Photography and glass

[Brian Newman]

Six or seven years ago I had the Idea of sensetizing silver after it had been fumed on.
I have not been sucessful, but perhaps with help.
My idea is to put soot inside a tube and seal the end.
Fume on the outside of the tube.
Convert the metallic silver to a Silver halide.(photographic bleach)
Contact exposure.
Develop like a print.
If someone cracks this one let me know.

[bearclaw]

you crazy chemist, you lost me...well i kind of get it,lol. crazy idea.

[slinger]

doing contact prints in photo class in college i learned about different light sensitive emulsions that can be used for doing photographic prints. You can paint the emulsion on any surface that will hold it, normally has to be a porous, then you can expose a negative and do a contact print. I dont know if theres an emulsion that would stick to glass, i know it easily works with fabrics and paper, but who knows maybe if you sandblasted first.

[Brian Newman]

doing contact prints in photo class in college i learned about different light sensitive emulsions that can be used for doing photographic prints. You can paint the emulsion on any surface that will hold it, normally has to be a porous, then you can expose a negative and do a contact print. I dont know if theres an emulsion that would stick to glass, i know it easily works with fabrics and paper, but who knows maybe if you sandblasted first.

I never tried "liquid light"(emulsion brand name) as I doubt the binder would burn off cleanly.
Sensetising the silver strikes me as a better choice.

[Brian Newman]

Did I mention working it in the flame? That is the point of the procedure

[slinger]

theres other emulsions besides liquid light, like cyanatype and daguerratype emulsions... if you want to expose an image and work it hot i feel like using stencils and sandblasting or etching fume or dichro would be an interesting option. Im into stencil art and ive been thinking alot about fuming sheets of clear boro gold and silver and then acid etching stenciled images into that.

not sure about your idea, but it sounds cool, you should do some experimenting...

i wonder how etching cream would work with silkscreens, thats an interesting thought.... screening on glass....

[NUBBLET]

do a stencil of some type of foil that wont too easily burn off , then fume that , remove the stencil and you have the image done in fume . Now if you want just brush it a bit with a reducing flame and you can get it to lightly fume the area around it while causing some trippy effects in the image , the area around should get a light "haze" of fume . Or an oxy flame and you could even selectively burn off some fuming leaving a "swiss chease" or such kinda pattern , or lightly brush with an oxy flame for other effects ....

[Brian Newman]

Just wipe the silver off before you heat it in. I will try to get a picture.

[Brian Newman]

I have done that for years now.

[Brian Newman]

Just to let you all know, I have posted this question on the wet canvas-photography-darkroom forum.
I will let you all know if I get any answers.

[Matt Hess]

Yea I would try liqiud light its great stuff but u will need the stop bath and fixer if u want the chemicals to all act accordingly. Also cyanotype or kalitype are pretty easy to use. Th acivator for cyanotype is comon peroxide. U can get most of these chemicals at any photography store that carrys decent darkroom equipment. A very good source for just the chemicals in raw form is called photographers formulary. I will list a couple more websites below that carry most or all of these chemicals. I personally would do the cyanotype from what I remeber the last time I did one none of the chemicals are corrosive or harmfal to the skin. U basically mix your developer brush it on a surface with a sponge evenley then u attach your paper or film negative to the piece and sit it in the sun. Make sure u can peal back atleast one of the edjes so u can check the exposure as it develops in the sun. When u first apply the liquid to the paper its a yellowish greenish color. As it develops the colors get darker and u will see the image start to almost ghost itself onto your piece. Then u go inside with your water peroxide mix and and put the piece in the tray and watch it turn a purpley blue. You will only need to keep it in the peroxide for about 1 minute, it wont develop any more after that. Somewhere at home I have the full directions to a cyanotype and a kalitype which turn out sepia instead of blue. I will post them up when I get a chance. Hope this helps. Brian please feel free to pm me or repost with any questions. I have been a photographer for 15 years I should be able to answer any question u may have.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_main.php?cat_id=104 (link to cyanotype supplies)
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_main.php?cat_id=108 (link to liquid emulsions like liquid light)
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_main.php?cat_id=102 (link to full kits, cyanotype,kalitype,etc.)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ (more general photo supplies located in NY, VERY cheap prices)
http://www.adorama.com/ (more general photo supplies located in NY, VERY cheap prices)

- Matt

[rumplephorskin]

I know that there is a silkscreening kit that works using photo emulsion and hydroflouric acid to etch soft glass and that the same method can be used to etch dicro off of borosilicate. Im sure that thats what dichroic alchemy is usng to create their images. The kit contains photo emulsion that you use with a reverse negative laser printed on a clear transparency. Ooops I've said too much the "dichro mafia" will be here shortly. Gotta go board up the windows and clean my gun now... Peace

[Matt Hess]

Rumple you know where to get the kit? That sounds very interesting.
- Matt

[Swampy]

Rumple you know where to get the kit? That sounds very interesting.
- Matt

Matt, I'm not familiar with the kit Rumple described but for flat or cylindrical glass I etch (sandblast) with a resist made by rayzist.com, or you knew that already?

Fascinating thread, btw -thanks Brian the alchemist

[dcglass]

your local vinyl sticker dude should be able to easily cut a negative of an image. thats what i use to sandblast my sig. and the dichro is etched with a lazer, its all about the lazer beams until someone shines it in their eye.

[Zed]

I acid etched dichro using photoresists, no problem.

from Henry Halems "glass notes:

take the whites from 2 eggs and add 29 grams of ammonium chloride disolved in one dram of wine (red)

filter thru cheese cloth and then coat inside of clear bottle with this solution, one coat and then dry and then another

sensitize film with a solution of silver nitrate (gloves!), fourty grains to one oz of water. Make solution in dim light. Pour this solution into bottle and turn for a few mins then pour off solution and allow to dry (in darkroom)

hold dry bottle over a glass of ammonia (hold breath) and allow fumes to enter the neck of bottle. Bottle now primed and photosensitive.

tape photo negative to bottle and expose by daylight. Fix image similar to developing photos with different stop/fixing chemicals poured into bottle.

Never done this, sounds super cool though, esp if the silver nitrate coating could be "blown" out to change the pic.

Anyone know a source for a cheap silver nitrate kit?

[rumplephorskin]

ill dig around for the kit. ive got a 1,000 piece etching job coming up for a wedding in the spring so i gotta find it already. ive found that you can also use "burnishable" chart pack vinyl letters available from an office supply store to resist the acid as well