At a point in time when just about every aspect of our lives are digitized and run on computers, why would photographers want to make 19th century handmade silver gelation emulsions and make their own film, dry plates, and darkroom papers?
There has been an amazing revival of film and analog photography in the last several years. Younger photographers are discovering the joy and personal satisfaction of shooting and hand developing film and either scanning their film for some form of digital output or making prints by hand in the darkroom.
There is another level that goes beyond using commercial film and developers that is gaining a lot of momentum in the analog photography community. Learning how to make 19th century silver gelation emulsions is the key to unlocking a deeply satisfying and unlimited amount of creative potential for many analog photographers.
First, using handmade colorblind and orthochromatic emulsions instantly places the look and feel of your images in the 19th century.
Also, the personal connection, satisfaction, and pride of making your own film and darkroom paper is unparalleled in digital photography. One isn't better than the other, these are just radically different mediums and experiences.
We live at a time where we have the best of all worlds. We can choose to capture our images on everything from the latest and greatest digital cameras that are effectively supercomputers, or we can use commercially available films and developers, or we can take things to the ultimate level and make our own films and papers.
Join me and other photographers from around the world in the new Handmade Silver Gelatin Emulsions Community.
There is even a hybrid path that allows photographers to capture images using digital cameras and make digital negatives to make handmade prints on everything from commercially made silver gelation variable contrast papers to hand coated platinum and palladium prints.
We can even make our own silver gelation emulsions from raw chemicals and make our own contact and enlarging papers.
Why do photographers want to make handmade silver gelatin emulsions in the 21st century when we have state of the art digital photography gear that is beyond most people's comprehension?
The answer is simple for me. I love to be deeply connected to my subjects and using my hands in every step of the process is extremely rewarding and offers me an unparalleled range of creative options that do not exist in the contemporary digital world.
Why do you want to make handmade silver gelatin emulsions when we have technically superior digital photography gear?
Join me in the new Handmade Silver Gelatin Emulsions Community
DIY HANDMADE SILVER GELATIN EMULSION ARTICLES & TUTORIALS
Silver Gelatin Dry Plate Developer Formulas Kodak D-49 & D-19
CLASSIC SILVER GELATIN LITERATURE & REFERENCE BOOKS
Nineteenth century photographic journals are a great source of information for contemporary silver gelatin emulsion makers.
- Photographic News
- British Journal of Photography
- British Journal Almanac
- Philadelphia Photographer
- American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac
- Anthony’s Photographic Bulletin
There are many out of print books that are very helpful for modern day silver gelation emulsion makers. I have created a list of some of the most helpful books that I would recommend trying to find if you are serious about emulsion making.
- The Practical Working of the Gelatin Emulsion Process, Captain W. De W. Abney, Piper & Carter, 5 Castle Street, Holborn, E.C. London 1880
- Modern Dry Plates or Emulsion Photography, Dr. J.M. Eder, E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., No. 591, Broadway, NY 1881 (English edition)
- Wilson’s Photographics, E.L. Wilson, No. 853 Broadway, NY, 1881
- The Photographic Negative,W.H. Burbank, Scovill Manf. Co., NY, 1888
- Photographic Emulsions, Their Preparation and Coating on Glass, Celluloid and Paper, Experimentally and on the Large Scale, E.J. Wall American Photographic Publishing Co., Baker, 1929
- Photographic Emulsion Technique, T. Thorne Baker, American Photographic Publishing Co., Boston, 1948
- Photographic Emulsion Chemistry, G.F. Duffin, Focal Press, London & NY, 1966 [Abe Books]
- Silver Gelatin: A User’s Guide to Liquid Photographic Emulsion, Martin Reed & Sarah Jones, Argentum/Aurum Press, 25 Bedford Ave., London, 1995
SOURCES FOR RESEARCH
- British Photographic Research
- Royal Photographic Society Archive
- "The Manufacture of Gelatine Dry Plates" 1892
SILVER GELATIN EMULSION ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Mark Osterman's 1880 Original AgBri Simple Emulsion For Dry Plates or Film (PDF)
- Updated Mark Osterman AgBri Simple Emulsion in 3rd Edition of Alternative Photographic Processes
- The Light Farm (Denise Ross) Silver Gelatin Emulsion Basics
- Bill Vaccaro Making Mark Osterman's AgBri Simple Emulsion
- Basic Unwashed Emulsion For Paper (Handmadefilm.org)
- Simple Emulsion For Dry Plates/Film (Unblinking Eye)
- Dry Plate Workshop V2 (Unblinking Eye)
- Kirk Keyes Emulsion Making Setup
- Alternative Photography's (Silver Gelatin Dry Plate Process)
- Four Flap Glass Plate Storage Enclosures (Talas)
- Glass Plate Storage (Conservation Resources)