[botticelli1972]

That looks great! The Rubylith is the real secret to getting it right. You might try a few slow developing tests if you have the time. I tried with bulbs of all sorts but settled on natural sunlight, just not direct, using north light only.

[botticelli1972]

Slow reply, but I have had both blueish and black and white images resulting from the technique. If you look at my images under Larry Shutts you will see the results. It seems to be about 50% split even though I believe I do the same thing each time.

[botticelli1972]

I only ever used one sheet, taped to a piece of clear glass for support. I did a test once with two, it just took twice as long to develop and the image was no better if I remember correctly.

[botticelli1972]

Best results I ever got were with Rubylith (the original masking film for orthochromatic processes which is still available from the manufacturer) placed over an exposed plate and set to rest in a north facing window all day. I feel the slow growing of the image particles helps but I have no science to back it, just observational experience. This is a low/no heat procedure, which I also feel is important.

[botticelli1972]

Easy answer is no, the latent image fades quickly. See tests done by John Hurlock.

[botticelli1972]

I started with 35mm and quickly switched to small plates taped into a large format holder. Looks pretty good for a first try. My best developments were with Amberlith, never good luck with pure red or pure yellow gels. Try a north facing window indoors to avoid heat, leave it in there all day it will be fine. Write everything down, number each plate even if it is a failure and take digital photos and keep them recorded with the plate number, even if you polish it away and start over. You will see seasonal changes this way and be able to anticipate how to fix issues when things go wrong. Welcome to the club.

[botticelli1972]

Welcome to the club.
First question cleaning plates. Use accelerant free gloves, N-Dex brand, the regular nitrile gloves have sulfur in them. I simply polish and wipe with acetone, that gets rid of the fats used in the manufacture of polishing compounds. Don’t over think it. Remember to wipe edges of plates.

A properly exposed B-dag will show the brightest highlight already starting to show when first put under rubylith. The light coming in the lens has red wavelengths in it that will start the print out process. For an experiment do a several hour exposure, you sill see lots of this effect and it makes neat images. My best development ever was placing rubylith covered plate holder in a north facing window in my house and going off to work, comeback and it was perfect!

Gilding not required on B-dags, rarely does it improve them, more often ruins, but does make them much tougher. Never pour solution on dry plate it will stain, keep plate in low pyrex with just a little water over the surface. I make my gold solution a bit stronger to compensate for the water and pour not on plate but next to and allow to mix with the water. Heat just speeds up reaction, you can do a “cold Gilding” by leaving it alone and watching, Ive done it over several days or a few hours, flood with water when it looks good. If you are in a hurry you can put in the microwave, as long as metal is fully submerged it will not spark! Watch carefully for steam, pull out immediately then let sit till you are happy. If bubbles form on the surface it will usually not result in a good image.

[botticelli1972]

It has also been a long time for me. I have not made one in 10 years. I stopped about the time you did. Kids, moving, work, life, old boats, old cars. All the excuses of mid life I guess have gotten in the way. I still have all my supplies and a small stash of plates. Someday.

[botticelli1972]

I use a dallmeyer 8″ f2.9 reasonably priced on eBay, 30-45 seconds in full sun

[botticelli1972]

To keep the plate cool place it in a northern window, I have left them for 10 hours while away at work to great results. I have the same lens as you. At full sun, EV 14.5 with the ASA on the meter set at 100, and the lens at full open you should be able to get a good portrait in 30 seconds for Caucasian skin. Bright whites look best at 8 seconds or they will be solarized and dark shadows do not show well until 45 seconds. See my post from while back called new lens test plates. http://www.cdags.org/forums/topic/new-lens-test-plates/

[botticelli1972]

I like the video, and what an improvement. Do you have a Puli? We have one. How do you hold your plate to the wooden block during polishing?

[botticelli1972]

Any news?

[botticelli1972]

I like the tones as well, what were the exposure f stop and time?

[botticelli1972]

Taking pics of shinny things is easy once you know the tricks. Put the dag on a black surface. Use a tripod for the camera and then set two lights at 30% to the object to be photographed, this might cause shadow lines if the dag is framed, adjust as necessary. Next get a 18 x 24 piece of black card stock, FomCore from art supply stores works well, and cut a tight fitting hole in the middle for the lens. This will cover the camera body and anything else that will reflect back as long as you square up the shot. You will have no or maybe just a tiny reflection of the lens coatings. This is how the catalog photographers at museums do it.

A side note: I’ve been away a while from the list, still daging but enjoying our newborn.

