DOCSLIB.ORG

Collodion Instructional

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Collodion Instructional Wet-Plate Collodion Process for Ambrotypes and Collodion Negatives Michael Mazzeo, instructor Lab Supplies: Safety goggles Latex or Nitrile gloves Dust mask Inexpensive Gram Scale (Accurate to .1g) 100ml Glass Graduated Cylinder 250ml Glass Beaker 25ml Glass Beaker Glass Funnels Glass Stirring Rod 2 – 4oz Glass Bottles with Ground Glass or Cork Stoppers 1 – 500ml Glass Bottles with Screw on Cap 4 – 250 ml Glass Bottles with Screw on Caps 3 or 4 Clean plastic trays (a bit larger than your plate size) Cotton Wool or Coffee Filters pH testing papers Glass Hydrometer Essential Chemicals and Ingredients: 1 pint Collodion USP 1 pint Ethyl Ether 1 pint 190 proof Grain Alcohol (95% Ethyl Alcohol, NOT Denatured Alcohol) 10g Cadmium Bromide 10g Potassium Iodide or Ammonium Iodide 10g Ammonium Iodide 50g Silver Nitrate 25g Ferrous Sulfate 1 pint Glacial Acetic Acid (99.9%) 500g Sodium Thiosulfate (Pentahydrate) 100g Gum Sandarac 4 oz Oil of Lavender 1 lb Whiting (Calcium Carbonate, Chalk) 2 gal Distilled Water (NOT Spring Water) 1 pint Lamp Oil (99% pure paraffin) Tools, Materials, and Equipment: Sheets of Clear Glass or Dark Stained Glass Glass Cutter Glass Pliers Whetstone (Sharpening Stone) Cork-Backed Metal 12" Ruler (larger if you’ll be cutting glass from larger sheets) Oil Lamp Dust Brush Upright Silver Bath with Dipper Camera, lens, and tripod Wet-Plate Holder for the Camera Basic Collodion Formula: This Collodion will produce excellent positives and soft negatives for printing on Silver Gelatin Paper or with processes that do not require dense negatives. These negatives can also be intensified for printing on Albumen, POP, and Salted Papers. 120ml Plain Collodion USP 60ml Ethyl Ether 90ml 190 Proof Grain Alcohol 3ml Distilled Water (NOT Spring Water) 1.5g Cadmium Bromide 2g Potassium Iodide* In a 500ml Glass Bottle add 120ml Plain collodion. To the Collodion, add 60 ml Ethyl Ether. Expect to see cotton-like substances form and dissolve as you cap the bottle and swirl the liquids around. Set the bottle aside. Measure 90ml Grain Alcohol and pour it into a 100ml or 250ml glass beaker and set it aside. Into a small glass beaker or test tube, pour 3ml Distilled Water. Add to it, 1.5g Cadmium Bromide, which will immediately cake up. Break it down with a glass rod and stir until it is completely dissolved. To this add 2g Potassium Iodide and stir until dissolved. Add this mixture to the alcohol and stir. This is the Bromo-Iodized Alcohol Solution. Slowly add this Alcohol solution to the Collodion-Ether mixture and periodically swirl it around as you add it. Cap the bottle and label it clearly. This Salted Collodion will be a pale straw color and over the next week or two will ripen to a deeper yellow or amber color at which time it will be ready for use. *To make a collodion that ripens more quickly, replace half or all of the Potassium Iodide with Ammonium Iodide. It will be ready to use almost immediately, but the shelf life will be much shorter. It is to be expected that a precipitate will collect at the bottom of this stock bottle and should be of no cause for alarm. Do not attempt to coerce the precipitate back into solution! Before use, the Salted Collodion must be siphoned or decanted into smaller bottles. Never should a bottle of collodion be shaken, stirred, or agitated before use; it will introduce air bubbles and precipitate into the solution which will appear on your finished image as tiny holes and imperfections. The Silver Bath: 90g Silver Nitrate crystals Distilled Water to make 1 liter The Silver Bath is a 9% Silver Nitrate Solution and the total volume is determined by the size of the tank used to sensitize the plates. After mixing the silver solution, pour some of it into a cylinder tall enough to accommodate your hydrometer. Read the specific gravity of the solution and make a note of it on the storage bottle for future reference. The specific gravity reading essentially tells us the strength of the silver bath. When the bath becomes weak from use, you will add enough silver nitrate to bring the specific gravity back up to this nominal benchmark. Next, read the pH level of the bath using pH testing papers, to determine it’s acidity. Make note of this also. A pH level of 2.5-6 is generally good for making positives and negatives, but positives will work best with an acidic bath and negatives with a more neutral bath. Before using the silver bath for the first time, it must be iodized in order to work properly. There are various ways of accomplishing this, but the most simple and effective way is to coat a plate with your ripened collodion, place it in the bath, and leave it there overnight or for about eight hours. The silver bath will now be ready for use. Each collodionized plate that is placed in the silver