Liquid Emulsion

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Black_and_White_Photography : One Thread

I've read about some interesting things that have been done using liquid photo emulsion on various surfaces, like printing a photo on an egg. Has anyone had experience with this? Any special tips or warnings? Where can I get it? Specialty photography catalogs maybe? (Why do I have the sneaking impression it's more difficult to do than it sounds? Otherwise wouldn't I have seen more of it around?)

Thanks!

-- Anonymous, July 17, 1997

Answers

Hi Joanna. I have not yet used this emulsion, but I have seen it used in classes and have a little information on it. I have seen sold under the brand name "Liquid Light" at my local darkroom supply store (National Camera Exchange). From what I've heard, it's in a gelatin form and you have to heat it to convert it into a liquid form in order to "paint" it onto a surface. Two layers of emulsion is supposed to work better than one. After the emulsion dries, the surface should be ready for printing. All of the prep work (painting on, drying) should be done in the darkroom (obviously). Like I said, I haven't tried the product yet, but I have gone as far as to prepare some pieces of birch bark that I intend to print landscapes on. I also concur with your sneakin' impression, but if it presented no challenge at all, what fun would it be? Should you decide to try it soon, I'll be interested to hear the results. I'd also be interested to hear from you with respect to your homemade lighting project. Another thing I've been pondering in the back of my mind (although for some reason I'm just drawn to natural light). Hopefully this provided some insight, and if anyone out there can elaborate or correct the information I've tried to provide, please do for the both of us.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 1997

Liquid Emulsion caution

You must first check that the material you are coating will not react badly with developer/stop orfixer. Case in point, coating anything made of copper is not a good idea as copper reacts producing toxic gas when it is placed in fixer.

-- Anonymous, July 19, 1997

Moderation questions? read the FAQ