I tried printing salt prints with sunlight in Florida. I found open shade to be best, giving more shadow detail and more consistent exposure times. But I went back to my UV light source. It was consistent and could be used any day - or night.
I tried printing salt prints with sunlight in Florida. I found open shade to be best, giving more shadow detail and more consistent exposure times. But I went back to my UV light source. It was consistent and could be used any day - or night.
The UV in sunlight, when that is the critical factor for exposure, varies by latitude, season, and time of day so exposure time is rather variable. Exposure can also affected by heat, especially for gelatin- based alt processes, so that is another complication to factor in to the equation.
Exposure times with modern photo paper would need to be pretty quick as mentioned before; likely fractions of a second, as if you were shooting paper negatives.
In fact, if you find contact printing via the sun unworkable, I would recommend shooting paper negatives and then doing reversal processing on them. You're left without a negative, but you do get a positive print exposed by sunlight.
POP is no longer manufactured but you can pretty easily do it yourself if you have the materials on hand.
Yep, silver chloride emulsion by way of sodium/ammonium chloride, gelatin, and silver nitrate. There's lots of recipes out there that work fairly well and can produce a wide range of subtle variations in tones & final color. It's great fun for those so inclined.
Those were contact printed from an 8x10 negative in the noon sun for a few minutes. The one on the right is still a bit wet so the color is warmer, but I expect it to cool down a bit as it dries. Though, not as much as the one on the left, which was toned in very dilute selenium for much longer.
I picked up a box of Centennial POP sealed box. It's the stuff Kentmere made for Chicago Albumen Works. It still works. Untoned it's brick red. It has an excess of un-reacted silver nitrate in the gelatin. This stuff was all anyone used until Velox came along. I have no idea how regular photo paper would work. Just to be clear, you don't develop POP. The sun does all the darkening, then you fix in straight dilute sodium thiosulfate. Toning with Gold is what brings out the print. Or as mentioned you can use Selenium, but you need to get dilution and pH right or in a matter of seconds you will go wow that's beautiful, to why is my print fading away.
If you use selenium you need to make sure the print is well fixed or the Se will react with the residual silver chloride. Gold doesn't react with silver chloride.
I'm more interested in Carbon and gum bichromate than POP. Azo and other straight silver chloride emulsion papers are amazing. The blacks are incredible, toning with Se or Kodak Blue Toner (Gold) makes for amazing cold blacks.
Yes indeed. Mark is right on. Platinum/Palladium, and others are printing out processes.
We have no shortage of sunlight here in Tucson.
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