Unpatented pending

[dwross]

Hi All,

The Light Farm website has added a new section:

http://www.thelightfarm.com/Map/Unpa...Unpatented.htm

It is my hope that a year from now this page will be the identity and primary value of TLF and that many APUG'ers will have contributed their expertise.

Along that same thought, you might enjoy this:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=...t-0&print=true

Denise

[Kirk Keyes]

Does this mean you're setting up a wiki?

[Ray Heath]

g'day Denise

your doing some very interesting work and your site is an excellent resource, i would really like to get involved however i have no idea where to start

how much would it actually cost to at least try your "Patent #1"?

what volume of materials would i have to buy, from where and at what expense?

would i need expensive equipment?

there are other questions but they all seem to come back to expense, is cost a limiting factor?

Ray

[dwross]

Does this mean you're setting up a wiki?

Not in the foreseeable future. The members of TLF are designing this experiment as we go. As it stands now, one must be physically working with emulsions or a related field to be a Contributing Editor, which in turn allows you to write articles or post images (in the form you wish) and exchange information on the forum threads.

All of this is slowly evolving and growing behind the curtain. Stay tuned!

d

[dwross]

g'day Denise

your doing some very interesting work and your site is an excellent resource, i would really like to get involved however i have no idea where to start

how much would it actually cost to at least try your "Patent #1"?

what volume of materials would i have to buy, from where and at what expense?

would i need expensive equipment?

there are other questions but they all seem to come back to expense, is cost
a limiting factor?

Ray

Thank you, Ray, for the kudos. Always nice to hear.

You've asked my favorite questions. The exact answer to all of them is, of course, "it depends". For most photographers who have been working in alternative processes, particularly the salted papers, the cost is essentially nothing. Here, I'm assuming a basic workspace, a decent lab scale, gelatin, silver nitrate, a glass coating rod, and a few misc chemicals, most of which are inexpensive (at least compared to the silver.) You can go to Photographers' Formulary's catalog to get an idea of the cost of some basic supplies. They sell chemicals in very small quantities. Buying small isn't necessarily the most cost effective way to go longterm, but it is a great entry level strategy.

From 'nothing', the cost goes up, depending on how much you need/want. As in any new endeavor, it is best to start small and add to your toolbox as you go, based on your own work flow. A good analogy is the guy who buys out the sporting goods store to go fly fishing for the first time. The second time out, he'll leave half that junk in the garage, but still need to buy some little (personally) indispensable item.

For a bit more info, you can take a look at this:
http://www.thelightfarm.com/Map/KitchenLab/MapTopic.htm

Also, depending on your personality and creative approach, it might be easier to start with a recipe that has the procedures pretty well spelled out. On the other hand, jumping head first into the unknown always has a certain 'what the heck' appeal .

The best to you. I'd love to see you try your hand at some outrageously creative emulsion making.

d