Glass Plate Negatives/Photo Emulsion

[Dave Willison]

Has anyone made glass plate negatives using a modern photo emulsion such as SilverPrint or Liquid Light? I am interested in glass plate negatives but because of the chemicals involved I'm not sure I want to work with collodion. I realize that I would need a plate holder and that the speed of the negative would be very slow. I also expect that the glass would have to be subcoated before the emulsion is applied. Any thoughts?

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[Sal Santamaura]

Yes, save yourself the trouble and buy some T-max 100 glass plates from Kodak.

[Dave Willison]

The only problem with t-max plates is the price. B&H offers 36 for $429. That is approximately $12 per plate

[Sal Santamaura]

What's your time worth? How much will the materials cost? What do you expect your process yield to be?

[Dave Willison]

This is experimental. I'm not looking to do any technical or scientific work. I guess I'm thinking of an alternative process approach that might yield something with artistic potential. I'm using older lenses and experimenting with approaches that yield unusual results. What I'm trying to determine is whether or not anyone has tried a proprietary liquid photo emulsion on glass to produce negatives. Thanks for your comments.

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[David Nash]

Kodak make glass plates? Is this a wind-up? I'm having enough problems sourcing 10x8" Tri-X, and Kodak seem to dropping a lot of materials from their catalogue - I see the latest casualty is Kodachrome-25 35mm slide film.

Seriously, what are glass plates used for these days, and how do they compare in quality/image terms compared with film? Are there any other benefits?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Glass plates are used for certain kinds of scientific purposes where flatness is paramount.

[David F. Stein]

As I mentioned David, many ARE doing this. Take a look at www.raymondmeeks.com, I know he works with this technique; also, Jim Enfield, known for her photo col oring can help, as I expect Theresa Airey would. The key when applying the Lumi nos of similar prepared "craft" emulsion, as I understand it, is prepping the gl ass for adherence without "hazing" the image.

[pat krentz]

You could try using an albumen coating as a base for the light emulsion, it is much easier to coat with and a lot less trouble than other coatings. Check the Albumen & Salted Paper book, also the Keepers of Light book. If you can't find them contact me and I will look it up for you, which will include a receipt for custard (give you something to do with the yokes) Hope you have time and patience. Pat

[Erik Gould]

I would also recomend the book "Silver Gelatin" a guide to handcoated emulsions; published by Amphoto books. It covers in some detail coating emulsions on glass (as well as many other substrates) for creative effects.

[David Haardt]

Dear Dave,

The German mail order Mono-C (http://www.monochrom.com) sell Wephota Pan 100 glass plates (click "Filme" -> "Schwarzweiss" -> "Glasplattennegative"). 12 plates cost about 35 dollars in 9x12cm resp. 42 dollars in 4x5" resp. 68 dollars in 13x18cm. How can I process them on my own?

Best regards -David