New Battery For Darkroom Trailer

from Facebook....
Bought a new battery for the trailer $146 CAD. The old one was looking rather wasted as you can see from the photographs. The trailer has plugs and a battery charger device on the wall that I think is also an inverter of some kind. I think I should be able to use the AC plugs when only on battery power but they are not working, not sure why. Should not an inverter allow the use of AC plugs on small devices?


When plugged into a power source everything works, when not plugged in the roof vent fan and the 3 battery roof lights work but none of the wall plugs do, not sure why.


My hope was to hook a water pump up to a plug in so that I can use it with the new water tank. If I cannot get the plugs working thou I will have to hook the water pump up directly to the battery.
Am a bit ignorant in these matters, any help would be greatly appreciated. A switch I am missing?
 Maybe the charger inverter is not working properly.


Need to figure things out, will read more about my wall mounted device. Here is a link:

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/power-converters/pd9200-series-rv-power-converters/

Battery power in the darkroom trailer.

FAMILIES OF THE DUMP With A 5x7 Camera

from FaceBook....

Some photos made in the dump in 2017. Pictures made with a Linhof 5x7 camera and 120mm, 210mm lens, on Tri-x. The attached video is of the kids playing with the camera. This story is part of the ongoing THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP photographs, which deals with Burmese refugee people who live and work the Mae Sot Garbage dump in Thailand pics made from 2013-present.

 

 

THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP, Garbage Dump, Mae Sot Thailand, 2017

Added A Second Row Of Red LCD Safelights In The Darkroom Trailer

Added a second row of red LCD safelights in the darkroom trailer today. I can add and subtract the light now in combination with the windows as needed. Each LCD light runs off its own 4 AA batteries with on/off switch.

Note* The inside of the roof vent has been painted red.

Red safelight LCD set up, with 2 switches

Figured Out The Window Issues In Darkroom Trailer

I finally figured out a system that I think will work for the windows in the darkroom trailer.  I wanted to have the ability to go 100% black for loading and processing normal film and I wanted to be able to have filters on both the large door and wall windows to use as safe lights for wet plate.

The system I figured out uses a combination of magnetic tape and Velcro. Along the top edge of the double layered (still need to be sewn) black cloth I will use a 2 inch strip of Velcro to support the main weight of the cloth. Along the sides and bottom edges I will use magnetic tape. One side of the tape sticks to the wall, the cloth goes in between then a second magnet tape strip on top sandwiches everything together.

When the red filter is set up, the filter material (Rubylith) is held in place by the magnetic tape on all four sides. I like this magnet set up much better, it seems more secure. This morning when I went into the trailer the old taped to the door filter was laying on the floor. Because this new set up, there should be no more playing with gaffer tape problems, hope the magnet tape sticks well.

Note* I have 3/4 inch magnetic tape on order from China.
Note** I have the black material for the cloth ready to go but it needs to be cut to size and sewn together in a double layer which I hope will be thick enough block all the light, if not I will go to 3 layers.
Note***I painted the inside of the roof vent red which solved that  safe light problem. I will have to rig a small black there as well.
Note**** I can double the rubylith sheets if the light gets very bright.
Note***** Another bonus of this magnet filter system versus taped on filters is that I can remove the filter anytime I want and then open the window to allow air flow. Magnets and a filter are a lot easier to remove, than a filter taped to the door.

Update* On looking at the door window more carefully, I might have to have a black cloth that covers the entire door to prevent light leaks in the door frame.

Rubylith on door window, a much prettier and darker version than the taped on version red filter.

Facebook: This Week Off Work

from Facebook...

Good and bad news over the last few days. Got rejected from the National Gallery of Canada, which was expected. The good is, I am doing interviews for ANALOG FOREVER MAGAZINE. They are going to send me a second set of questions in a few days time related to THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP which is good, raising awareness about their lives etc. They will also be showing photographs.


Am on my week off, which is nice. I got my trailer water tank from amazon today, so will start work on that. Also going to see if I can cut some glass for ambrotypes for the first time. 

