Free Metal Shelf for Carpentry Workshop

I picked up a free heavy duty metal shelf today. I washed it, added a can of blue spray paint and placed it in the carpentry workshop. It is great place to keep all my power tools, neatly in one area! Strong sturdy and free you got to love that!

I am a bit amazed how important the carpentry shop has come to be for the photography. My original thought was to make frames for the Ambrotypes but since then it has grown. I am making boxes for my glass plates, air conditioning cupboards, plywood sink counter tops and boxes for the darkroom trailer. The list of useful photography related things I can make in the shop continues to grow.

You can get some useful things for FREE

LINK; Learning Photogravure Online

I found a great source for learning about the Photogravure process. Silvi Glattauer also gives workshops in Melbourne Australia and online.

https://www.silvi.com.au/ 

Nice Used Find

Got a lightweight, smaller, aluminum folding scaffold today. Delivered to the house, cost was $75 CAD. A lot more expensive, new online ($366).

Bought it for work around the house (painting etc.) but I might be able to incorporate it into the AMBROTOS KANATA project as well. Camera support? A raised sitting position? Inside a tent as a shelf? Not sure just yet how I will use it but the light wait and functionality gives me options.

Photogravure Press Room Ready

The small room I am going to do my Photogravure limited edition work (once I learn the process) in is ready. The vinyl floor was installed today for $940. They did a good job, everything looks sweet. 

So far the entire post burst pipe renovation, upstairs and downstairs at the house cost is about $3000 CAD.

Will try to place the press in the new space later this week.

VIDEO: AC Unit, Setup and Working!!

I have the 12v AC unit setup and working, connected to the Jackery power supply.

I am hoping it will provide a consistently cooler workspaces allowing for both myself and all the wet plate chemistry to keep working consistently well. 

Temperature is such an important part of the process. Let’s hope this works. The AC unit is a $500+ gamble.

Note* I did a test run and I  think I can get about 4 hours of cold air out of the unit at the coldest setting. 

Note** I have 2 Jackery 1000w units.

Note** I can recharge the Jackery a number of ways. Via 110 power, 12v power or through 2 solar panels.

Scrap Wood Cabinet!!

Made up a scrap wood cabinet today. Not the nicest looking thing, a bit crooked but it should serve its purpose well and it is strong n sturdy.

The plan after painting is complete it to place it at the front of the darkroom trailer under the counter top. It will hold my new 12v AC unit along with the Jackery 1000 watt power supply.

I did a test run and I  think I can get about 4 hours of cold air out of the unit at the coldest setting. 

Note* I have 2 Jackery 1000w units.

VIDEO: First 11x14 Selfie

Here is a video of the 11x14 selfie I did a few days back. I have grown to like it. Will continue to work along these lines.

Working Out My Ambrotype Portraits!

So much wet plate photography done in the modern era is just plain bad. The photographers get so filled up with the process and the techniques that they forget to make good photographs, especially in portraiture. There are so many bad, boring, mundane portraits made by wet plate photographers , that it becomes a painful just to look at them all!

I want to create unique Ambrotype portraiture. How to do that? How can they be more than a fancy old process? How to create work that speaks to s different level of thought and awareness. Something that reaches past the humdrum and ordinary? 

It will be very difficult to do something unique. It is doubtful I can do chase down my pretentious hopes and do more, but I can at least try make the imagery more thoughtful and visually unique. Then from that point, maybe something deeper can eventuality be attained, with lots of hard work and the right sitters.

First attempts, will try more tomorrow.

11x14 inch Selfie, May 27th 2026, age 63

A New/Old Safelight

Found an old safelight in my old gaaragee. There were two like this in the box. I had bought them years back, but never used them. Now I am! One for the traiiler darkroom, one for the house darkroom. Its strange how these things you bought and forgotten in the past become important in the present.

attached security with 2 screws to the wall. I need to attach the red dome better.

Best of the Day

I will continue to work on my portraiture, this is the best of thee day. Out of focus but has a feel to it. I might have to bring in a flash at some point. Trying to manage things in available light, working with different lens now, trying to figure out what works best.

11x14 Selfy

A Quiet and Cool Pla

Sometimes its nice to have a cool, secluded, quiet place where you can relax, read a book. My carpentry area is such a place. The chair is quite comfortable, a Goodwill find.

Back to Wet Plate!

Setup making my first Ambrotypes in over 1 years time. It is all coming back to me! Trying to do 11x14 self portraits in available light.

