Bitumen photograph

<p>I want to try to make a photograph using Joseph Nicephore Niepce technique of coating a plate with bitumen and exposing it for several hours and then developing it in oil, he used lavender oil but at over $500/gal I want to use something else.</p>

<p>Have any of you tried using this process?</p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p>Some history books say he dissolved the bitumen in lavender oil and coated the plate with the resulting 'varnish' as well as developing the exposed image in the oil.<br>

If you do a google search for 'lavender oil bitumen niepce' you'll find a couple of pages from "Processes in Photoreactive Polymers" which discusses the process at length.</p>

<p>I use lavender oil for making the varnish for wet plate negatives. It is not terribly expensive in small quantities. How much do you need to develop a plate? Are you sure you need a gallon? I would check out the process a bit more with the lavender oil to determine quantities needed. If it is like wet plate, you use a very small amount per plate. </p>

<p>I swear I remember a site documenting someones bitumen process experiments with modern materials (driveway patch, lighter fluid, beer cans). I did a quick search and can no longer find it, although I remember it being part of an alt-proc group somewhere in Texas? Dry the board over at alternativephotography.com, maybe someone can steer you in the right direction? Let us know how it goes.</p>