bath will infuse the bath with ether, alcohol, and organic impurities. The bath should be filtered after each shooting day to remove visible particles. After a while though, the bath needs a much more thorough cleansing. The traditional way, but not necessarily the most effective way, to cleanse the bath of impurities is by “sunning”. The silver bath is poured into a large wide-mouth glass jar and set in a sunny spot for a few days. The ether and alcohol will evaporate out of the solution and the sun will cause any organic matter to blacken and sink to the bottom of the jar. The clear solution is then siphoned off the top, filtered, and brought back to it’s original strength and volume by adding silver nitrate and distilled water. Another, possibly better, method is to simmer the silver bath in a glass coffee pot until half to two- thirds of the liquid evaporates. This will certainly eliminate any ether and alcohol from the bath. Allow it to cool, pour it into a tall bottle, add a few scoops of Kaolin (China Clay), cap the bottle, shake it up vigorously, and set it aside for a few days. This finely powdered clay clouds the bath and as it slowly settles to the bottom, it carries with it all the organic matter. The clear liquid is then siphoned out of the bottle, filtered a couple of times, and brought back to it’s original strength and volume. With either method, be extremely careful in handling the silver bath and in choosing where to let it stand. Developers: Developer for Positives: 100ml Distilled water 4g Ferrous Sulfate 6ml Acetic Acid 4ml Grain Alcohol 6g White Sugar Developer for Negatives: 100ml Distilled water 3g Ferrous Sulfate 8ml Acetic Acid 4ml Grain Alcohol 8g White Sugar Add the iron and sugar to the water and mix until dissolved. Filter this solution twice through cotton or a paper coffee filter. Add the acid and stir. Add the alcohol and stir. (When mixing acids with water, always add the acid to the water; never add the water to the acid.) Store it in a glass or plastic airtight bottle. The iron or ferrous sulfate is the developing agent, the acetic acid acts as a restrainer to keep the developer from acting too fast. The sugar is an organic restrainer and serves two purposes; it allows you to use less of the caustic acetic acid, and it thickens the developer slightly, making it easier to keep it on the plate. These formulae can be modified to accommodate the working environment. In hot weather, you may need more restrainer or less iron to keep the solution from working too quickly and uncontrollably. Hot weather may also induce a chemical fogging during development. This can often be remedied by diluting the developer with water. Fixers: Potassium Cyanide or Sodium Thiosulfate Potassium Cyanide (KCn) is an extremely hazardous chemical, and if handled carelessly, it is deadly. It fixes Ambrotypes and Tintypes more quickly than Sodium Thiosulfate, washes out of the collodion more readily, and sometimes imparts a warmer tone to the plate. KCn is the traditional fixer for Tintypes. Otherwise, it is unnecessary and risky to use. KCn is too strong a fixer for negatives. Potassium Cyanide Fixer, 1.4% solution 14g Potassium Cyanide 1ltr Distilled Water Add the potassium Cyanide to the water and stir until dissolved. Working in a ventilated area and near a sink, far, far away from any children, pets, food, or food preparation areas, set up your scale. Cover the weighing plate with a piece of paper with the sides folded up forming a tray. Place on top of this, a cup for weighing the cyanide. Have a beaker containing the liter of water nearby. Wearing rubber or latex gloves, a dust mask, goggles, and an apron, open the cyanide container, place the cap in a safe place, and spoon the cyanide into the cup, little by little, until you have the correct amount. Pour it immediately into the water, cap the cyanide container, and stir the solution with a glass rod until all the crystals have dissolved. Then, pour the solution into a clearly marked plastic container and cap it. Identify it as Poison! Also label it Potassium Cyanide. Rinse out the measuring cup with water. Take the paper off the weighing plate, fold it carefully in case it collected any misdirected crystals, and place it in the trash. Rinse the mixing container and the glass rod. Carefully wipe down or rinse with water any area in which cyanide crystals may have fallen.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 19Th Century Photograph Preservation: a Study of Daguerreotype And
    UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESERVATION OF INFORMATION MATERIALS LIS 5653 900 19th Century Photograph Preservation A Study of Daguerreotype and Collodion Processes Jill K. Flowers 3/28/2009 19th Century Photograph Preservation A Study of Daguerreotype and Collodion Processes Jill K. Flowers Photography is the process of using light to record images. The human race has recorded the images of experience from the time when painting pictographs on cave walls was the only available medium. Humanity seems driven to transcribe life experiences not only into language but also into images. The birth of photography occurred in the 19th Century. There were at least seven different processes developed during the century. This paper will focus on two of the most prevalent formats. The daguerreotype and the wet plate collodion process were both highly popular and today they have a significant presence in archives, libraries, and museums. Examination of the process of image creation is reviewed as well as the preservation and restoration processes in use today. The daguerreotype was the first successful and practical form of commercial photography. Jacques Mande‟ Daguerre invented the process in a collaborative effort with Nicephore Niepce. Daguerre introduced the imaging process on August 19, 1839 in Paris and it was in popular use from 1839 to approximately 1860. The daguerreotype marks the beginning of the era of photography. Daguerreotypes are unique in the family of photographic process, in that the image is produced on metal directly without an intervening negative. Image support is provided by a copper plate, coated with silver, and then cleaned and highly polished.
    [Show full text]
  • The Wet Collodion Process
    IS&T©sIS&T's 50th50th AnnualAnnual ConferenceConference The Wet Collodion Process — a Scientific Approach Dirk Hertel, Pia Skladnikiewitz and Irene Schmidt Institute of Applied Photophysics, Technical Univ., Dresden, Germany Abstract take pictures of Saxon Switzerland”2. With his excellent photographs of Dresden, Saxony and various parts of Germ- The wet collodion process was the first successful photo- any taken on wet collodion plates Krone became the first and graphic negative process. The tone and detail reproduction of most prominent landscape photographer in Germany. both negatives and prints are remarkably good. There are a lot of collodion plates still in existence, but the detailed knowledge how the excellent image quality was achieved has been lost. The Institute of Applied Photophysics in Dresden harbors the photographic work of the German pioneer Her- mann Krone (1827-1916). He became prominent after start- ing to use the wet collodion method for landscape photo- graphy in 1853. It is extremely difficult to make sati-fac- tory reproductions from those historic negatives on contem- porary photographic materials or to digitize the old pictures. In order to gain a deeper knowledge of the process, wet collodion layers have been poured and then investigated using tools of modern imaging science. Sensitometric curves and relative spectral sensitivities have been inves- tigated for a range of emulsions with varying iodide-bromide ratios. Granularity noise and resolution have been measured by means of a high-resolution CCD-microdensitometer. The aim of the work is to be able to satisfactorily reproduce the tone and detail of wet collodion negatives and Figure 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Earliest Techniques Expert Group: Daguerrotypes, Salt Prints, Albumen Prints
    Earliest Techniques Expert Group: Daguerrotypes, Salt Prints, Albumen Prints Daguerreotypes are sharply defined, highly reflective, one-of-a-kind photographs on silver-coated copper plates, packaged behind glass and kept in protective cases. Introduced in 1839 by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, the daguerreotype process was the first commercially successful photographic process, and is distinguished by a remarkable clarity of pictorial detail. Daguerreotypes were popular through the 1840s and into the 1850s, especially for portrait photography. Salt prints are the earliest photographic prints on paper. They are often distinguished by their lack of precise image details and matte surface. Salted paper print images are embedded in the fibers of the paper, instead of being suspended on the surface of the paper, as in the later albumen prints and gelatin silver prints. Salted paper prints were "printed-out" in contact with paper negatives; the image was formed solely by the action of light on metal salts, without chemical developers. Albumen prints are the most common type of photographs from the 19th century. The process involves coating a sheet of paper with albumen (egg white), which gives the paper a glossy, smooth surface. The albumenized paper is sensitized with a solution of silver nitrate, then exposed in contact with a negative. Albumen prints are "printed-out," meaning that the image is created by the action of light alone on light-sensitive paper, without the use of chemical developers. One-of-a-kind Images Expert Group: Tintypes, Ambrotypes, Collodian Negatives A tintype is a non-reflective, one-of-a-kind photograph on a sheet of iron coated with a dark enamel.
