Has anyone made glass plate negatives using a modern photo emulsion such as SilverPrint or Liquid Light? I am interested in glass plate negatives but because of the chemicals involved I'm not sure I want to work with collodion. I realize that I would need a plate holder and that the speed of the negative would be very slow. I also expect that the glass would have to be subcoated before the emulsion is applied. Any thoughts?

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-- Dave Willison (dwillisart@aol.com), May 19, 2001

Answers

Yes, save yourself the trouble and buy some T-max 100 glass plates from Kodak.

-- Sal Santamaura (bc_hill@qwestinternet.net), May 19, 2001.

The only problem with t-max plates is the price. B&H offers 36 for $429. That is approximately $12 per plate

-- Dave Willison (dwillisart@aol.com), May 20, 2001.

What's your time worth? How much will the materials cost? What do you expect your process yield to be?

-- Sal Santamaura (bc_hill@qwestinternet.net), May 20, 2001.

This is experimental. I'm not looking to do any technical or scientific work. I guess I'm thinking of an alternative process approach that might yield something with artistic potential. I'm using older lenses and experimenting with approaches that yield unusual results. What I'm trying to determine is whether or not anyone has tried a proprietary liquid photo emulsion on glass to produce negatives. Thanks for your comments.

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-- Dave Willison (dwillisart@aol.com), May 20, 2001.

Kodak make glass plates? Is this a wind-up? I'm having enough problems sourcing 10x8" Tri-X, and Kodak seem to dropping a lot of materials from their catalogue - I see the latest casualty is Kodachrome-25 35mm slide film.

Seriously, what are glass plates used for these days, and how do they compare in quality/image terms compared with film? Are there any other benefits?

-- David Nash (nashcom@btinternet.com), May 20, 2001.

Glass plates are used for certain kinds of scientific purposes where flatness is paramount.

-- David Goldfarb (dgoldfarb@barnard.edu), May 20, 2001.

As I mentioned David, many ARE doing this. Take a look at www.raymondmeeks.com, I know he works with this technique; also, Jim Enfield, known for her photo coloring can help, as I expect Theresa Airey would. The key when applying the Luminos of similar prepared "craft" emulsion, as I understand it, is prepping the glass for adherence without "hazing" the image.

-- David Stein (DFStein@aol.com), May 20, 2001.

You could try using an albumen coating as a base for the light emulsion, it is much easier to coat with and a lot less trouble than other coatings. Check the Albumen & Salted Paper book, also the Keepers of Light book. If you can't find them contact me and I will look it up for you, which will include a receipt for custard (give you something to do with the yokes) Hope you have time and patience. Pat

-- pat krentz (patwandakrentz@aol.com), May 20, 2001.

I would also recomend the book "Silver Gelatin" a guide to handcoated emulsions; published by Amphoto books. It covers in some detail coating emulsions on glass (as well as many other substrates) for creative effects.

-- Erik Gould (egould@risd.edu), May 23, 2001.

Dear Dave,

The German mail order Mono-C (http://www.monochrom.com) sell Wephota Pan 100 glass plates (click "Filme" -> "Schwarzweiss" -> "Glasplattennegative"). 12 plates cost about 35 dollars in 9x12cm resp. 42 dollars in 4x5" resp. 68 dollars in 13x18cm. How can I process them on my own?

Best regards -David

-- David Haardt (david@haardt.net), June 05, 2001.