[] * Cyano * Van Dyke * Copper * Hypo Iron * Vitamin C * Seawater Plates

Methods

I like to do things myself. I hate being dependent on others, on companies, on hidden black box knowledge. More and more black and white photographic materials are disappearing. Every time I find an interesting film to play with, it is gone the next time I try and order it. Seawater Plates shows how to make your own glass plate negatives using only seawater, gelatin and silver nitrate. I also go over how to use photographic paper in film holders to simulate the look and feel of glass plates w/o all the hassle and time.

Developers are notoriously nasty. Hydroquinone used in most developers is a known carcinogen, especially in powered form (if you make your solutions from scratch, that means dealing with the powder). The vitamin C developers do use Phenidone, which is somewhat hazardous, but not in the same league with HQ. Mixing my own means I have control over characteristics. In this way variations can be used to develop paper, film, glass plates or even paper at a much lower contrast to be used as the 'film' in a large format camera at ISO 2 or lower.

I am fascinated by SLOW film speeds. At ISO 0.05 to ISO 3, time slows down. Exposures can take minutes, even in full sunlight (F64+). People disappear, waves mist out, everything takes on a dream like quality. No shutter needed means I can experiment with my own lens combinations (scrounged from dead digital cameras to be poetic).

I have used film cameras from 1880 that still work just fine. How long will your digital camera last?

Check out the alternative methods above and go for what excites your own creative passions. Click on the [Ghost] to return to the main page.