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Video: How to make caffenol developer and salt fixer using common household items

31 Mar

Photographer Brendan Barry has published a new video instructing viewers on how to make their own caffenol developer and salt-based fixer using common household items and ingredients. The process is very simple with the most expensive item being the photo paper. The new tutorial follows a video Barry published last week showing how to turn an entire bedroom into a massive camera obscura.

The new video is around 15 minutes long and it guides viewers through the entire process, starting from the ingredients and items needed all the way through the development of a photo captured using Barry’s giant room camera. The recipe is the result of experimentation, according to Barry, who points out that these ingredients may be easier to acquire at the moment compared to more traditional products.

The developer requires washing soda, granulated coffee and vitamin C powder — Barry notes that vitamin C with zinc didn’t appear to have a negative impact compared to vitamin C alone. Ordinary inexpensive table salt is used for the fixer. Mixing the two products requires only a mortar and pestle for grinding the vitamin C tablets, a small container and a measuring cup for mixing the developer and a separate container for mixing the salt fixer. A digital scale is used to weigh some of the ingredients.

Once the developer and fixer are mixed and poured in the trays, the exposed photographic paper is put in the developer for ‘about three minutes,’ according to Barry, who explains that it needs to be left in a bit longer than would be typical with a normal developer. The coffee stain on the paper produces a slight sepia tone in the resulting image, he notes, also explaining that the vitamin C is what produces the contrast in the photo. Leaving out the vitamin C will reduce the contrast.

After the developed paper is rinsed in the tray that contains plain water, it is transferred to the tray with fix, which highlights the one big disadvantage to this process. Barry explains that the photo paper must be left in the fix for ‘quite a long time,’ which equates to around 12 to 24 hours, though the lights can be turned back on after an hour.

Barry demonstrates how to quickly create a positive print from the resulting negative, though he notes that more detailed information on this process is provided in the camera obscura tutorial video from last week.

‘This is obviously just a basic, simple introduction to caffenol and making your own developer and fixer,’ Barry explains. ‘I like to make things as accessible as possible and encourage other people to have a go at these things. Sometimes they can seem a bit intimidating and complicated […] but it’s really, really simple.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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This is what happens when a ‘weather sealed’ camera takes a dip in salt water

09 Nov

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It shouldn’t need saying, but weather resistant, weather sealed and environmentally sealed do not mean waterproof. A cursory glance at your warranty should make this clear: no matter how good a reputation your brand has, if it isn’t covered by the warranty, you’re in ‘at your own risk’ territory.

Roger Cicala’s latest blog post over at Lens Rentals shows the damage that can occur when a nominally weather sealed camera gets wet—both the damage and the detective work made clearer by the fact that this particular camera took a dip in salt water. Cicala follows the path of the corrosion throughout the camera and explains why an encounter with seawater may render your camera not just non-functioning, but completely irreparable.

As is so often the case with Cicala’s ‘big picture’ blog posts, don’t get too hung up on the specific model he’s dissecting. As he points out in the comments, he’s written off some of every brand from salt-water damage.

Check out some of the pictures from this particularly painful teardown at the top, and then click the big blue button below to see the full post on Lens Rentals.

Teardown of a corroded camera

As an aside, this is the main of reasons we can’t test manufacturer claims in this area. Partly, of course, it’s because we have to return all the cameras to the manufacturers; but another aspect is that, like lens copy variation, camera failure is probabilistic: you’d need to test lots of cameras to know whether the model you’re testing is flawed or if you were just unlucky with your sample.

Cicala gets the kind of insight that the rest of us simply can’t get—he gets to see a much larger data set based on what the company rents and what it then has to repair—but even he doesn’t claim to have a solid answer to which brand is best. Just something to bear in mind the next time you’re thinking of sharing that ‘extreme torture test’ video of your brand’s flagship.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Moving Miniature: Tiny Landscape Made of Sugar, Spices, Salt & Sand

11 May

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

Nothing about the hazy sunlight, languid motion of a tire swing, branches blowing in the breeze or puffy white steam pouring out of a factory chimney gives you any idea that the scene you’re looking at fits on a tabletop. Not only is this landscape a miniature – it’s made out of ordinary household objects and materials. Artist Matthew Albanese uses salt, sugar, flour, sticks, moss and other easily procured items to craft stunningly realistic tableaus, but for the first time, he’s incorporated movement, sharing a video.

‘The North Jersey Din’ is a moving version of a tree that Albanese has frequently used in a series of images called ‘A Tree in My Backyard.’ The attention to detail that went into this work is pretty incredible. In order for the miniatures to look realistic in the final images, Albanese employs a mix of techniques perfecting the scale, depth of field, white balance and lighting.

“This video is my first attempt at creating a moving miniature. Everything is designed for movement. The tree itself is made from brass tubes soldered together with springs at every joint. The leaves were die punched and machine cut, each threaded one by one. This video was filmed with just an iphone set to slow motion at 240fps. The audio is a set of recordings I made in my backyard capturing the sounds of the typical North Jersey Din.”

