Bleaching

Been working hard the last 2 nights printing the last b/w work for the show. I am reprinting one photograph of children on the railway tracks of Klong Toey slum and printing two panoramic Xpan slum shack photos for a diptych piece. Had the children shot done and soaking but I left it to long in the water holding bath (an extra 7 hours) and when I gave the prints a final wash the emulsion just washed right off the paper. I have to reprint the photograph again, I should have not been lazy and hypo cleared/toned the work and given it a final wash earlier today instead of letting it soak that long, a stupid mistake.

I am getting better at using the bleach thou, I have invented a technique that seems to work well. When the print with bleach on it is placed back in the fixer bath it sort of activates it. I found the taking of the print in and out of the tray a bit cumbersome (especially with bigger prints) so I got a small hair dye bottle and placed fixer in it. I then squirt the fix on the print and bleach, or add bleach and wash it off with a squirt of fix, it works quite well and the bottle allows me to control the fix solution quite nicely. I also have a bottle that is filled with a dilute bleach that I can spray on the print instead of using the brush, I find this quite useful at times.

Anyway nuff typing, got to get back and finish the prints, want to do 1 or 2 more then the hypo clear, toning and I can put the prints to wash and relax for a bit.

I am reading the" Journal of Eugene Delacroix", it is quite interesting reading, he was a painter from the early 1800s who worked out of Paris. When I was at the Louvre I rembmer seeing one of his canvases.


Eugene Delacroix (Self Portrait)


Liberty Leading The People ( By Eugene Delacroix)