it in and I would have lost my little red window for peeking at the development progress… Still, it would be much easier to make a battery powered device for hauling around in the car.

[Andy Stockton]

Thanks for the comparison pictures Jon. Any other Becquerel users willing to chime in with their development times? Is the “fogging” that people refer to with long development times due to heat? Or can it happen to a long developed plate even when cooled during development?

Wow – 8 hours – no wonder people want to learn mercury development!

[Andy Stockton]

Here are a couple more plates I took over the holiday break. The first was overexposed, the second I was happier with.

 

Stag (Plate 1005)

23 Sec I2 to golden yellow

28 Sec f1.7 EV 14.2

Becquerel development 2 hours – Halogen lamp

 

Stag (Plate 1012)

18 Sec I2 to golden yellow

5 Sec f1.7 EV 14.9

Becquerel development 2 hours – Halogen lamp

 

They still seem somewhat blue to me and I am wondering if I should be developing longer than two hours. Comments welcome.

 

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[Andy Stockton]

Hi Rob – I was curious about your statement concerning mercury fumes in large enough concentrations being detectable. Is that from some experience on your part or did you run across some written reference you can point me to? I have read in so many places that mercury fumes are odorless that I was surprised by your statement. I’m always trying to learn more on this topic, so would appreciate any additional info you post.

I would add my “amen” to your statement about external fans being the way to go, since even heating/cooling pros have a hard time creating perfectly airtight ductwork, not to mention the issue of fan housing leakage.

I have also wondered about any kind of filter/trap approach that leaves the catchment apparatus inside the living space. It seems like no matter the plan you would always run the risk of trapped particles sitting there quietly off-gassing when the suction is turned off. I would also think it would be very difficult to determine when your filter is “full”.

I’ve adopted the “dilute in outside air” approach myself as the simplest safe method. I suppose it adds to the atmospheric load, but my contribution seems pretty small compared to the thousands of metric tons released worldwide from human and natural sources. even if I did filter, I would still be producing waste that would have to be taken care of somewhere. It’s a tough call, but I hope if people filter, they rig that part of the system outside their living space.

[Andy Stockton]

Excellent. Send pics when it arrives!

[Andy Stockton]

Over the holiday break I finished setting up to make 35 mm miniatures. The smaller plates are easier to handle for a beginner, and the camera I am using is much better than my large format. I had enough keepers to justify getting a scanner , but only time to scan one tonight.

 

Nutcrackers (Plate 1006)

18 Sec I2 to golden yellow

9.5 Sec f1.7 EV 14.0

Becquerel development 2 hours – Halogen lamp

 

 

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[Andy Stockton]

I made my own in an outbuilding – since I decided a while back that no matter how careful I am I don’t want mercury or bromine inside my house. Here is a post on my blog about it, and some links to pictures.

http://www.thedaguerreotypist.com/tdg1/wordpress/2008/10/12/infrastructure/

[Andy Stockton]

Hi RonF-

I think the quiet is mostly related to the upcoming holiday season in so many countries. I know the three editors are all bogged down in non-daguerreotype related life business right now. I suspect your list of “hacks” is more widespread than you might think. I believe many of us struggle to attain and even afford the level of professionalism that we are able to imagine. Having followed our few “world class” members for quite a while now, I have seen the resources and dedication required to be among the best of the best. It can be daunting.

Then again sometimes “hacks” can also be re-labeled “innovative solutions”.

Being still at the bottom of the D-List as far as my own daguerreian output, I just try to chalk my errors and primitive equipment hacks up to my apprentice status and get on with the work as I can. Your thoughtful honesty will no doubt help others feel free to be more open.

What does seem to stir conversation in the forum is when less experienced members ask specific questions about problems they are trying to solve. I find the pros don’t want to waste time on generalized queries, but often respond generously when our questions are specific and show that we have done some homework before asking them. This can be about either equipment or technique. Sometimes the more experienced members just have better hacks.

I am glad to hear you are not short cutting safety. As a licensed public health nurse I have continued to educate myself about daguerreian hazards, and I believe there are still people – professional and apprentice, who are damaging their health through inattention to these matters.

Happy holidays!

[Andy Stockton]

Hi Greg- I am now set up for 35 mm and would be happy to reimburse you for shipping etc.