    [Show full text]
  • Paper and Light: the Calotype in France and Great Britain, 1839-1870
    Paper and Light r-.~heCalotype in Franceand GreatBritain, 183 9-18 7 0 The Museum of FineArts, Houston September24-November 21, 1982 Organized by the Museum of fine Arts , Houston, and the Art Institute of Chicago in cooperation with the Univer­ sity of Texas at Austin. The exhibition and its catalogue were made possible in part through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D .C., a federal agency . The exhibition will be shown at the Art Institute of Chicago from December 15, 1982, to February 13, 1983. Designed by Michael Glass Design, Inc ., Chicago, Illinois The information in this brochure was drawn from Paper and Light: The Calotype in France and Great Britain , 18 39-1870 (at press). All rights reserved . No portion of this brochure may be used without permission of the Pub­ lications Department , the Art Institute of Chicago. A 1'6'~ [982- '1 I L-. 7- A Symposium on 17thCentury FrenchPainting Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with Saint John on Patmos, c . 1640, oil on canvas,T he Art Institute of The Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, A. A. Munger. H :E ;>;"' :E ::r P> !:!..::ro Friday, October 29, 1982 Friday, October 29 <n O Pl S 0 "' ~ .... ' < Pl and Saturday, October 30, 1982 (JQ. s ;ii :::, 6:00 Inspiration of the Poet: Reflections on Two Paintings by Nicolas 5· fE S ~ Poussin, Marc Fumaroli, Professor, The Sorbonne, Pari s. Pl :::, (1) Pl s· p.:, ~ - -<= OQ :::i < A symposium of American and European scholars to be held n ,O"'~ Saturday, October 30 8. r::r''-< ::;' in conjunction with the exhibition France in the Golden Age: 10:00 Opening Remarks (t):::, (1)p.:, I") ~ (J'J-· 17th Century French Painting in Ameri can Collections at the Art 0-::rp_.
    [Show full text]
  • COLLODION Onpaper Art Kaplan © 2013 J
    COLLODION ON PAPER Dusan C. Stulik | Art Kaplan The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes Atlas of The © 2013 J. Paul Getty Trust. All rights reserved. The Getty Conservation Institute works internationally to advance conservation practice in the visual arts—broadly interpreted to include objects, collections, architecture, and sites. The GCI serves the conservation community through scientific research, education and training, model field projects, and the dissemination of the results of both its own work and the work of others in the field. In all its endeavors, the GCI focuses on the creation and delivery of knowledge that will benefit the professionals and organizations responsible for the conservation of the world’s cultural heritage. The Getty Conservation Institute 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90049-1684 United States Telephone: 310 440-7325 Fax: 310 440-7702 Email: [email protected] www.getty.edu/conservation The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes is intended for practicing photograph conservators and curators of collections who may need to identify more unusual photographs. The Atlas also aids individuals studying a photographer’s darkroom techniques or changes in these techniques brought on by new or different photographic technologies or by the outside influence of other photographers. For a complete list of photographic processes available as part of the Atlas and for more information on the Getty Conservation Institute’s research on the conservation of photographic materials, visit the GCI’s website at getty.edu/conservation. ISBN number: 978-1-937433-06-2 (online resource) Front cover: A. C. Vroman, An Arizona Sky and Twin Buttes, 1895, gold-toned, silver collodion photograph.