 

Trying to get the portrait look I see in my minds eye. I have not done much wet plat portraiture. Got to get good at this, got to be able to do STRONG ambrotype portrait work!!!!!

 

My portable AC unit has not arrived yet. 27.5c inside the trailer.

 

Studying Photogravure!

 

LinkK How to Make the Photogravure Printing Plates

To create photogravure prints in  the old days, and still today, they made expensive copper plates that were etched in acid. With time a new easier way was developed, you used light sensitive polymer sheets, that are exposed through 2 steps using a transparencies (not sure exactly how it is done). Now the simplest, cheapest and fastest way to make a photogravure plate is using an inkjet printer that directly prints onto the polymer sheet, no transparencies required!

I found this today.; The video makes the process look simple, it is not. I will need to become a very proficient at plate makking, even a bit of a master, if I hope to do the photogravure limited editions I plan on doing.

Photogravure Plate and Print Making 

Epson printer plate direct-to-plate method

Plywood for Etching Press

Today I am working on the reopened (after winter) carpentry area of the house. Am making 3/4inch (5/8 in reality) plywood pieces to place under the press. I will place 2 plywood boards under the press.

The press weighs over 1000 lbs. It will be placed in the basement of my home but on a raised floor (about 12 inches). Placing plywood under the press helps support and spread the wight more evenly. I have learned that 2 plywood sheets offer much more load bearing protection, so I am going with 2 painted 3/4 inch plywood measuring 4 feet x 5 feet 6 inches. 

This set up should provide a safe press support for the last 20 years or so of my life as I make my limited edition photogravure prints of my life’s work. 

2 is better than 1

My 2 freshly cut and painted 3/4 inch plywood, weight transfer baring boards!

Tombstone Territorial Park, POSSIBLE?

Wanted to do wetplate, here, up in the Yukon but it might be impossible.  Making Ambrotypes for AMBROTOS KANATA there, would be wonderful!!

This is what AI says.

“Driving a Class C motorhome with a towed trailer to Tombstone Territorial Park on the Dempster Highway is not recommended. The rough, unpaved gravel road features sharp shale, steep grades, and heavy dust/mud that can cause severe damage, blown tires, and major wear-and-tear on your setup.Key Risks & RealitiesTire Hazards: The Dempster Highway is notoriously rough on tires. Blowouts on RVs and trailers are common, so carrying at least two mounted spares is highly recommended.Rental Agreements: If you are using a rental RV (e.g., from CanaDream or Fraserway), check your contract closely. Most rental companies prohibit taking their vehicles on the Dempster Highway due to the extreme risk of windshield chips and structural damage.Dust & Mud: Depending on the weather, the road can be a dry dust storm or an incredibly slick mud bath. Trailers are highly susceptible to dust intrusion through vents and heavy mud caking the undercarriage.Steep Grades: There are steep, winding climbs—such as into the Ogilvie Mountains—that will test your engine and transmission.How to Make the TripIf you are determined to bring your rig to Tombstone:Go Slow: You will need to drop your speed significantly (often \(40\) to \(60\text{ km/h}\)) to avoid potholes and flying stones.The Route: The highway begins \(40\text{ km}\) east of Dawson City on the Klondike Highway. Tombstone Mountain Campground is located at Kilometer 72 of the Dempster.Alternative OptionsMany travelers opt to unhook or leave large trailers in Dawson City, taking only the truck or Class C motorhome into the park.Leave the Trailer: There are several full-service RV parks and campgrounds in Dawson City (such as the Dawson City RV Park or Gold Rush Campground) where you can safely leave your trailer while making the day trip into Tombstone.Tombstone Campground: The Tombstone Mountain Campground allows for RV camping, but note that back-in sites are limited. You can review campground amenities and reserve a site in advance on the Yukon Parks website.“

The Comfort of Home!

So many people I knew from the old days have moved to newer parts of the city, to newer more expensive homes. So many feel their old neighborhood is no longer worthy, that there are better, newer, more expensive places that they should live. I disagree, sometimes a memory can bring more happiness than the shiniest and most expensive toys.

Living in your old neighborhood in your old home has a certain beauty to it. It connects you to your past, to old times, to mom and dad, to your first day of school, your shared birthdays, weddings and anniversaries., to so many good times.

I still live in my family home (moved here at 1, am 62 now), I am still around everything I knew as a child. In my minds eye I can see my mother, father, family and friends, around every corner. 