On his YouTube channel, Albanese also shared a video that captures four months of work in 33 seconds. ‘Making of a Promised Land’ is a time lapse of stills documenting the construction of another diorama, giving us an idea of just how much work goes into creating a single one of these photos.

Some of the scenes use materials you’d never expect, like faux fur standing in for the fields and sifted tile grout for mountains in ‘After the Storm,’ above. Among the items used in ‘Wildfire’ were cooked sugar, Scotch-Brite pot scrubbers, yellow glitter, clear garbage bags and party bulbs. Click on individual works on his website to see more behind-the-scenes images.

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Photogenic Death Valley salt flats damaged by driver who abandoned van

15 Mar

An abandoned van found on Death Valley National Park’s protected salt flats has been towed away, but tracks remain – and may be there for years. The park posted photos of the van to its Facebook page and says that the vehicle went into the salt flats at Badwater Basin on Wednesday last week. It was towed out on Friday by a small track vehicle, leaving more (unavoidable) damage to the salt crust.

It’s not the first time these flats have been damaged by drivers ignoring signs to stay on roadways. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the park is prosecuting three cases of vandalism. It has also applied for a grant that would fund restoration of the site. This case also calls to mind the recent vandalism of the Racetrack Playa, where someone drove a vehicle over the dry lake bed.

According to the National Park Service website, the Badwater Basin salt flats are among the largest such flats in the world. The damage isn’t irreparable, but it does require some work smoothing the tracks over and spraying them with water to encourage salt to regrow.

The delicate salt flats are a photographer favorite. Photo by Rajesh Bhattacharjee

Responding to comments on its Facebook post, a park representative said that the driver of the van has not been charged yet, but could face a fine of up to $ 5,000 and up to 6 months in jail.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Modern Mazes: 15 Labyrinths Made of Glass, Steel, Light and Salt

19 Jan

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Escaping the convoluted confines of the conventional hedge-in-a-garden, the labyrinth takes on ever more complex forms to better confuse you with, especially when mirrors, glass or mechanical elements are involved. These immersive installations use unusual materials and disorienting configurations to encourage visitors to wander, explore, face uncertainty about their paths and pause to marvel at the beauty of it all.

Maze Made of Light by Brut Deluxe

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This immersive light maze made of acrylic panels with dichroic film applied to one side creates a reflective rainbow you can walk through. Once you’re inside, circles cut into the acrylic transmit colors from other areas of the maze. ‘Yûzhóu’ was craeated by architecture and design studio Brut Deluxe for the Luneng Sanya Bay Light and Art Festival in Hainan, China.

Vertical Maze Tower in Dubai

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This 56-story skyscraper in Dubai is the world’s tallest vertical maze according to Guinness. DAR Consult worked with maze designer Adrian Fisher to design the eye-catching accent, highlighting it in thousands of LED lights to make it stand out after dark.

Big Maze by Bjarke Ingels Group at the National Building Museum

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With high birch panel walls that tower over you along the edges shrinking to waist-height at the very center, this maze by architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group gets easier the navigate the further you go. The life-sized indoor maze was assembled inside the National Building Museum in Washington DC. “The concept is simple: as you travel deeper into a maze, your path typically becomes more convoluted,” say the architects. “What if we invert this scenario and create a maze that brings clarity and visual understanding upon reaching the heart of the labyrinth?”

Steel Labyrinth by Gijs van Vaerenbergh at C-Mine Art Centre, Belgium

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The architect duo known as Gijs Van Vaerenbergh experimented with the classic form of the labyrinth for a sculptural installation at the center of the C-Mine Arts Centre in Genk, Belgium. The design, made of 5mm-thick steel plates weighing a total of 186 tons, is envisioned as a composition of walls and voids that strategically frame various areas with cut-outs. An accompanying tower outside the maze allows visitors to get a bird’s eye view of the entire thing.

Salt Labyrinths by Motoi Yamamoto

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This labyrinth is so minuscule in scale, only insects could ever hope to navigate it, but it’s a wonder to take in from above. Artist Motoi Yamamoto is known for his intricate temporary sculptures made of salt, creating complex arrangements that almost seem organically formed.

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Modern Mazes 15 Labyrinths Made Of Glass Steel Light And Salt

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Floating in Space: Milky Way Reflections on Mirror-Like Salt Flats

09 Aug

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Perhaps nowhere on Earth is there a more beautiful place to take in crystal-clear views of the starlit sky than the pristine Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia, which boasts a mirror-like reflective surface in some spots. The largest salt flat in the world provides an incredible setting for photographer Daniel Kordan, who traveled there in search of the darkest possible sky. Avoiding light pollution can be tough even in rural areas, but not only is this mineral-coated landscape sufficiently far from urban areas, it’s also sort of alien-like in its own right.