I had to cancel my trip to Thailand in September because of Covid-19, so will try to start up the cross Canada wet plate project AMBROTOS KANATA in September instead. No Thai trip is highly depressing, but so many others have it so much worse. Making 8x10 ambrotypes will help the negative feelings, raise the old spirits. The joys of photography always help me through the rough patches of life.

https://www.analogforevermagazine.com/

"AnalogForever Magazine" Questions Continue

I will be answering a second set of questions for ANALOG FOREVER MAGAZINE in the coming days. The editor contacted me today, hewill send me a second series of Q&A about THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP soon.

Not sure if the interview and photos will be shown in the hard cover issue of this new magazine or online. Either way it is a good thing, more exposure about the families. Telling their stories to a larger audience is always good.

AMBROTOS KANATA Begins In September 2020?

I had originally planned to start my major wet plate photography project AMBROTOS KANATA in 2022 or 2023. Now tho with Covid-19 destroying the world I do not have the option to fly to Thailand this year. I had originally planned to return to Thai September 7, but I had to cancel my vacation. Now to compensate, I might start up KANATA next month.

Maybe this is a good thing. I am not getting younger. If I want to try to do the impossible, to photograph Canada, a 2 year head start has to be a good thingy.

Will start shooting 8x10 ambrotypes around Edmonton, if I do get going in September or October.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Am on my days off again, thank goodness!! So much to do thou, today after my 7th 12 hour night shift and a short sleep I bought some groceries then cut the lawn at 2 homes I am taking care of. I have to do a third home tomorrow. Then do cleaning at sisiters home and reorganizing at another, plus work  on 2 vehicles that need fixing up. One van to be sold and another truch with a bad battery. Tomorrow at 2pm I need to help a friend buy a cane and do some banking things. I have so much to do on my week off, my head is spinning, I do not even know where to start.

But on to more important stuff!. I have been checking nationally and internationally for cheaper chemical providers. I have one source in India who is willing to provide much of my needed chemistry but only if I buy in 15 kilo lots. So I would have to buy 3 chemicals of 5 Kilos each for a total of 15 kilos per purchase. The prices are MUCH MUCH cheaper than anything I else I have been able to find in Canada, a fraction of the cost. Going this way if it works could save me thousands of dollars in the end, even 10s of thousands if the project becomes what I hope it will be.

Since I am planning a 10-15 year project, I might be able to use these large amounts of chemicals, I did some rough math based on the type of collodion  I might be using. According to my figuring if I bought 5 kilos of Cadmium Bromide it would probably be enough to make over 1000 bottles of 1000ml collodion. That is one hell of a lot of collodion!! I think I might be able to use up that much, or almost that much if I dive in and shoot ULF plates which use a lot of the product (500ml per plate?).

I contacted some of the ULF wet plate friends and asked them how much collodion it takes to cover big plates, how much they go through but their answers have been vague. I also contacted a PHD friend I work with who works in the laboratory at the plant. I asked him about storing a chemical I use in the process called Ammonium Iodide (a salt used to provide speed and contrast, density to the collodion), He said the chemical should be able to be stored for 5 years and then gave me a list of procedures I have should follow. I am trying to figure the best place to store the chemicals and also will separate them as he recommended into smaller containers.

So the plan is to order 15 kilos of chemicals this week. The 3 will be, Cadmium Bromide, Ammonium Iodide and probably either Potassium Bromide or Potassium Iodide. I thinking the Iodide might be more useful as it is used in many collodion formulas. Even if I do not use all the chemicals and some go to waste, shopping this way is probably going to save me money. The amount you save buy buying bulk makes up for anything left over or anything that does not age well. If you can use it all up, then alls the better!!

Today I also found a possible Canadian source for big buys of Sodium Thiosulfate (Hypo, Fixer)! They were out of stock but am inquiring about getting some. I am also asking trophy and metal shops to give me quotes about selling me black trophy aluminum for tintypes.

I hope to get started on AMBROTOS KANATA, my major retirement cross country wet plate project next month in September
Note* I will also need to get me some glass so I can start cutting it to do my own ambrotypes, in various sizes.
.

Quote: Rosalind Cash (Actress)

"I'm not good at playing stereotypes. I don't ingratiate myself to the powers-that-be as some nice, Negro, colored, abiding person. You cannot depend on me to be that Negro that you have come to know and love, that you're used to."

