A Salt Print Process and Contemporary Art Project by Borut Peterlin

[@russjump6194]

you have totally inspired me. I have been into digital photography for several years and now I'm getting into film photography I started quite late I'm 68 years old and looking forward to experiment with black-and-white and color film development and printing I always loved crushed blacks in Black and White photos and I've always been able to do that in digital l 'm looking forward to start developing film. when I was much younger I used to dabble in 35 mm film photography and cameras but never did anything serious like developing or anything like that :)

[@g_young_h]

Dude! So stoked to start trying this process. I love that you included the negative as well with each print!

[@gluepot36]

What a great project! I really like this idea. And the prints are fantastic!

[@alejandrarosales7836]

I’ve become obsessed with salt printing and I have some questions about the process do you make multiple layers of silver to get really dark browns, what kind of lavender oil do you use and beeswax what exactly does the ammonia do to the print and do you fume the print before the silver?

[@dobby6841]

hey Alejandra!i am planning on putting the sensitized salted paper inside the pinhole camera instead of a photographic paper and expose it, do u think that would work? in a sunny very light day, how long do u think I should expose the paper?

[@SYLVAINDURAND77]

Really cool process!!! Also the music you chose is super cool!!!!

[@4mariki]

even tho it was just a dust pan print it looked really nice. how much did it sell for?

[@nicolasb8269]

Hi Borut. Fantastic work! I just started with salt prints and this is pretty addictive! Your videos have been of great help, so thanks a lot. I was wondering in this video, why do you have so many "shit prints" at the end? Is it some randomness of the process, or do you need some fine tuning on exposure time, toning, etc before you get the desired result?

[@benoitproulx7653]

Hi Borut, it's always a pleasure to watch your evolution as a photographer. I notice while watching your video that at 6:25 minutes you're using some sort of drying bed for your prints. What is the name of that piece of equipment and where did you find it?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Thank you! It is ferrotyping process. THis was used just to dry the prints, but if you have high polished chromed stainless steel sheet, you can use it for high gloss of silver-gelatin prints www.rdrop.com/users/tedpet/ferrot.htm

[@luispassos3216]

Great work Peterlin. Do you know if it is safe to breath the same air when drying the paper, after coating it with silver nitrate solution?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Luis Passos YES, silver doesn't evaporate and it's not toxic to human. It is toxic to marine life, so it doesn't go down the drain

[@gabrysgabriukas]

Hi, Borut, thanks for the video, but I am total beginer and I really would like to see a step by step video on salt printing. How to take and prepare galass negative how to mix chemistry what dilutions and where to get it and so on. Hope you will do it one day. Thanks!

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

I probably will not do it, because it'll be an epic two weeks of work to pull it off and I doubt that people need a two hour show of this kind. I am always in need for help, so if you can help me with editing or help me pay an editor for my vlogs, would be much more likely to pull it off. Oh, I do offer one on one assistance on-line to my patreons and I do workshops as well. I believe you would gain the most from a workshop in person.

[@dobby6841]

hey man! amazing video u got there, so inspiring!i am planning on putting the sensitized salted paper inside the pinhole camera instead of a photographic paper and expose it, do u think that would work? in a sunny very light day, how long do u think I should expose the paper?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Salt paper will spontaneously yellow with time. If you back the salt paper with a paper soaked with citric acid, it'll slow down the yellowing effect. Also cool temperature will slow it down. To sum up, if your exposure will be up to four hours it'll work.

[@dobby6841]

@@BorutPeterlinPhotography oh ok, I'm testing it out right now. thank u very much for ur help, really grateful!

[@reynaldocastaneda4712]

Hi! Would like to know what is Ammonium you use in fuming the unexposed print and second, is there a cheaper way of toning it without sacrificing archival ability? Thanks for your time.

[@nickpeplow9993]

hay Mr peterlin, love it even the trumpet, how long do you leave it fuming in the ammonia, thank you.

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

4 min will do. but to be honest few years after I stop with fuming. The difference is not great.

