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Showing posts from January 14, 2011

Fred Endsley

He was a great teacher and is fondly remembered. I sent him an email years ago and tried to contact him but he had passed away. He inspired me to move to digital technology. This is his site still supported as a Memorial. http://www.artic.edu/~fendsley/

COATING PAPER AND OTHER MATERIALS

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Another great article, and the basis of my Salt printing, from Fred around 1998, old history in terms of the web. Fred Endsley COATING PAPER AND OTHER MATERIALS Application of cyanotype, Van Dyke Brown, and gum bichromatic solutions can be carried out in any way which achieves the desired result. A good quality hair brush with soft bristles may be used for an even coating, or cheaper brushes can be used to reveal the kinds of marks the brush can make. A cotton swab, or aerosol spray may be used for the kinds of marks that they will make. Paper or material can be floated directly in a tray of the solution (though this requires a lot of solution). Be careful however,when using this technique with absorbent material for it will soak up enormous amounts of solution. When coating fabrics, they can be soaked and wrung out, but please wear protective gloves. Since the paper is sensitive to light only in the coated areas, you could consider coating areas selectively,

BASIC COLOR THEORY FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

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Color forms the basis for some of our strongest visual impressions. It is inherent to the functioning of nature as well as man-made reality (both as physicality and concept). The interrelationship of colors allows, in part, the efficient performance of life on this planet. Stop signs are red because red stands out best against greenery (if foliage were orange, stop signs would probably be blue) and in order to survive, chameleons change color to blend with their environment. Color not only functions physically, but also conveys ideas and feelings, although in this more abstract sociological sense, color is subject to more rapid evolution. As visual artists, it is impossible not to deal somehow with color whether we are seeking it out or avoiding it. Even as exclusively black and white photographers we must understand how color creates black and white tonality, how filters work, how panchromatic film is sensitive to all color while ortho-chromatic film and printing paper

CHANGING THE COLOR OF BLUEPRINTS

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Here is another article from my old site "Shadowland". Fred Endsley CHANGING THE COLOR OF BLUEPRINTS "Probably the most significant problem in the use of the blueprint, though, is a psychological rather than a chemical one. We find that we are working against a cultural or conventional color bias: the blueprint is simply too blue. Reasonably neutral black seems to be an ideal, but another 'photographic color', Such as brown, would apparently be more acceptable than blue." - Reginald Heron, Blueprint Into Blackprint Afterimage, Dec. 1973, Volume 1, Number 3 Although the blue blueprint is the most stable and highly tonal form, there is still a groundswell away from its graphic blueness, especially among those intent upon using high-contrast, low-detail yielding transparencies. For those who find the blue distasteful, and for experimentalists, here are several processes for changing the blue into another, more "pleasing" col

SOLARIZATION AND THE SABATTIER EFFECT

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Here is the original article (that I did not write by the way). The term "solarization" is often used mistakenly to describe the "Sabattier Effect". In actuality, solarization is an increase in the exposure of a film to light or radiant energy by 10 to 1000 times the normal amount of exposure (4 to 10 f/stops) which leads to the film becoming lighter rather than darker. In general, there is little or no practical use for this phenomenon in and of itself, although a strong bump in exposure does play a role in the Sabattier Effect. Solarization was mentioned by Louis Daguerre at least as early as 1831, though not by that term. The Sabattier Effect results in a partial or complete reversal of image tones on either film or paper emulsion, as well as distinctive outlines (known as Mackie lines, after Alexander Mackie who first described them) which border adjacent highlight and shadow areas. It was first discovered in 1862 by Armand Sabattier as a result o

Message from the Past

I recieved this email Dear Mr Maillard, I read with much interest the paper at http://web.archive.org/web/ 20040416141159/http://www. maillard.co.uk/downloads/htm/ sola.htm . I would like to know if you have added to that version since it was written. Re the paper(s) best suited to this work : with many papers having disappeared, I am a bit at a loss as to what I could use. I have a small stock of Kentmere Kentona (chloro-bromide paper); did you have the opportunity of using this type of support ? Yours truly, Michel If any one can help Michel please contact me. My reply was:- Dear Michel I have a friend in France who might be able to help you he is a great Chemist and photographer. I will forward this to him. As far as I know any high contrast paper is good. Chloro-bromide will go a more neutral tone if you use selenium toner. You could also try making up some high contrast lithographic developer if the paper is a low grade. I suspect your kentmere might be multigrade, if so try u