Trying To Buy Chemicals From Asia For My Wetplate Project

I have been looking for sources of chemicals in Asia. One of the big difficulties in doing ULF size 35x35 inch collodion plates is the cost. You often hear other photographers say a plate this or that large size costs $500 USD or $500 Euro. Those huge numbers are FRIGHTENING! Imagine the cost of screwing up!! I have been searching online sources looking for chemical suppliers in India and China that I could try. Their pricing is cheaper, sometimes a lot cheaper for the same CAS number chemicals. I am not sure of the overall quality of these Asian sellers but I figured it is worth try, worth the gamble. I have already saved a lot of money by using another source for alcohol for the project. The Bio-Ethanol I am using is 1/7 the price of the same quantity of Everclear grain alcohol. Maybe I can get as lucky a second, third, forth time by getting various chemicals cheaper from overseas.

I checked with a PHD Laboratory friend here at work and he tells me that at least the  Ammonia Iodide should be OK for 5 years of storage. He also gave me a bunch of safe storage guidelines to follow, which I will follow. I have also read the MSDS sheets for all the chemicals in regards to hopw to handle them safely.

So far from various sellers in India and China I have places that will sell me.

India   - Cadmium Bromide CAS: 7789-42-6
            - Ammonium Thiosulfate (Rapid fix in powder form) CAS: 7783-18-9
China - Ammonium Iodide CAS: 12027-06-4
China - Silver Nitrate CAS: 7761-88-8


To get the deals done, I will need to buy these chemicals in 5 KILO SIZES. Even if I have extra chemistry left over  or it does not store longer than 5 years the  price is still much cheaper to buy this way. That is of course if the quality of the Asian chemicals matches what I can get in the Canada/USA and if the sellers are good to their word and do not cheat me.

Here's hoping this all works out! If it does my 35x35 plates will be quite a bit cheaper than the $500 USD per plate. $100? $200 CAD a plate? I always felt the $500 USD/Euro number I have heard is an exaggeration.

Note* I will also be using a clear glass on the Ambrotypes and cutting my own glass to size which should save some costs.

Update* The seller in India is asking for 15 Kilo buys of chemicals at one time!! If I buy 15 Kilos of Ammonium Thiosulfate it will cost $40.50 USD per Kilo, so that is $607.50 USD total ($813.50 CAD). That is one hell of a lot of Hypo. I hope this deal works out, hope the shipment makes it to Edmonton and I am not scammed, hope it is of good quality. Lots of HOPES there.

Update** More shipping worries, payment worries for the chemicals from India buy. This is not as easy as I thought it would be. I need to do some comparison pricing to make sure I am saving enough money to make the risks worthwhile. More to come!

Update *** The Indian seller also sells, Ammonium Bromide, Potassium Bromide, Cadmium Iodide, Potassium Iodide. Ferrous Sulfate and Sodium Thiosulfate. Some price are very good at the 5 kilo charge, some are more and quite a bit more than I get from Canadian/USA sellers. Lots to figure out. 

Quote: Imelda Marcos

"Perception is real and the truth is not" 

The quote is from this new documentary, will try to watch it soon. 

THE KINGMAKER (2019)

Quote: Dr. Martin Luther King

Been thinking of  Dr. Kings speech today. As soon as you look at a human being and then make a judgement based on skin color, that is a racist act.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"

I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH BY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING (remastered with subtitles)

Ambrotos Kanata, Name Meaning

I am thinking the final name for the cross Canada Ambrotype project will be AMBROTOS KANATA.

Ambrotos = the Greek word for immortal. I see this in the title to indicate the immortality of the ambrotype wet plate photograph, along the immortality of the landscape and their human inhabitants of Canada.

Kanata =  is an indigenous Canadian word meaning "village" or "settlement". It is the origin of the name of Canada. I chose this word to pay tribute the original people of this part of the world, the indigenous natives/first nations people.

So AMBROTOS KANATA as I see it means IMMORTAL AMBROTYPES OF CANADA, IMMORTAL PEOPLE OF CANADA, IMMORTAL LANDSCAPES OF CANADA.

