DVD of making and coating

[Photo Engineer]

Thanks Ben. I'll give it a try.

PE

[Photo Engineer]

With my thanks to Ben, here are two stills from the DVD in progress.

These pictures were taken with a red flashlight safelight and my normal yellow safelights. The camera was in IR mode, so the emulsion is hopefully not fogged.

The first picture shows the syringe posed over the beaker before precipitation starts and the second shows the precipitation in progress. Hopefully you will see the white cloud of emulsion being formed in the beaker.

This was a 600 gram make of the emulsion which should make about 100 8x10 prints and should keep for 6 months. I made 2 coatings which are waiting to be tested.

PE

[rwyoung]

Frickin-neat!

[Kirk Keyes]

That's great! I love the mad scientist side lighting!

[Photo Engineer]

Kirk;

Thanks.

That is the same red filtered flashlight you held for me during the workshop and I'm making the same formula as I did then. Only here, I have it balanced on another object. You were not around to help me.

PE

[Photo Engineer]

I've been asked by so many, how the blades work in detail.

Here are two still frames taken during a practice session for the DVD. I am using 10% gelatin, tinted with food dyes for visibility.

The first picture shows the blade being charged with 12 ml of "emulsion", and the second one shows the action of drawing the blade across the paper to create a finished 8x10 coating. Defects are to be expected at the top and bottom of the 'run'. In fact, coating defects of this nature occur even with a full production coating machine due to starup and shutdown.

The black marker lines on the coating indicate to me, in the dark, where the good and bad coating can be found. I always coat wider and longer than the desired coating size.

PE

[JBrunner]

Ron,

This just rocks! I'm so glad you are making this video!

[Removed Account]

Good gosh, Ron! This looks amazing, like something I would watch even if I didn't have an interest in emulsion making (which I do). Are you taking deposits?

- Justin

[Photo Engineer]

Guys;

Thanks for all the nice comments.

I want you to know that I know how to make and coat more elegantly than what you see above, but what I'm trying to do is make it nearly foolproof and doable in a small home darkroom.

Therefore, it will al be done with a minimum of chemicals and equipment. In fact, the most expensive item is the hotplate/stirrer you see in my post 22 above. And, of course the silver nitrate! That is also expensive.

Well, just to let you know that to satisfy myself that the IR and heavy red safelights were 'safe' I just finished processing two prints and a wedge spectrogram of the emulsion made during the shooting session and it is absolutely normal.

PE

[Krockmitaine]

This is really cool mad scientist stuff.
Just can't wait to see the finished video.

Marc