Pregled posta

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Been wanting to do some DIY alternative processing for quite some time - I graduated on Friday, now I finally have some time to get my hands dirty (blue). Decided to get my own raw chemicals and make the "New Cyanotype" formula (as opposed to the "Old Cyanotype" formula....hmmm, funny how that works). My roommates are convinced that I've been cooking meth in the kitchen, but they're starting to come around.

Did my homework on the cyanotypes - decided that I didn't want to rely on the sun for exposure and built my own UV exposure box...will post pictures of it later. I will get more consistent results now.

That being said, I wanted to do some exposure/paper experiments to figure out what works before I went and wasted a bunch of expensive-ass super-special acid-free paper.

Exhibit A: First tests to determine a ballpark exposure time in the UV light box. The top test was soaked in coffee to darken the prussian blue. Both done on Baryta paper. My first concern was the blotchiness. I used a glass coating rod to cover the paper with the sensitizer, apparently I put it on too thick and the sensitizer crystalized in some spots. This really kinda frightened me, considering that I've spent a lot of money building stupid UV light boxes and glass labware and potassium ferricyanide.

Exhibit B: All done on Baryta paper and exposed at the respective times shown on each test. Conclusions: was getting even more scared that it wasn't working. I applied the sensitizer with a foam brush to even out the coating and to prevent crystallization, but still inconsistent results. The top test showing 13 minutes did comfort me a bit, though. It has a nice dynamic range - going from near-paper-white to the dark 100% exposed prussian blue.

Exhibit C: I said "screw Baryta paper, this stuff won't soak up the sensitizer" and I switched to Crane's 90lb cotton weave. A God-send. I was still nervous, so I coated both tests twice with a foam brush - the paper soaked it right up, no crystallization. Exposed them both a little too long though. 13-15 minutes is about the right time for Crane's coated a single time.

So Crane's at 13-15 it is........stay tuned for some real cyanotypes.

Small Strobes, Big Results Indianapolis Workshop 08
Model: Chris
Strobist: Awesome set-up! Four SB-800s. An octabox above and in front of model, a strobe low behind the model pointing at the backdrop, and a strobe behind the model to the left and right to create the nice little hair shine on each side of his head.