Another Rejection, But A Nice One, From The Big Boy In Town

I got a very nice rejection letter from the National Gallery of Canada yesterday. It was kind of them to take the time to reply to me, I appreciate their thoughtfulness.

Will keep working at them thou, will keep haunting them and others with my stories :). My rather selfish goal is that before I die to have at least one photograph hang in Canada's best and probably most visited gallery. Telling the stories to the largest audience possible would be a dream come true.
Maybe this goal can be be achieved with AMBROTOS KANATA, my long term wannabe wet plate project about Canada and its people.

The National Gallery Of Canada:
https://www.gallery.ca/

Note* If any of you are interested, please try out the call-submission-mailing list links they sent me. They are good people trying to help us all out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Gerry,

Thank you for your patience as you awaited my response to our exchange initiated earlier this year.  We’ve had a series of changes at the Gallery including a new Deputy Director & Chief Curator and new Director of Exhibitions and Outreach in the past six months – not to mention the pressing needs which arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yours proposals to mount exhibitions of your works, The People Who Live Under The Freeway and The Families of the Dump, at the National Gallery of Canada was brought forward to our Exhibitions team for consideration.  While there are no current plans to undertake these projects at this time, we did want to thank you for reaching out to us.

I regret that I could not deliver better news to you as I know you are very keen to showing your work at a national institution. Alternatively, you may be already aware, there are multiple calls for proposals from established galleries across the country throughout the year, including digital exhibitions now in the context of COVID19.  You may consider subscribing to the following mailing lists to seize upcoming opportunities:

• In Ottawa: Art Engine’s Art list (https://www.artengine.ca/community/artlist-en.php)
• ACC (https://acc-cca.com) (usually posts calls on Facebook)
• Akimbo (https://akimbo.ca/listings/)
• Instant Coffee (https://www.instantcoffee.org/)

Thank you again for your interest in the National Gallery.  I do hope you are keeping safe and healthy during this challenging period.  Congratulations for your feature in Shades of Grey!

With best,

----- -----

----------------

----- ------ -------------

Exhibitions and Outreach  /  Expositions et rayonnement

National Gallery of Canada  /  Musée des beaux-arts du Canada

Answered "Analog Forever Magazine" Questions

Just answered the first set of questions for the new photography magazine ANALOG FOREVER MAGAZINE.

https://www.analogforevermagazine.com/

They are going to send me a second set of questions related to my photo project THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP in the coming days. Not sure were the interview and families photos will be shown, in the online version or the hard copy version of the magazine but it looks like a go either way..

Telling the stories of the families to the widest audience possible has always been my goal with the photo project, am glad to see that happening. I will post some links when everything is up and running.

Another Eoc-Feu Bio Ethanol Order

I ordered another 4 boxes of Eco-Feu Bio Ethanol tonight, there are 4-3.78 liter bottles per box. My last order in July was for 4 boxes but one box was lost in transport and only 3 arrived. I was planning on ordering another 4 boxes in September but ordered early so they could ship me the missing 4th box in this order, making 5 this time round (free shipping).

This means that after the 5 boxes arrive I will have a total of new 35 bottles of the stuff plus the 1/2 bottle that I have used, so 35 1/2 bottles Bio Ethanol. That should last me for quite a while!

This Bio Ethanol stuff seems to work great and is a fraction of the cost of Everclear from the liquor store. Buying this Eco-Feu product is going to save me thousands of dollars probably 10s of thousands. I hope they continue to produce it for the duration of my long term ambrotype project AMBROTOS KANATA (Immortal Canada). The "Immortal refers to capturing Canada and Canadian on glass ambrotypes." One is the reasons I am stockpiling the fuel is that I worry they will stop making it and I have no other sources in Canada for it.

Note* The cost was another 398.16 plus tax

https://www.eco-feu.com

Note** I calculate that the Eco-Feu Bio Ethanol is 1/7 the cost of Everclear.

http://gerryyaum.blogspot.com/2020/07/big-order-of-bio-ethanol-from-quebec.html 

2 More Items For The Darkroom Trailer MOTOPOWER MP00205A 12V 800mA Fully Automatic Battery Charge

Tonight I picked a couple of items off Amazon for the darkroom trailer. A 26 gallon water tank that I will use with a pump to provide water for the trailer sink and a small battery charger to maintain the trailer battery. Thanks so much to my online Facebook friend Bill S for his help designing the trailer.