[Andy Stockton]

Hi Curtis. Thanks for posting the intro, it is good to have some background to go with the “handle”. I just live an hour or so north of San Jose near the SF City limit. As a fellow beginner (and a site editor) I have been reading your posts with interest and am looking forward to seeing some of your images. You will likely find portraiture challenging. Concerning your subject matter, all daguerreian artists are welcome to post their artwork here. If something particularly offends someone they can tell you about it in the forum. If it offends enough people we occasionally remove postings. It is part of our process as a community of artists to offer both support and criticism. In general we are open to what people offer. Welcome to the site.

[Andy Stockton]

I will look forward to the pictures when you are up and running.

[Andy Stockton]

Thanks Ken. Very helpful info. The rest of my life has put a lid on dagging for the moment, but I have been working on a number of small projects in preparation for my next attempts.

[Andy Stockton]

A few more notes on my home-made, built-in setup. Only the front face is plastic (a mixture of black ABS and clear Acrylic). The rest is plywood sealed with 2 coats of enamel paint. The front face can be adjusted by changing the size of the plastic panels (which are held on by magnetic seals). The opening I settled on after some experimentation is 14″x15.5″ and easily registers 150 LF and above on a Dwyer Vaneometer. I smoke tested it extensively and was even able to hold my smoke source two feet away from the work opening and have all the smoke pulled into the hood and exhausted. The fan is inside the fume hood, but vents directly to the outside with no intervening ductwork. There is a commercial charcoal “odor” filter on the intake with the 4″ flange. On the outside I have fastened some charcoal impregnated furnace filters over the exhaust. Both filters are in place only to control light leakage into the hood. I don’t actually like using the filters since I think they will trap mercury when I get to the point of using it. I have some designs for light traps in mind but have not had time to make them. I keep fresh mercury indicating powder inside the hood, and seal it shut when not in use. The one time I have transferred bromine in the hood, once the bottle was re-sealed I carefully took off my gas mask and had a sniff. I could detect no bromine odor at all inside my work area.

Long term I do worry about working with the sensitizers and the mercury in the same hood – related to the potential for cross contamination. I would be interested in any comments on how serious that problem is and how difficult to control.

[Andy Stockton]

Yep – this is the page for the one I bought:

http://www.plantitearth.com/web-specials/hydrofarm-activeair-blower-fan.aspx

I got the 465 CFM model. It moves air at a good clip, but lets a lot of light in through the intakes. I have always been puzzled by the fact that it has two intakes, but only one of them is set up to take a 4″ diameter hose. The way I used it, that design didn’t matter, but if you were trying to pipe the air somewhere I think you would lose a lot of the rated airflow.

The blog I wrote about building the fume hood was here:

http://www.thedaguerreotypist.com/tdg1/wordpress/2008/10/12/infrastructure/

and the pictures are here:

http://www.thedaguerreotypist.com/tdg1/wordpress/gallery/?file=Fume_Hood/

[Andy Stockton]

Good luck! And keep us posted about how things go. Are you doing anything special to enhance the display or did you just get offered the usual brightly lit wall space?

[Andy Stockton]

I had noticed these on eBay, and was quite intrigued. Thanks for the pics and video. It looks like it is held on the lens by friction. Is there any way to adjust it for different size lenses?

[Andy Stockton]

And now for my first “successful” daguerreotype. This one happened after two complete failures with way too short exposure times. This one was a re-fumed plate (thanks Irv) and I am still having a lot of trouble seeing the colors. I think it was a very faint green – and this was viewed under full light. Exposure was 30 sec at f2.3 EV 12.4 @ ISO 100. 145 mm lens. Developed in full sun for 2 hours and then 3.5 hours more under a Philips Halogena 70 Watt BR4 indoor flood lamp. This produces 1280 lumens giving an EV of 13.9 at 7 inches away.

 

I call it “Sea Creatures”. Here’s hoping for rapid improvement. 🙂

 

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[Andy Stockton]

For the benefit of all to come who struggle at the beginning, I decided to stick to the topic faithfully and post my first daguerreotype even though it was a complete failure. My first successful D-Type (as in “it has a visible image!”) will go up soon on the “Your Latest Dag!” thread. The image below was supposed to be a lovely still-life of a Japanese sword and a tea-cup bought there when I was born. Alas I have spent too many years with automated cameras – the proper exposure completely eluded me.

 

 

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[Andy Stockton]

Congratulations to all, what a great event. The exhibits looked grand. Maybe we should promote the idea with the people in Bry of doing a big contemporary exhibit every five years (175th, 180th, etc.) The interval would give people time to prepare special work and also to save up funds to make the trip if coming from farher away.

[Andy Stockton]

Bravo. Although I understand the need for exposure control so that your image is faithful to your concept in creating it – I personally have a great love for very dark images. I like this a lot.

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