joe_lipka3

The wag that suggested the camera was a Wista Field 45 is actually correct. It is a Wista. I own one just like that. I purchased it from Lens and Repro in 1978 or 1979 (I'm at work and don't carry my camera receipts with me.) At that time Wista was not well known in the US, which might lead some of the other folks to suggest that it is not a Wista.

Sites to Google:

Bostick & Sullivan (supplies)

AlternativePhotography.com

Unblinkingeye.com

Phtographers Formulary (supplies)

I had a similar set up with my Wista for over ten years. Some of my favorite images used a 90 mm Fuji F/8. Zero movements, zero focus, but what a view! Had to tilt everything back because the front of the camera bed was always in the bottom of the photo.

I'll bet if you went to www.alternativephotography.com, you could probably find out a lot of information on cyanotypes.

 

Tannic acid and sodium carbonate in a second bath can be used to tone cyanotypes to brown-black.

Try Bostick and Sullivan or the Photographer's Formulary. Both are in the USA, both ship internationally. Silver Nitrate is considered a hazardous material for shipping purposes if the quantity is sufficiently large. It is not hazardous if shipped in solution.

 

You might want to check www.AlternativePhotography.com. I beleive that is a UK based web site. Should have some information or contacts. Also Google Mike Ware for his alternative photography site.

There is more opportunity today making platinum/palladium prints today than there was a century ago. The materials for platinum sensitizers are purer and the technology has advanced far beyond what it was in the early 1900s. Need more information? Google "Bostick and Sullivan" or "Photographer's Formulary" to discover how available and how much improvement has been made in non-silver processes. Yes, it's expensive, but it always has been. Don't know where you are, Marck, but both of these companies deliver world wide.

 

As for film, there have been some improvments in the last century should one decide to use in camera film. There are also options available in creating enlarged negatives that did not exist. Better copy films should you consider tradtional enlarged negatives and then should you could avail yourself of computer technology. It is possible to create negatives via imagesetter (for a true film negative) or desktop printer. Google Dan Burkholder to see how far he has pushed that technology.

 

In short, there is no better time to consider alternative processes than now. We have more choices, purer chemicals, better papers, newer technologies plus a lot more history to look at than photographers of a century ago. Don't talk about it. Do it.

Check out Ed Buffaloe's site, www.unblinkingeye.com for an article by Sandy King on UV light sources. It will have more information than you probably need on UV light sources. Not all UV sources are created equal. Sandy takes the mystery out of it.

Russ Dodds at Workting Theory Press has done a lot of gravures from digital negatives. He would be a source for this type of information.

My fiberglass and epoxy sink is still going strong after 16 years. My only problem is that the plywood has bowed some. I have a high spot running down the middle of the sink. Helps tray agitation, hurts drainage. 8)

 

My suggestion would be to use Durham's rock hard water putty to smooth out transition from the bottom to the sides. Should be able to coat over that with no problems.

Go Here: http://unblinkingeye.com/ For articles on cyanotypes and an article about building a UV light source. If you are in the Northern climes, then you would be best served by having a consistent source of UV light year round. Sun prints are romantic, but if you want to produce work on a consistent basis you should have an artificial light source. The unblinking eye site will get you in right direction.

In the current issue of LensWork, the monthly sample prints were captured on a digital camera, converted to a film negative and printed on Ilford paper. Check one out to see how good it really can be.

Pre-soaking comes from the days long gone when films had thick emulsion layers. The pre soaking "opened up" the emulsions so that developer could migrate to the middle of the emulsion layer quicker so development would be more even.

 

Not really needed with thin emulsion films. But it won't hurt to pre soak thin emulsion films either...

Lith film has a density range far beyond that of regular film. It works very well with platinum printing.

If done correctly there is no difference to the naked eye between an original silver print and a silver print made from a digital negative. For silver printing the negative should be created by an image setter to achieve the optimal result. The LensWork special edition prints are made this way.

 

I like to think of the difference betweeen interpositive and digital methods of making enlarged negatives is the difference between hand tools and power tools. In the hands of a skilled worker hand tools can build something beautiful. Power tools can do it quicker.

I have a Nu Arc VFC22 (17 x 22)frame. It uses a GAST0211-V138-G8CX vacuum pump. It really sucks. I mean that in a good way. Little guy pulls about 22" of Mercury with a Gast Vacuum pump. Gast Manufacturing is in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Try <a href="http://www.russellbrown.com/">this</a> link.

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The article entitled <A href="http://www.russellbrown.com/tips/pdf/history.pdf">"The Future is History"</a> is relevant to your needs.

 

All the other (great) articles are icing on the cake.

 

Retouching something that big is tedious.

This of course is based on the presumption that the photograph is worthy of such a long life. I am personally hope that many of my earlier efforts should fade to black. 8)

My venerable Wista says "Field 45" on the front. It's better than twenty years old. The back swings and tilts. The front rises, falls, tilts and swings. No shifts front or rear. Two tripod holes in a good sized baseplate.

Don't know if you can still get sheet film in 2-1/4 x 3-1/4, so that's where LF begins for me. But if you ask the folks that do 12 x 20 and 20 x 24, you may get a different answer. 8)

I started using the zone system when I started LF about twenty years ago. Even had the cool little notebook for redording the data on each exposure. I felt that was really being a photographer. Then, at a workshop, a real genuine WEST COAST PHOTOGRAPHER saw me with my little book. He told me to put it away because it slowed me down mechanically and creatively. He told me just make sure the shadows get enough exposure. IMHO the Zone System is good when you are starting out, to help you understand proper exposure and development. Now, I just put the dark shadow on Zone III, check the highlights and make the exposure.

In the Old North State. Cary, North Carolina to be exact. North Carolina, the birthplace of Pepsi, NASCAR and Krispy Kreme Donuts. Who says we're not cultured?

Chill Out Richard. That's what I did with the thin, flimsy, plastic 4x5 negative holder for the transparency adapter. Put the little bugger in a refrigerator between scans. Plastic gets soft when it gets warm and twists so the negative hits the scanner's glass. Just a chill between scans keeps the film holder tight enough to keep the 4x5 off the glass. This works for me. You don't know if will work for you unless you try it.

Being somewhat of a traditionalist, I usually pre-soak my film prior to the developer. I have found that the pre-soak water turns a really nasty purple color when I develop T-Max films. My completely developed film is the "normal" grey color.

If you have a legal existing older version of photoshop, you only need to buy the upgrade. The upgrade price is "only" $150 (US). I am running PS7 using windows XP home version using only 256 Meg of RAM with no problems. The best bet to help PS performance is the use of a second hard drive for the scratch disk.

 

You can afford to ponder this question for a while, PS8 should be out this fall.

Do a Google Search on Russell Preston Brown. Find his website, and look for the article on seeing in black & white. He has a compact tutorial on how to convert color to black and white. His site is also a treasure trove of photoshop instruction.