CasedImage
Forum Replies Created
-
My latest, more of a test plate but worthy enough to be trying out the new forum and site…
www.CasedImage.com
Here’s a couple of my latest, some tinkering evident in the galvanising I have been trying. One is of my mother in a case I made for her and the other is of my nephews who at approaching 2 years were never going to sit still for the three second exposure.
Jon, as well as liking the image I like the circular passe partout, quiet the original.
www.CasedImage.com
For piece of mind and honest confidence in dealing with the border control people the best option is to post chemicals and mercury ahead to your destination. But otherwise there is no reason you should have a empty mercury pot, fuming boxes and gilding stand in your check in luggage. I always have a dag at the ready to explain and after a few minutes about me droning on about the process they are glad to be sending me on my way.Mercury itself is on the big no-no list for items to be taken aboard a plane. Apparently in the past, nefarious individuals have poured out mercury into planes from there passenger seats. The result is that the mercury makes its way down through the fuselage and eventually eats through it (Mercury has dissolves aluminium over time) rendering the plane a write off.As to a time of year to be meeting, the detailing of the process makes a momentous anniversary date though this may be not without problems. August can be unbearably hot in Paris and the Parisians leave on mass as they head off for the holidays so many business are not open, but then maybe accommodation might cheaper.There is also the first week of June – the most fantastic of all photography flea markets occurs in a little town just south of Paris – Bierves. The town has a Photography museum that has 15000 cameras, most on display. The streets of the town are packed with photo dealer tables from all over Europe. See attached images of this years meet. Not that I’m suggesting a different location for CDagcon but it would give a great daytrip from the "Dagbase" of Bry.Later than August and the meet will compete with peoples big trip of the year to the Daguerreian society symposium, which this year coming is going to be in Philadelphia.
www.CasedImage.com
I think Biennial would be the way to go and for practicality locations within the US, but the 170th anniversary beckons Bry. Indeed facilities for Practitioners to ply there art would be a priority.I think there is a bit of history to meetings of Cdagists outside of Daguerreian Society gatherings, I even have a aging tshirt from one:
www.CasedImage.com
My "darkroom" is a corner of the studio that I have masked off with thick black plastic painter’s drop-cloth. All of these little quirks serve to remind me that daguerreotypes can be made with fairly loose standards and still come out looking great. It’s no Castle Daguerre but it’ll do.A man’s darkroom is his castle… ah the urban legend of Castle Daguerre…
” title=”Smile” />www.CasedImage.com
With Mercury Pot design, what are peoples thoughts on sealed versus open mercury pots? Because as individuals we operate under the radar of Health & Safety and Environmental regulatory bodies the onus is on us to develop standards that protect both ourselves and the environment. As a modern practice Daguerreotypy needs to be a respected name by such governance’s as the last thing we all need is to be perceived as environmental rogues that need to be legislated against.
A double darkslide arrangement (see attached image) provides airlock access to a lethal atmosphere. Contained within the mercury pot the danger will pass through the cooling down and condensing of the vapors, post plate development. A small amount of airspace around the plate itself is exchanged with the fumehood environment but this is a tiny fraction of what mercury vapors must escape from a heated open pot when the developed plate is removed. While judicious use of a good fume hood may protect you those vapors are still being released into the environment. Fans failing, backdrafts or power outages also present an unmanageable situation with a non sealed mercury pot.
The facility for measuring the temperature of the heated mercury is also important, over heated mercury means more being released into the atmosphere and will play havoc with your development also. thinking of mercury pot design I might also add to avoid Aluminium since mercury can dissolve it.
Reading various blogs, I get the feeling that there are many people heading towards mercurial development at the moment, some with the best features in mind (see attached image), so perhaps its an opportune time to remind everyone of our duty not only to ourselves but to the environment.
www.CasedImage.com
Hey congrats Jon, the achievement of doing it on your own is something quite special. I had done a workshop a few years before hand but the first one I had made on my own was this one, its a grave in Pere Laichase cemetery in Paris. Mine actually looks worst to some extent in person as I was a bit generous in photoshop with it.
www.CasedImage.com
