You might ask why are you posting on trays and pans? Good question! I'm doing this because of the unique construction (addtion, really) that Rene's trays come with.
The little "lift" in the tray really helps the Daguerreotypist from damaging the plate when trying to lift it out of the tray. Fingernails and fingers damage the (tender) surface easily!
This part of the Daguerreotype equipment is very important (but then again, what part isn't?). This is where the plate is sensitized, or becomes like film - sensitive to light. The final surface is an amalgum of silver and mercury. The first fuming is over Iodine Crystals. The plate is fumed until you have a rose color (checked under reflected white light and fumed again for a few seconds to mitigate that exposure) and then it's off to the Bromine for fuming. No Bromine fume, no "speed" or ISO.
These are very special fuming boxes. They are designed with NO metal in them and to seal extrememly well when fuming and in storage.
People always want to know waht the most difficult part of making Daguerreotypes is - the answer is gilding. There seems to be some correlation to the varnishing step in Wet Collodion and Gilding in Daguerreotypy. It's a strange and difficult thing to explain in writing. These are all visual processes, every step, you watch and adjust. It's visual and intuative.
Rene designed a "traditional" Gilding Stand for me with the built in feature of being a Drying Stand, too. See the photos/illustrations. Rene thought that this was a better option than using BBQ tongs. I'm also making larger plates - Whole Plates won't fit in BBQ tongs.
Tools for the final preparation of the silver plate for Daguerreotypy:
Making Silver Plates for Daguerreotypy:
There a couple of ways to go about covering the copper plate with silver. The first way is to send the polished and preped copper plates to a plater. There are several good ones in the United States. Search the FAQ database for those. The second way, the way that keeps you independent is cladding or electroplating the copper plates. I've chosed electroplating.
I haven't found a lot of good information on this topic online. You can search the FAQ database for specifics, but the general idea is that you use an anode (pure silver plate) and cathode (copper plate) in a solution of silver and cyanide. An electrical current is sent through the plates and the silver is transferred and "plated" onto the copper - electroplating.
This is my electroplating tank and plate hangers:
I am going to publish a series of posts about the Daguerreotype equipment that René Smets of Lummen, Belgium built for me.
All of this equipment is all based on his design and his work. Of course, I told him what I wanted and customized it where I could. And I gave feedback throughout the project, but the credit goes to René.
All material is copyright © 2010 Studio Q - Quinn Jacobson Photography and René Smets.
Jeanne asked a friend, Jasmine, to come over so that Erwin and Frederick would have someone to make portraits of - other than each other or me. Although, they made plenty of images of one another. Jasmine brought her boyfriend, Abel. They were patient and kind, I ended up making this portrait for them.
There will be more teaching and more exciting things in the U.S. for me, I know it. I'm already looking forward to it!
This is a very nice paper - here you can see the progress in the contact printer and the final toned print. Only one coat of Albumen, too! The only thing I don't like about it is that it curl and folds when it gets wet. Makes for a difficult smooth finished print. Overall, I give it a 9/10!
I made some Albumen and floated some Canson Crob 'Art paper. I'll print out some negatives on this paper over the weekend.
This is only one coat - pretty impressive. It's a thin, almost vellum paper. It curls and wrinkles a lot when you lay it on Albumen, but relaxes okay after a minute or so. Make sure you have a "bubble mirror" when floating your paper.
This paper is also recommended for Calotypes. I'll give that a try, too.
