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Is anybody uses Rockland Colloid (Ag-plus) emulsion to create a tintype? How good are the images comparing to the wet plate process? I am quite familiar with the wet plate Collodion but I need to find a replacement until I upgrade my studio. My question is more about a quality of the final image and the archival longevity.
Thanks
Bill
I've only seen one person obtain good results. I tried it and it was a total waste of time and money. You're better off going for the real thing, as I did along with hundreds of others when the fad started up about 10 years ago.
I bought AG+ last week. I will be testing in a while on glass. I'm letting it age for a bit. Other events are interfering with my real life.
I doubt it will replace wet plate or everybody would be doing it.
If you want a tintype, do it correctly, not with the Rockland substitute
goldman
i have done rockland tintypes for years and get good results
i do them on both metal and glass ( reversed dry plate )
if you "google" .. "silver gelatin tintype" you might find results
that people have posted on the internet. regarding longevity
if you wash and process them properly you might not have issues.
i can't speak for anyone buy myself but i've been coating emulsion on glass
since around 1986 and they look like they were just made.
the developer is finicky that is the only down-side to it. mix it as instructed
by rockland, with distilled water and you will be OK.
the materials aren't explosive or toxic, like wet plate, that is why i do it.
plus i don't have to process my exposures immediately.
good luck!
john
hi jimQuote:
Originally Posted by Jim Noel
the rockland process was what people were doing into the 1900s. it isn't a process they invented and are suggesting
to people it is authentic when it isn't.
John,Quote:
Originally Posted by jnanian
I would very much like to see some samples of your work with this material! I almost tried the stuff myself a year ago and because I found many complaints about how difficult the material was, I skipped it and went straight to collodion work. But if you are getting good results, then please, show us some!
Paul
hi paul
the developer is finicky & the biggest problem. sometimes people don't mix it with distilled water
( can cause problems ) sometimes they buy a kit that has been in storage for a year and the developer got dark
( can cause problems ). the developer is proprietary so if you like the proces there are a handful of varients ..
i think a couple in the darkroom cookbook, one in jill enfields alternative process book, one on apug and if you
do a deep search on the web you might be able to find others.
in the 1900s this same process was used using paper as a substrate... i don't have a lot of $ these days
so if i can cut a corner, i will :) i buy glass from time to time and its like $30-50 a wack. paper is pretty cheap.
and like the metal plates, i can stick in my pentax k1000 ( oops wrong forum ! ) and do a test or just use small bits instead of a big 4x5 plate.
i have a few things up here:
http://www.nanianphoto.com/blog/tag/dry-plate-tintypes/
http://www.nanianphoto.com/blog/tag/ambrotype/
you'll have to wade and wander.
none of the images i have made have been with ag+ .. the emulsion
they recommend and sell the process with, they have all been done
with either expired 10-15 year old vc or home made emulsion ..
john
tonality
one thing to note is that the images on glass tend to have a weird greenish hue to them, like AZO and dektol
images on metal have the tonality of regular "normal" photographs ( sort of but still a little different )
i've never toned photographs in selenium or thio or sulfite &c toner but i am guessing if you can do that with
with regular photo emulsion, you might be able to do it with these but to be honest im not sure since you use hardened fixer ( YMMV ).
photographs on my website might not be a very good barometer for this process ... i sometimes hand color, or use PS to add tint and its not "straight"
i get kind of bored with straight photography so i mess around a little bit ...
for stuff that is a bit more "not messed with"
you might poke around and look at the work of sean mccormick, he does really beautiful silver gelatin tintypes and its pretty straight forward
http://sean-mccormick.com
https://www.facebook.com/tinmanportraits
sean also uses this process for fashion+commerical shoots and other interesting projects.
double vs thin coating the plates
when i spoke with bob cone, the guy that started rockland colloid, he suggested that i could double coat
the emulsion on the plates since i wasn't using AG+( and all my emulsion was "aged" )
... sean i believe uses a thin coat rather than a thicker coat and does everything by the instructions given by RC.
after a while i get antsy, i start to split develop my plates between a hard developer like dektol, and the reversal developer rockland colloid gives ..
so between coating my plates differently, doing darkroom work with them, and screwing around with the developer
i have kind of wandered off the path .. its fun though :)
john