Larry

[botticelli1972]

Alan, thanks for the compliment on the camera. In the end I think I made it too small. I am going to make another one to fit some whole plate holders, originaly for glass plates, I just got. I too think the lens is by Darlot but it only has an importers mark. I have only made one image from it and it was OK. The glass is 4 1/4 inches across and it weighs a ton. At 4×5 I only use the center of the image circle and it is very distortion free at infinity. I do not know how it will look at whole plate or on close ups till I try it when I get a ground glass of sufficient size. I have a friend who uses mammoth size cameras with film and he uses a plexi ground glass for safety, I was thinking of trying that for the next camera. -Larry

[botticelli1972]

This is the magic lantern lens on a box in a box camera made from Liptus plywood.-Larry

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[botticelli1972]

I used a 175 aero-ektar for the first 5 years and had decent results. Jon your lens looks very clear, I did do aa UV bleach to mine which was very stained. I took the lens appart and put the offending elements in a southhern window for nearly a year when I first got it. I would say the staining was 80% removed. The lens is now an effective F/3.8 (see pic over white paper). It is fast but not all that sharp. When I want to do a still life or architecture and can get back far enough and have the time for a long exposure I use a trusty Kodak Commercial Ektar 210mm F/6.3. My new lens of choice for portrait work is the 8″ f/2.9 Dallmeyer, still not super sharp but is a true 2.9 so it is a full stop faster than the Aero-Ektar (pictured on my 1940’s 4×5). I have also been working on a 19th century magic lantern lens it is HUGE. It is a four element 11″ lens that tests out to be close to f/3.5 and will cover whole plate with ease. I have done little testing with it as I just completed the box in box camera.-larry

 

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[botticelli1972]

Nice shot, Alan I noticed you are using a box camera with out the benefits of rise/tilt ect. Do you think the “freedom” from having to make perspective corrections is a bonus? I was thinking that the early practitioners used fixed cameras and got good work from them, though with such short DOF lenses a movement might be helpfull. Currently I shoot with a no-name 1940’s 4×5 with limited movements. How many others are using fixed box type cameras, and do you like them?-Larry

[botticelli1972]

Corey, I vote for solid silver while you are learning. They are very soft and easy to bend/dent though. To make them stiffer on 1/2 plates I epoxy them to sheet brass, kind of a homemade clad plate. They last forever if you do not drop them. You must start development as soon as you pull the holder from the camera, or the image will degrade fast. That was most likely a major source of the thin blue image problem. I have several glass plates with amberlith taped to the edges and I put them over the holder and use binder clips at the edges to hold them on, then just remove the dark slide.-Larry

[botticelli1972]

corey, I am always trying something new, the color I have been using of late is first cycle deep orange/magenta, In my particular box it takes about 2:15 to get to that color depending on temperature in the dark room (keep a chart it will help with consistency). My average base exposure for a subject with no bright white or blue in it is 20 seconds at F/2.9 in full sun, 10 seconds for a white or blue subject. Second series colors are slower and tend to look “muddy” in my opinion. Lately I have been developing for 2-3 hours in a southern window, but beware of heat which will cause fog. Larry

[botticelli1972]

I had no Idea that iodine only was even slower than Becquerel. I always just assumed that it was somewhere in the middle. Well, that would explain why the few Iodine only mercury dags I have tried did not work out. I will try one this weekend and see if it works with added time. Good to know-Larry

[botticelli1972]

Has anyone tried crushed up bromine hot tub/swimming pool tablets? They are super easy to get. The ingredients listed on the package list only bromine and an inert carrier.-Larry

[botticelli1972]

Just a side note: the other day I was bored and read the warning label on a replacement halogen 500watt bulb and it was a UVA exposure warning that stated that exposures greater than 6 hours could cause redness (sunburn?) and skin irritation. Not that we would sit for a 6 hour shot but they do contain the UVA-Larry

[botticelli1972]

This weekends work: 60 seconds f/4 EV 13.7 mostly cloudy. Over Iodine 3:15 to first magenta, A/C on in darkroom slows up Iodine uptake. Probably 1/3 stop overexposed, I keep doing that. Tried the new light background and it makes a huge difference in the hair definition, much better. Did another but background was too far away, needs to be right behind sitter or it does not show as well. Currently using an old blue with green tinge low knap fuzzy blanket.-Larry

 

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[botticelli1972]

I knew someone would have the pieces to the puzzle of that image. Lynne is still at the Smithsonian for the short term at least, she is retiring this year after a long career as a paper conservator. you should be able to find her through the SI email first initial last name @si.edu -Larry

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