"Sunset Avra Valley" ~ Gum Dichromate Print

 This is not the first printing of this image. This is one of those images that must be interpreted before the printing, decisions on colors to use, color layer order and other choices to be made that take the print in a definite direction. I didn't like the direction the other prints were going. Making the command decision to abort a print and start all over, most times is painful, considering the time invested in a gum print. The five days of paper preparations before beginning, then another day for every printed color layer. So, when two weeks have been invested, it's worse than a hang-nail.

The colors I laid on this print were more subtle, until reaching the final two colors of a seven color run. Those final layers left the two primary colors I wanted seen; red(s) and golden light (yellow ochre) for the shaft of light coming through the clouds. it's worth repeating, that I am pretty much color blind to red/green. Thus, finishing a print in red is a bit dicey for me. I can say, if I can see the red on the print, it's red.

Gum dichromate Print ~ Unique

"Sunset Avra Valley" ~ 8"x10"

Avra Valley, Arizona

"Heeber Creeper" ~ Palladium over Kallitype Print

 One of my earlier photographs; circa 1977-78. I had wanted to make this a gum over palladium print, but formatting it to fit to one of the two gum printing formats of 8x10 and 11x14 simply wouldn't cooperate from the original image, which, interestingly enough, was shot on 35mm film. The only effective way to keep the fuller original image, thus if I wanted to print it at all, it had to be 11"17".

This print was prepped in my standard process, making the original image to my liking, concerning the light, converted to "black & white film" [being an RGB image], then on to be image flipped, and negative image before adding the density curve I created, Na2 <curve>, which isn't a radical curve, but a soft one, raising the density range from about Log .6, to Log .8/ Log 1.0. I don't need a lot of density in the digital negatives as they all get printed with my UV printer; 160W [8-tube white black lights] 6-inches from the table top, or about 5" using a printing frame. The standard printing time for this setup is 8-minutes, with toning. If I use the 1% gold/ thiourea toner the time drops to 7-minutes, as tha toner tends to darken the upper tonalities as much as the blacks.

Palladium toned Kallitype

"Heber Creeper" 11"x17"

Heber, Arizona 1977-78

"Grandpa's Chopping Block" ~ Gum over Palladium Print

 This print will likely be the final one in the Grandpa's Cabin series. Each were 11x14 gum ov3r palladium prints, with exception to the original Grandpa's Cabin, which was all gum. This print is a three color gum run over the base palladium print. I used Turquoise, cadmium yellow and quinacridone magenta as the three colors; basically the CYM, with the K being the palladium print.

I have been using the spray dried powder gum Arabic that has become the standard of gum these days, with exception to the pre-mixed gum in the liter. That gum density is 14 balm which is roughly equal to 37% gum solution. I  mix my gum at 50%. I'm noticing that the color layers fall into the paper mor than I like. After eyars of searching, I found raw gum crystals online and purchased a kilo, which I have melted and used. It is much sticker and viscous than the spray powder. The reasons for that are better explained by a chemist. What I can say of it is I am back to the gum I was once  used to. Right after I received this new raw gum I saw another listing for raw bum in the large whole chunks. Even better. I purchased another kilo of that raw gum. I will never need commercial spray dried gum ever again.

Gu over Palladium ~ Unique

"Grandpa's Chopping Block" 11"x14"