The memories continually flood back. It’s comforting, and rewarding to live this way. There is a simplicity and happiness to it.

5 Lights for $20 CAD!!

After a tiring night of renovation work and an exhausting day of work of hauling a bunch of items to the garbage. I pushed myself a bit further.

I managed to get a series of indoor dome ceiling lights off FaceBook marketplace. Got 2 beautiful large lights for the ceiling of tge press room at $10 CAD each. And got 3 more slightly beat up but still nice dome lights FREE that I will use in the carpentry shop. Dad had the wiring set up there but never installed lights.

Sometimes pushing yourself is a good thing. 5 quality lights for $20!!! Can’t beat that!

Will try installing the press room lights after I sleep. I also need to repair a bunch of switches and 1 power plug in the house basement. Bought some of those plugs from a Restore shop a while back, will need to find them.

I installed the lights, took a while but got it done. Not bad for $10 each, lots of light provided. It will be fun making Photogravure prints in this space.

The Origins of Photogravure! 1826-1879

 Here is a bit of Photogravure history.

Note* I will be working on a modern form of the process. It would be fun to try using original copper plates someday!

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Photogravure was invented in stages. The earliest iteration was developed by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. However, the mature, high-quality intaglio process still used by artists today was perfected and introduced in 1879 by the Czech painter Karel Klíč. 

Key Milestones in the Invention

• 1826 (Niépce): Niépce created the very first photogravure, known as héliogravure, using light-sensitive bitumen of Judea on a pewter plate.
• 1852–1858 (Talbot): British inventor William Henry Fox Talbot (creator of the calotype) patented "photographic engraving," experimenting with dichromated gelatin and resin dust to transfer photographs onto steel and copper plates.
• 1879 (Klíč): Klíč successfully refined Talbot's process by combining it with Joseph Wilson Swan'scarbon tissue method. This allowed for the detailed mechanical translation of continuous photographic tones and birthed the modern Talbot-Klíč process.

How It Works

Photogravure is a photomechanical intaglio process. 

1. A photographic positive is exposed onto light-sensitive gelatin paper.
2. This gelatin "carbon tissue" is transferred onto a polished copper plate coated with a fine resin dust (aquatint).
3. The plate is etched with acid. The acid eats away at the copper in varying depths based on the tones of the image.
4. The copper plate is inked, wiped clean, and run through a specialized press to transfer the rich, velvety, continuous-tone image onto fine art paper. 

Legacy

While commercial photogravure gave way to cheaper halftone printing methods in the mid-20th century, it remains the most luxurious means of reproducing photographic images in ink. It is still practiced today by dedicated printmakers to capture extreme depth, velvety shadows, and transparent midtones that modern inkjet printers struggle to replicate.”

Found this on a Old Phone

A wet plate flash from the past!! I need to get off my lazy ass and create new work!

Old imagery with the 8x10

Book Money Saved!

I am trying to find out as much info as I can on the photogravure processes. The problem is most books on the photogravure process are super expensive! I found one book that I almost ordered at $100+ CAD but the price was daunting. I did a search online and found a PDF copy of the book for free. A bit underhanded but gosh I do not have the money to pay hundreds of dollars for a single book. I will read the PDF copy and see if it is worth the cost, if so, I could still buy it.

Note* Photo lots of pdf files relating to Photogravure printing, will download and read them all. I need to LEARN, LEARN, LEARN!! 

Toyobo Printing-Prints, Another Way to Say Photopolymer Gravure!

Here is a description of the process I will try to do with my new Etching Press. All photos are prints made by master printer Eric Levert, photographers listed below in pics. As you can see stunning work can be created.

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Toyobo printing (also known as photopolymer gravure) is a Japanese printmaking technique that acts as a bridge between photography and traditional etching. It involves using a light-sensitive polymer plate to transfer an image using UV light, resulting in a tactile print that looks like a hand-crafted intaglio. 

The Toyobo Process

• The Plate: A metallic plate with a photosensitive polymer layer is used.
• Exposure: Your digital image (inverted, such as an x-ray or high-contrast photo) is printed onto a transparent acetate sheet. This is placed on the Toyobo plate and exposed to UV light.
• Development: The light hardens the exposed polymer, while the covered, unexposed areas remain soft. The plate is then washed with water, which washes away the unexposed polymer to create a subtle, 3D relief.
• Printing: The plate is inked and wiped just like an intaglio etching, then run through a printing press to transfer the image onto high-quality fine art paper