    [Show full text]
  • STEVENS, Robert David, the USE of MICROFILM B Y the UNITED
    65 - 11,379 STEVENS, Robert David, 1921- THE USE OF MICROFILM BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, 1928-1945. The American University, Ph. D ., 1965 Political Science, public administration University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE USE OF MICROFILM BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, 1928-1945 by Robert David Stevens Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration Signatures of Committee: Graduate Dean: Chairman: Date: Aprilj 1965 The American University AMERICAN UNIVERSITY Washington, D. C. LIBRARY MAY 191965 WASHINGTON^* C. PREFACE This study traces the history and development of the microfilming of record materials by agencies of the Federal Government from the first such efforts in 1928 through the year 1945, The individual responsible for introducing into the United States the microfilming of record material is identified and the spread of the use of microfilm by Federal agencies is documented. Microfilm projects during this period are evaluated and the reasons determined why the technique of substituting microfilm for original records as a means of saving storage space did not become more widespread and popular. The study had its genesis in the author’s longstanding interest in the use of microfilm by libraries and archival agencies, an interest related to his employment by the Library of Congress from July 1947 to August 1964. This interest was intensified by discussions of the problems of microfilming of records in Dr. Ernst Posner’s classes in Archives Administration at The American University during the academic year 1951-1952.
    [Show full text]
  • María Fernanda Valverde Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation Contents Preface
    María Fernanda Valverde Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation CONTENTS Preface ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 Paper Negatives ............................................................................................................................... 5 Collodion Glass Plate Negatives ...................................................................................................... 9 Gelatin Dry Plate Negatives ........................................................................................................... 14 Cellulose Nitrate Film Negatives .................................................................................................... 19 Cellulose Acetate Film Negatives................................................................................................... 24 Polyester Film Negatives ................................................................................................................ 29 General Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 32 Glossary ........................................................................................................................................ 33 Endnotes ......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Photography Through the Collection at Pennypacker Mills
    A Brief History of Photography Using Images from the Collection at Pennypacker Mills Prior to photography, profiles or later known as silhouettes, were popular from 1770 to 1860. Photography would be their downfall. They received their name after Etienne de Silhouette an eighteenth century French minister of finance who was known to be frugal and as a hobby cut profiles. Since he was known to be cheap and these profiles were inexpensive, the name stuck. Silhouettes were produced in three major ways: hollow cutting, cutting and pasting, and painting. Hollow cutting is using a white piece of paper, cutting out the profile and mounting over a black background. Cutting and pasting is cutting out the profile from a black card and mounting on a white background. Painting is just painting in the profile with black ink. Artists often used a pantograph that traced the shadow and reduced it onto a piece of paper. Oil paintings were expensive and took time to sit for, whereas silhouettes could Samuel W. Pennypacker wrote on the back, These profiles of Matthias Pennypack- be done by amateurs. A skilled artist could er and Sarah Anderson his wife are the only portraits of them. They were cut probably make one in a few minutes for about sixty cents. Copies could also be made. Daguerreotypes Pennypacker Mills has a great collection of photographs that not only highlight the life and times of the Pennypacker family, but also the progress in photography. Samuel W. Pennypacker was born in 1843 and basically grew up with the photographic processes. In 1826, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce created the first photograph in a primitive camera of a courtyard.
