carbon transfer – Koraks tinkers

Wavy gravy – UV wavelengths for carbon DAS revisited

About this whole highlight business with DAS carbon transfer – it just never ends, does it? The last installment on this story had a loose end that I need to stitch up here. It’s about the nature of the light. Let’s have a look at how UV wavelength affects the curve, and highlight performance in particular.

Carbonized – Notes on carbon transfer highlights and tissue thickness

The fickle issue of highlights in carbon transfer…what Calvin Grier calls the ‘tonal threshold’. The tendency of very thin layers of gelatin not surviving the transfer process, creating a jagged transition from visible tone to paper white. I’ve spent quite some time optimizing it, and now revisit the topic with two factors worth looking into: the wavelength of the UV light used for the exposure and the thickness of the tissue.

Intermission – What’s up doc?

Hey, long time no speak! It’s been a while since I last posted something here – but it’s not an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ situation. Not by a long shot. Stuff has been brewing and I should really write some of that up. Here’s what I’ve been playing with and what I’d like to update on in the next few….well I dunno; when I get round to it, hopefully soon!

Whither hybridia – The challenge of digital output for alternative printing

I’ve never made a secret of my frustration with digital negatives. Yet, they also appeal to me, for the obvious reasons of consistency and as a crucial means to marry digital imagery with analog/alternative printmaking. For something like color carbon, I consider digital negatives the only feasible way to go – but man, are they fickle. In this blog, I’m going to try and list the options, although frankly, I have no solution yet that I feel comfortable with. Maybe getting it off my chest and structuring the whole thing will help some.

Full bloom – DAS carbon starting to come together

I’ll probably jinx it by saying this, but…I have a feeling my DAS carbon printing workflow is really starting to get somewhere. Maybe I should take a moment to reflect on some of the key lessons learned. Perhaps even muse a little on what’s next, too…

Extend your d… – Chromium intensifier for silver gelatin negatives

Despite the relative silence on my blog, I have been printing regularly lately, with carbon transfer absorbing most of my lab hours. My printing currently revolves entirely around silver gelatin negatives. Given the relatively inflexible contrast that carbon transfer allows, this means I’ve had to be a little creative sometimes in making my negatives work for the printing process. One of the tricks I use a lot is chromium intensifier. Slightly nasty – but very, very effective.

Ogling curves – Comparing salted paper, Van Dyke and DAS carbon

Earlier today I posted a blog with analysis of curves and especially hues of salted paper prints. I mentioned a comparison of curve shapes with some other processes as well, and since that’s fairly easy to do, I thought I could follow up on it right away. In this brief blog, let’s have a look at the H/D curves of salted paper, Van Dyke and DAS carbon.

Striking gold – An attempt at carbon transfer orotones

A few weeks ago I was at Unseen Amsterdam, where I saw many gorgeous works. One of the things standing out to me was a series of orotones by Naohiro Ninomiya. Drop dead gorgeous! Partly because of the orotone process, but to be frank, to a large extent due to the minimalistic, contemplative compositions that worked very well as presented at Unseen, in a collage of small images. Well, at least, I could try my hand at this orotone thing, couldn’t I?

Getting organizized – A database for carbon transfer tissues

When it comes to workplace organization, I’m pretty schizophrenic. My desk is generally a mess, and open any cupboard in my darkroom only to find its contents in disarray. On the other hand, I can get carried away trying to properly organize things – to the point of being ridiculous! This blog is about the latter: a database system for keeping track of carbon tissue variants.

Rolling – Gearing up DAS carbon printing

Yeah, I’ve been silent on my blog. In case you’re wondering: no, I haven’t given up on anything, given my recent struggles with DAS carbon. In fact, quite the opposite! Since figuring out (at least as far as I can tell, for now) the process limits, I’ve been shifting into gear with monochrome DAS carbon and it’s been going remarkably smoothly. “I Ate’nt Dead“, as Granny Weatherwax used to write!