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In an interview with My Modern Met, Kordan says the salt flats were so dark, he couldn’t see anything at all until his eyes adjusted. Then, suddenly, the stars were underneath him as well as above. “It seemed that we floated in open space. Our spaceship is parked in a distance, and stars are blinking with blue, red and yellow colors.”

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A graduate of the Institute of Physics and Technology in Moscow, Kordan travels the world in search of the most photogenic landscapes, and judging by his portfolio as well as his increasingly popular Instagram, he’s had no trouble finding and capturing them. In addition the salt flats, the photographer has taken gorgeous photos of natural settings i Greece, New Zealand, Greenland, Tuscany, Scotland, Patagonia and many other locales. Check out his personal favorite collection of images he’s taken, replete with glaciers, ice caves, dramatic sand dunes and the aurora borealis.

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“I have been fascinated by the possibilities of photography since my early childhood,” says Kordon on his website. “I grew up at beautiful lake region under Moscow exploring wild nature, spending most of my free time in nature. I graduated the art painting school when I was a kid. Mix art, nature, constant activities and you’ll receive a summary – art of Landscape photography. Life started swirling me, pushing me into the rush. University, hard work on my quantum physics thesis, family and friends… but there is alway sa pleasure in the pathless woods: places I always returned and always admired. Nature is my inspiration, with all the beauty and variety of colors and compositions.”

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Univers-Sel: Salt Labyrinths Swirl Inside 13th Century French Castle

26 May

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Gazing down at foamy-looking swirls of white on black from a niche in an ancient castle, you almost feel as if you’re an astronaut watching a hurricane form above the ocean on the distant Earth. These cellular arrangements form tentacular appendages of varying opacity, meeting in the center to create a vortex effect. They are, in fact, made of salt, with each grain symbolizing a memory or a moment in time. Artist Motoi Yamamoto installed ‘Floating Garden’ and ‘Labyrinth’ within the castle tower at Aigues-Mortes in Southern France for an exhibition called ‘Univers’ Sel,’ on display through the end of November.

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The hurricane-like swirl of ‘Floating Garden’ is a motif commonly used to represent life, death, resurrection and rebirth in East Asia. To create it, Yamamoto started in the center of the black-floored space, shaking a container of salt in a calculated rhythm to produce just the right pattern, working for 45 hours over 5 days.

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Within the ramparts, a labyrinth unfolds. Would you be able to wind your way from the outer edges of the pattern to the piles of salt that lie at the end? You’ll never find out, because to attempt it would mean destroying the work, with its intricately placed salt lines sensitive to the slightest movement. Like the sand mandalas of Tibetan monks, these salt sculptures are meant to exist temporarily, as vulnerable and ephemeral as human bodies moving through the hazardous world.

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Both pieces are a continuation of series of the same names. The artist began working with salt as a medium after the loss of his sister to brain cancer at 24 years old, in rumination on time, transcendence and the notion of death. The salt structures act as an interstitial medium between our time and space within our physical world and whatever mysteries lie beyond.

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“Drawing a labyrinth with salt is like following a trace of my memory,” says Yamamoto. “Memories seem to change and vanish as time goes by. However, what I seek is the way in which I can touch a precious moment in my memories that cannot be attained through pictures or writings. I always silently follow the trace, that is controlled as well as uncontrolled from the start point after I have completed it.”

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Hurricane of Salt

14 Jul

Angelica Escotos Bilder sind poetisch, in ihnen tauchen oft sie selbst und auch ihre Töchter auf. Und immer wieder sind sie inspiriert vom Meer, wie bereits ihre letzte Serie Fußabdrücke, sie und Wale, die wir auf kwerfeldein vorstellen durften. Ihre Texte sind nicht weniger poetisch und verlieren bei der Übersetzung immer etwas an Wirkung.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity

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Posted in Equipment

Salt Mines Converted to Stunning Subterranean Museum

06 Dec

[ By Steph in Global & Travel & Places. ]

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Between the eerie glowing lights, the otherworldly cavernous spaces and the long strange trip it takes to get there, this subterranean museum feels like it could be located on an alien planet. The Salina Turda Salt Mines of Romania have been converted to the world’s largest salt mining museum, but this is no dry historical tour – there’s weird wooden architecture, a playground and even a ferris wheel.

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All of the LED lights sticking out of those unusual architectural shapes at the center of the museum make it quite a sight from far above, when looking down into the mine plunging 120 meters (393 feet) into the earth. Visitors take elevators to each of the three museum chambers at various depths to see the restored equipment.

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The sports arena, amphitheater, mini golf course and bowling lanes are reason enough to take a trip to the mine, but the caverns themselves are the main attraction. Uplighting shows off the amazing natural patterns on the excavated walls. There’s even a small subterranean lake with boats for rent.

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The mines were first excavated in the 17th century and provided a vast wealth of salt for the Romans. The interior is totally free of allergens and almost entirely devoid of bacteria, and maintains a temperature of about 52 degrees with 80% humidity.