"Thanks for your comments Rob & Gordon. The bellows on this camera appear to be working perfectly. I softened them up with Pledge furniture polish (was recommended before and seems to work). They look more leathery now. Remarkable after 100+…"
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Roger Hyam
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When did bellows material become synthetic?
4 Replies
I've just picked up yet another camera, a whole-plate from late 19th or early 20th century. There are no markings and it is similar to many whole and half plate cameras of the period.The bellows…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Roger Hyam Jun 2.
Documentation of the Orotone (Curt-Tone) process?
11 Replies
I've been making my own silver gelatine glass plates and am exploring ways to print and present positives.I'm intrigued by historical orotones such as the ones produced by Edward S. Curtis in early…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Tony Tidswell Mar 11.
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"The Living Image - licm.org.uk"
"Hi Roger,
I renovated a couple of old American plate cameras from the late 1800s/early 1900s. The bellows were in places no more than dust. It was very difficult to tell what they were made of but I would agree with the “close-weave…"
"Early bellows were commonly finished in leather but cloth and paper were also used even as early as the wet-plate period.
Sometimes the leather was coated in shellac or similar which gives a very shiny synthetic look. Advertisements sometimes…"
When did bellows material become synthetic?
I've just picked up yet another camera, a whole-plate from late 19th or early 20th century. There are no markings and it is similar to many whole and half plate cameras of the period.The bellows appear in remarkably good condition. I'm trying to work out what material they are made of. It doesn't appear to be leather. I have a couple of Voigtländers from 1920s and they appear to be "synthetic" as well.This set me thinking. So often I read of bellows being made of leather but I never come across…See More
"Thanks for this. It was a wonderful read and distraction when I should have been working today!
I like the quote from Land.
One thing I don't get is how the “Reversal F” process actually occurs. I have a story in my head…"
"Hello Alan - I have sent a message to you - my email is tony@nizas.com "
"Hi Tony. Give me your email address and I will send you some of Alan E's work on this"
"Over the years I have tried to find something on Orotone to no avail. It seems to have been a process named by Curtis himself. As suggested here, I suspect Curtis adapted a known process for applying paint etc.
This might be of some…"
"Fascinating John, Thank you .
I'm not sure I totally understand how the process worked. In my mind I have then negative sticking to the initial print. It sounds like a transferred gum bichromate print. Not something I'll rush to trying.
At…"
"Hello Roger
This is parallel to your enquiry rather than a direct reply! There is another process for producing prints that look very like Orotones, but worked in a completely different way. Indeed, some prints of this sort have been mistakenly…"
"Hi Roger. An overview of the Curtis Centennial Project appeared in the BJP 06.10.99 pp16-17, followed by a short feature in The Times 11.10.99.
If your French is up to it there was a more detailed article in Le Photographe #1580 in December 2000…"
"Hi Alan,
I hadn't heard of the Curtis Centennial Project. When I google I mainly get people selling prints with the compelling project description on the back. Yes I'd be really interested to know more. Any reading you can pass my way…"
"Hi Roger. I believe banana oil and bronze powder was used in the past.
When I was at Ilford we did plates for a Centennial version of Curtis' work. We ended up using a gold metallic paint spray. As I recall the services of a motobike fuel tank…"
Documentation of the Orotone (Curt-Tone) process?
I've been making my own silver gelatine glass plates and am exploring ways to print and present positives.I'm intrigued by historical orotones such as the ones produced by Edward S. Curtis in early 20th Century.There are a few contemporary techniques employed to produce a positive on a glass with a gold/bronze background but my early attempts with these acrylic paint or faux gold leaf based methods look pretty tacky - more like a novelty mirror than the subtle works from the 1920s!Is anyone…See More
Forth Rail Bridge, November 2020
This was taken using a simple silver bromide/iodide emulsion on glass similar to those used when the bridge opened in 1890 (or perhaps a little earlier). 4x5 plate scanned and toned. 16 minute exposure.
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I enjoy working with historic photographic techniques blended with the modern. Currently I'm exploring using my own 1880s style silver gelatine emulsions.
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