Clear Glass Ambrotypes are made by creating a negative on a sheet of glass before backing it with black material or paint. For this, I just used black paper, as I want to still be able to use it as a negative.
I am going to try out plexiglas/lexan, I think. The emulsion peels from glass that isn't absoultely spotless, so it's a pain. Plus, lexan and plexiglas do not break as easily as glass.
Process:
1. Take your photo, and overexpose it by 1-1.5 stops. This will make the negative the proper exposure, but overexpose the print. Then, when you pull it from the camera, do not peel it. Unlike Polaroid film, Fuji's instant film is self-terminating. After two minutes, no further developing will occur.
2. Once the two minutes are up, tape the photo, negative (black) side up to a piece of glass. Then, brush undiluted bleach onto the black backing, being careful not to let it leak under the photo.
3. Rinse thoroughly with water until all of the black backing has been removed, brushing more bleach on as necessary.
4. Peel the photo from the negative.
5. Rinse the negative again until it is clear, and the "gooey" emulsion is completely washed away and it looks like a normal film negative.
6. Dip into water/photo-flo mixture and then hang to dry.
Once dry, it is like any other negative and can be scanned or printed as such. I used a color negative in the example, but you can also use Fuji FP-100b. If you are using the 100b film, you must be very careful, as the emulsion is significantly weaker and will peel from the plastic much more easily than the 100c. This method only works for the 100 speed, and does not work for Fuji FP-3000.
]]>This is a very different writing style than I am used to. The trilogy was heavily based on the dialog spoken by the characters and was not as descriptive of their surroundings. This new novel, however, is very descriptive and I am taking copius notes about the world in which it takes place--something I've not done before.
I am also not limiting myself to any timeframe; when the book is done, it's done. I do not want to rush it at all. Which is, again, something completely new to me, considering each book in the last trilogy was written in a few days' time. I am taking it slowly for this novel though. Wish me luck!
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I've also added some updates to the graphic design gallery. I had forgotten about a few things that I should have put in there in the beginning.
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I am hoping to be able to use wet plate in the class to make glass negatives in order to print large format rather than forking out the money for 11x14 film, as that just isn't a possibility, monetarily. I am hoping to focus on whole-plate size prints, since it would be cheaper to get the 6.5"x8.5" glass cut instead of getting 11x14 glass.
I have only been practicing with tintypes so far, not ambrotypes/glass negatives, so I want to get some practice in before the class starts.
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