Originally Posted by
BOB KISS
DEAR THOMAS,
Yes, choosing which subjects to print on urano is a trick. It appears that uranos were popular for portraiture during the second half of the 19th C due to their warm color but, as the short essay in an earlier post says, they were replaced by the more sensitive silver processes. As in my video, I use Potassium Dichromate as a contrasting agent to snap up the highlights while leaving the deeper "old burgundy" shadows. As you have discovered the urano process has a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery looooooooooooooong scale and needs some negs with SERIOUS density ranges to get anything near a light highlight and deep shadow on the same print!
I was in a rush and, of course, the bulb on my NuArc 26-1KS blew and I wasn't keeping extras at that time (learned THAT lesson!!!) so exposed 3 uranos for a show in Brussels in the sun. Nice results. Then I got quantitative and bought a Light Measure long wavelength exposure meter so, once I nail the neg/paper combo, I hope to be more efficient in printing.
I will be presenting comparison prints on about 7 popular papers and the results of increasing the pigment load onto Pictorico Ultra Premium as compared to the Letterpress film I usually use. This new neg looks like it just might do justice to the urano scale index.
If time permits, I may try some additional toners as well.
Access to uranyl nitrate is becoming more and move difficult. I found a supplier selling small quantities at reasonable prices two years ago but they have discontinued selling it. I have found another supplier and will place a test order but I am beginning to think that we need to treat uranyl nitrate like a really good printing paper...find one? Buy a LARGE supply! LOL!!!
CHEERS!
BOB
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