    [Show full text]
  • Curatorial Care of Photographic Collections
    Appendix R: Curatorial Care of Photographic Collections Page A. Overview ....................................................................................................................................... R:1 What information will I find in this appendix? ................................................................................ R:1 Why is preventive conservation important for these materials? .................................................... R:1 How can I find the latest information on care of these types of materials? ................................... R:1 B. The Nature of Photographic Materials ...................................................................................... R:1 What is the component structure of photographic materials? ....................................................... R:1 Why should I identify photographic processes? ............................................................................ R:2 What are the basic types of final image materials and how do they deteriorate? ......................... R:2 What are the various types of binder layers? ................................................................................ R:3 What are examples of primary supports? ...................................................................................... R:4 Are there other structural concerns? ............................................................................................. R:5 C. Preparing a Preservation Strategy ...........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • WILL DUNNIWAY Collodion Photographer SPANNING THREE CENTURIES with the WET PLATE COLLODION PROCESS
    WILL DUNNIWAY Collodion Photographer SPANNING THREE CENTURIES WITH THE WET PLATE COLLODION PROCESS 1st Edition. Designed by Will Dunniway Photographs by Will Dunniway 2008 © 2008 by William H. Dunniway All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval systems, with- out permission in writing from the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Library of Congress Cataloging -In-Publication Data Dunniway, William, 2008 Will Dunniway, The Collodion Photographer: Spanning Three Centuries With The Wet Plate Collodion Process with Introduction by Tony Caltabiano ISBN 978-1-60725-070-8 Printed in China Printing by onthemark LLC | www.onthemark.net ACKNOWEDGEMENTS On a personal note, I would like to acknowledge a few people for bearing with me for more than a decade and a half now in the never-ending learning curve that comes with this craft. Forgive me for not mentioning you here if you are one of those wonderful folks. In the beginning there was John Coffer, my first teacher and now good friend. I owe him greatly for my knowledge. Even today I still learn from him. They don’t come any more talented than John. After John came my Civil War tintypist pard, Claude Levet. Much of what I am today as a tintypist to the Civil War reenactment crowd came from him. Claude is one of the greats in the collodion arts, no matter which century you live in.
    [Show full text]
  • Wet Plate Collodion Instructions
    www.bostick-sullivan.com (505) 474-0890 Wet Plate Collodion Kit Thank you for purchasing this Wetplate Collodion kit by Bostick & Sullivan. These mixing instructions are meant to be a basic guide to working with Bostick & Sullivan Wetplate kits and in no way should be considered a working guide to the wetplate process. We recommend reading extensively on the process before attempting to make images, and recommend joining the excellent online forum at www.collodion.com. Free telephone tech support is available to all Bostick & Sullivan customers. Our experts have over 30 years of experience in antique, traditional and alternative process photography. Phone toll free 1-877- 817-4320. The Bostick & Sullivan Wetplate Collodion kit allows the artist to create Tintypes, Ambrotypes and Glass Negatives using a single Salted Collodion and Developer. We recommend starting with Tintypes on black aluminum and Ambrotypes on glass, then experimenting with Glass Negatives once you are comfortable with the work flow and nuances of the processes. Safety Precautions Note: The Wetplate Collodion process requires the use of potentially harmful or deadly chemicals and compounds. Proper clothing and laboratory safety gear are necessary to prevent injury. Always work in a well ventilated space! Wetplate photography produces flammable vapors! Prolonged exposure to fumes may be harmful to your health! Do not store chremicals near a water heater or any other flame or pilot light. Store chemicals in a cool dry place. For chemical emergencies contact Chemtrec: (US) (800) 424-9300 or (INT) (703)- 587-3887 We recommend a beginning wetplate printer should be under the supervision of an 1 experienced wetplate photographer.
    [Show full text]
  • Myth Busters!!!!
    MYTH BUSTERS!!!! Introducing! An ongoing column to help dispel the various “myths” that have come to plague today’s wet-plate collodion photography scene. These myths or untruths or even half truths have often served only to make the process more difficult to impossible, limited, less fun, more expensive, and, in some cases, downright dangerous! They are often furthered along by well meaning forums, some contemporary write-ups, manuals, videos, and even some 19th century works on wet-plate collodion photography. Now, on with the myths and may they soon be recognized as just that! Myth: When problems occur it is usually the Silver Bath’s fault. No!, quite the opposite! It is usually not the fault of the Silver Bath. The silver mining industry must have lobbied hard for this one, for all the perfectly good Silver Baths that have been tossed, as a result. In all my years of doing and teaching the wet-plate process, I have yet to have a Silver Bath up and go on the fritz. Yes, with long and hard use they do gradually weaken and need sunning and replenishing. But, never is it going to produce a fine image one minute and then the next go bonkers. Nor even good ones one day and then funky ones the next. It just does not happen that way with normal use. Only way it would suddenly crash on you is if you did something real foolish like accidentally pour your developer or fixer or beer or what ever into it. Never drink and do wet-plate! Properly mixed up, seasoned, and with normal use, your Silver Bath is going to work fine time after time for a very long time.
    [Show full text]