Hello,
so - in a weak moment I have just ordered the book from Dick "Platinum and Palladium printing" where I guess I should find everything I need to know to try it out. I would like to try some 4x5 prints as that is the largest camera I have and it will probably be also good size for starting. Should I really like the process I may even consider a larger camera later, but that is not what I would like to discuss here now (my wife is sitting next to me as I write
).
The true reason for me to try the technique is mostly driven by curiosity, but I also realized that I would like to challenge myself in the way of choosing the subject and the composition. Most of my photos up to now seem to be still too "full" - even those "moody" ones. Concentrating on a smaller print size (although there are clearly simpler ways than Pt/Pd 4x5 contacts) which requires clear and simple composition.
One of my first questions would be - where to get the necessary chemicals and tools. I am located in Germany so I would preferably buy in EU to save on the taxes and shipping costs and all the problems sometimes involved with shipping overseas.
For the technical side - up to now I used mostly FP4+ and TMY developed in Pyrocat HD (I do realize that I will need different exposure and development times with Pt/Pd) and would probably like to stay with this developer (should be suitable according to what I read on the topic)
I have to admit that in spite of working in physics, I am a bit scared by the stuff about the CI and density curves etc. - gives an impression that without densitometer and numerous tests you just can not get properly developed negative ...
As I am really at the beginning here - any advices or comments would be greatly appreciated.
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