Reverse-developing-dry-plates-to-positive-foma-emulsion
01 Feb
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER

Trying to Reverse Develop Dry Plates to Direct Positives

After being quite busy in the last few months doing exams and practical work for the academy I finally have a bit more time now to experiment with more advanced alternative techniques. It's been almost half a year since I had to push my Autochrome research aside as I just couldn't afford the cost of production any more. I hope I will be able to proceed my research soon as I am only missing a few details!  When I was unraveling the mystery of Autochrome piece by piece I also...

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Lumiere-History-autochrome
18 Jan
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER, PRINTING PROCESSES

Unboxing Package full of Lumiere’s legacy

A few days ago an interesting package arrived at my door. It turns out it was sent to me by a very friendly guy from Paris, France who is a collector of old photographic materials. Right around Christmas we have been discussing through messenger about my work with old photographic techniques especially dry plates. At the end of this discussion he told me that he might have something for me and all I have to do is give him my address. All he said was that I will probably have a better use of it than him.

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KODAK-D76-DEVELOPER-RECIPE
30 Dec
DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, OTHER, PRINTING PROCESSES

Making Kodak D76 from scratch with Original Recipe

In this week's Blog I show you how to make the famous Kodak D76 Developer from scratch including all the steps. Developing film at home is always a special pleasure if you have the right equipment. During the lock-down it's often hard to get Darkroom chemicals here in Slovenia and also shipments are very delayed. That's why it's nice to be able to make & mix your own stuff. It is actually made out of only a few ingredients and it's not hard to make so let's start. D76 is a classic and truly versatile...

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Cyanotype-contact-printing
20 Dec
PRINTING PROCESSES

Cyanotype Contact Printing from glass Dry-Plate Negative + PRINT GIVEAWAY!

I love to make cyanotypes and especially I love to make contact prints from my glass dry plate negatives! In this video you will follow me along the whole Cyanotype printing process from cutting & coating the paper all the way up to making the final prints. I will be contact printing my very own hand made glass dry plate negatives on Fabriano 5 paper coated with DIY Cyanotype solution. I wouldn't say this is a Cyanotype tutorial but rather a documentation of my workflow that includes many tips and tricks I learned so far....

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Kodak-Browni-No.3a-Oak-Panorama
13 Dec
DARKROOM BUILD, EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, ON THE FIELD

Getting soaked in a Mystical foggy forest with Kodak Brownie No.3A

The last week after all the snow has melted has been extremely foggy and rainy. I live very close to the forest and enjoying its peacefulness by long walks is part of my daily routine. I admire nature and learn something from it every day. It just amazes me how complex and yet genius it is. Everything is connected and working in complete harmony just like the finest swiss clock. Specially trees are the ones that seem so static and not doing much. But remember nature is extremely dynamic, always on the move!

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04 Dec
EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER

How I Build Myself Affordable UV LED Exposure Box

Introduction Alternative photography techniques like cyanotype, salt printing, albumen, and carbon printing rely heavily on UV light for proper exposure. However, during the short winter days in Slovenia, natural sunlight is scarce, making these processes challenging to execute. To solve this problem, I decided to build my own affordable UV LED exposure box for under €60. This DIY project is not only useful for photographers experimenting with historical printing techniques but also for screen printing, PCB etching, teeth whitening, and more. With a 40x60cm workspace and two adjustable power levels, my UV...

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why-I-love-large-format-photography-and-alternative-processes?
27 Nov
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM BUILD, EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER, PRINTING PROCESSES

Why I Love Large Format Photography & Alternative Processes?

I am asked this question often, especially being 25 years old. People often don't understand why I would enjoy techniques and cameras made well before my time. The ones who know me can tell you that I am in love with nature and everything connected with it. Besides that it relaxes me completely, learns me every day and makes me happy it also artistically inspires me. When I got my first camera at 16 which was a DSLR Pentax K-m I did not take portraits, I did not shoot street but I went straight into the woods behind...

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FINISHING-TOUCHES-ON-MY-LED-SAFELIGHTS
22 Nov
DARKROOM BUILD

FINISHING TOUCHES TO MY LED SAFELIGHTS / Container Darkroom part 12

Recently I often ask myself when will the container darkroom be finished? To be honest I don't know if you can ever be finished designing your dream working space. In the last few weeks there were many things I fixed or installed. The most important one was for sure finally finishing up the LED safe lights. I started by stripping them off from the shelf completely, cut them to the length and solder them back together. I had quite a bit of troubles with that as I have not soldered in a while and it was hard to...

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Film-holder-for-glass-dry-plates-wet-plates
11 Nov
EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER

Modifying Film Holder to carry Glass or Dry-plates

Glass carrier is one of the key pieces of equipment if you want to get into alternative photographic processes specially Dry-plates or Wet-plates. There are not many ready to use film-holders around so that is why I made mine from a normal 4x5 sheet film holder. After many requests I received I have finally decided to make a tutorial and show you how I do it. List of things you will need: Sheet Film Holder  Metal cutting machine (Rotary tool, Jig or Bandsaw, even handsaw...

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Working-in-container-darkroom
06 Nov
DARKROOM BUILD

FINALLY STARTED TO USE IT! / Container Darkroom part 11

So stoked to inform you that my container darkroom is finally ready to start printing, coating, creating… I was away for two weeks and had many things going on in the last week after I returned back home from a holiday in Greece. First off all I had to develop two plates I shot during the trip and edit everything into a video.  Part one is already uploaded so make sure to check it out and Subscribe to catch the next one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqERkTVxT4g&t=3s

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