AMBROTOS KANATA STORIES: February 2025

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Did my second work out today, at a very nice gym/pool facility. In retirement I will probably get a yearly membership, allowing for exercising to every Edmonton operated fitness centre/pool in the city. To make it worthwhile, I will need to attend at least twice a week.

Getting in shape will help me create the Ambrotypes for the AMBROTOS KANATA project, into old age.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

AMBROTOS KANATA Camera Positions

Some past camera setups from the AMBROTAS KANATA wet plate Canada project. Post retirement we are planning a long trip to Vancouver island and the West Coast of British Columbia, possibly a 2 month trip. More camera setups there!

Monday, February 10, 2025

Cezanne & Pissarro Book

Fairly cheap and beautiful book buy. The reproductions are quite lovely.

Back when I started studying the Impressionists work, I was not a Pissarro or Cezanne fan. Now I am! It’s funny how tastes change with time.

Hopefully their compositions can help the AMBROTOS KANATA project.

Video: Ambrotype Scan, Pt-Pd Print

Tonight am trying to print a Ambrotype plate I scanned. Making an 8x10 Platinum-Palladium print. Anyone done that before?

First attempt too contrasty, made a softer neg, will try that next.

Ambrotype sold to the Alberta provincial art collection. I no longer own it.

Drops 14-FO, 13 Pd, 1 Pt Na2. HANH paper

I adjusted the digital negative of this print with -50 contrast and went 100% Platinum. It turned out softer, as expected. I will wash and dry it to see where I am at.

8x10 inch Ambrotype

-50 contrast negative

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Link: Ambrotype Wash Process

Wrote this up for a Facebook friend, thought I would share it here.

I use hypo and wash in the field with no electricity. My process is to first hypo clear, then use wash trays for large plates (last season 11x14 and 14x14 inches). I use agitation pumps and sometimes fish tank underwater fan type units to agitate and circulate the water. I wash for 2 hours plus with many water changes. For power I have 3 different type battery power set ups that I usually run dry. This requires you carry a lot of water. I then go to a campsite, recharge my batteries and refill my water. I will try this set up with 24x24 inch plates this year. So this wash process has worked well for me.

The plan is to use this type setup in very remote locations in places like Northern Canada. I will probably be refilling water supplies in streams and using solar at times to recharge batteries.

Washing 11x14 and 14x14 inch Ambrotype Plates

Swimming Pool Sodium Thiosulfate!

I picked up a 55lb pail old Sodium Thiosulphate today, cost was $176 CAD. The product name is “Chlor Out” and is used in swimming pools and hot tubs to lower chlorine levels. I have used a variation of this product from an Amazon source, thou that cost more for 5 lbs. less product. I use this type of Sodium Thiosulphate as fixer for my Ambrotype work.

After mixing the fixer (hypo), I filter to remove any precipitate, then use it as normal, at a 30%-40% dilution. My old pool Sodium Thiosulfate stuff worked great. I am hoping this brand does as well. If it works for me, I will buy 3 or 4 pails next time. In my wet plate work, I go through a tone of hypo.

Note* From an online search.

Pool sodium thiosulfate, also known as "hypo," can be used in photography as a photographic fixer, meaning it dissolves the unexposed silver halide crystals on film or photographic paper, effectively making the image permanent by preventing further light exposure from affecting it; essentially, you can use pool sodium thiosulfate as a substitute for the dedicated photographic fixer solution, though it's important to check its purity and concentration before using it for photography.