Note*  Having a 26 gallon water tank to do my wetplate work with while in isolated field locations is going to make the work that much easier to do.

26 Gallon Water Tank Kit, cost $184.14 CAD

Motopower 12v 800mA Battery Charger, cost $24.99 CAD

My New Wet Plate Head Brace Stand Arrived Today!

Got my new head brace stand from the Ukraine today. IT IS LOVELY!! Heavy as it should be and everything locks down very well. I can use it for both sitting and for standing figures. Quite excited by this new tool, plus it's cool looking, so might include the stand in some images. I hope to use this piece of gear for many years to come while I am making the KANATA ambrotype photographs across Canada. Thanks so much Andrey and Anton.

Note* The stand is new build of an old design from the late 1800s.  The stand was made by Andrey Bakeev in the Ukraine.  It is used the brace-position a persons head during the long exposure times in wet plate photography. This head brace stand is extremely sturdy and weighs in at 33lbs.

My new head brace stand for wet plate!!

Quote: Gloria Desormeau Connolly

"Fear does not stop death. It stops life. And worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles. It takes away today's peace."

Quote: Barak Obama

“Malcolm X’s autobiography seemed to offer something different. His repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me; the blunt poetry of his words, his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order, martial in its discipline, forged through sheer force of will.”

Kids OK?

Thinking of the kids of the dump today, hope they (their parents and grand parents) are safe in this covid-19 world.

2013, Sky Blue School, Mae Sot Thailand, ICE CREAM!!

Gerry Collodion Mix #2

Mixed up my second batch of Gerry Collodion this morning. My first time making this Collodion I invented (as far as I know) I only did a 270ml mix because I was unsure if it would work. After testing that first mix and liking it I decided to mix up more today. I did 3 times the volume of the first attempt, 810ml.

Am looking forward to using it again.

Trailer Darkroom Sink Plumbing

This very hot week off I have been working on setting up the plumbing in my wet plate trailer. First I unplugged the backed up stinky sink, then removed the existing old, broken down drain piping. I then attached two separate drains with garden hose valves. Today after some trial and error and 3 trips to Home Depot I added some garden hose attachments for the two sink facets.

The plan is as follows. Build a plumbing set up that allows both outside trailer water, sewage and inside trailer water and sewage.  I will need to be able to work in the trailer independent of power and water hookups (like when I am making photos of the Arctic Ocean) but at times it would also be great to have a fully hooked up trailer (like when I am doing film development  or washes in a campground, private home). The inside set up would use a water pump and tank to supply water to the right side sink and drain which would flow out into the mobile sewage tank. The outside set up would be garden hose connected in and out through the trailer wall and allow flowing and exiting water in the left side sink. This would allow full hookups and flowing water in and out from a source like a campsite or a private home. I would also carry water in a water cooler in case the pump goes down at any point when I am off the grid. Hope this works :), so far so good!

Attachments for garden hoses on back of sink

Faucet, hot for outside water, cold for inside water

Wheeled trailer sewage tank

Front view

Two Drains, one for in trailer sewage tank, one for exterior sewage.

Today In The Wet Plate Trailer Darkroom

Today I did a bit of work in the wetplate trailer darkroom. I was working putting up new red LCD safe lights, but could not get them working, ordered some new battery power switches (4 AA batteries instead of 2). I also worked to unplug my sink. I did manage to do that, cleared out all the icky gunk and the backed up darkroom juices sloshed out. I will go in search of parts to work on the sink drain tomorrow. The trailer is coming together quite nicely!

Note* I might also try to hook the sink up to a camping RV pump to allow flowing water through the faucet in the field. If I can figure out how to do that!

FUN WET PLATE DAY, Only $199 CAD

Am offering a FUN WET PLATE PHOTO DAY along with my regular darkroom workshop on kijiji. Will add my view camera workshop soon (it was quite popular in the past.) All days/workshops etc cost $199 CAD.

If you want to try wetplate for a day, send me a message!!

FUN WETPLATE DAY WITH GERRY YAUM $199