[@nickpeplow9993]

Thank you. Best of luck.

[@andrewlaverghetta715]

The kit that I purchased to start salt printing comes with potassium dichromate. I'm not sure yet if I want to mix it up and use it because of the warnings, only if it makes enough of a difference. Apparently it's supposed to increase contrast when added to the salting solution.

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Andrew Laverghetta​ yes, actually it makes great difference, but let me warn you it also cause staining, so the secret is that you need to warm it up, stirr it and coat the paper as soon as possible, because it sediments back to solid state. a minute means a lot here. Do not expect a success in first ten prints. And yes, it's cancerogenic and poison, so treat it like that.

[@andrewlaverghetta715]

When you make these custom folios for a print, how is it intended to be displayed? When you want to view it, do you have to open the folio and look at it like a book, or is there a good way to display it in a frame on a wall? Maybe the cover gets folded behind?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

this one you need only to tear the front or even bent back and put it in a frame. very user-friendly

[@Rotten730]

Hello Mr. Peterlin, I was wondering if you could share the resource you use for the gold toner formula you use. I'm starting to get into Alternative prints and have done a few cyanotypes on paper and on glass plates. I'm interested in doing a few silver nitrate based prints and have done some research on using gold chloride. Just curious about what formulas you based your toner around. Thanks for the help it is very much appreciated!

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

+Rotten Rottie I follow the receipt of Mark Osterman, 1 gr of AuCl dissolved in 155 ml of distilled water, and then I use 2ml of that solution in 200ml of destined water with added baking soda, so the pH is 8. Toning by visual inspection

[@Normanskie]

Can you recycle the silver after the first wash?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Theoretically yes. Practically I don't know nobody who would do it. It's not profitable either way.

[@davecasey9281]

Excellent as always.

[@vicentecabezas9212]

Hi. I want start witht albumen and salt print process but I dont kwow what papers to use. What papers do you use?

[@subirbhaduri]

You are always inspiring!!

[@richard.l5563]

duration isn't automatic value-- static is just a flat point in the market

[@garyblum6226]

how is your print so black BEFORE you even tone? I'm really having trouble getting "black" tone even with gold toning. HELP?! thanks.

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

The answer is simple. Density of the negative. You need really dense negative to get deep blacks while whites remain bright.

[@garyblum6226]

@@BorutPeterlinPhotography Thank you Borut, yes for sure. I was more asking specifically how to get the actual color so black. not red or blue but black. I have come close with gold toning platinum toning, but just can't get the color you get. does the ammonium help a lot? REALLY appreciate what you're doing and helping us. -Gary

[@feraltweed]

Ok. I so want to do this

[@miguela.migallon8405]

hi men... borut what enlarger you use?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

i have several, but in this case I used Durst 138

[@PavelMTB]

Fantastic.

[@DrHydro-mq7sw]

You do cyanotype too? I see one on the wall.

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Sure, it's great process

[@DrHydro-mq7sw]

@@BorutPeterlinPhotography Cyanotype is great. That it is simple, you can experiment with it very well. But most people in the photo forums don't believe it anymore that it was not done on a computer. pluspora.com/people/d1dd0a40af3901364741005056268def

[@DrHydro-mq7sw]

@@BorutPeterlinPhotography I still have such a big ancient studio camera for large photo plates standing around and have been keen to try it out for a long time. That's where I got your videos from. PS Your photos are really cool.

[@jettholladay6954]

At 4:00 on your wall is that a cyanotype print?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Jett Holladay yes!

[@jettholladay6954]

Borut Peterlin oh thats really cool! Im really interested in all sorts of alternative printing processes. Im gonna try to make a gum bichromate print because it seems fairly simple and also cheap

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Jett Holladay cyanotype is the cheapest and safest. Gum printing is slow process and it has also potassium dichromate component that is very poisonous. That is illegal nowadays, but cheap. I suggest you to start with cyanotype and then perhaps van dyke. Those are safe processes. Silver - based process is not dangerous, or complicated, but it's difficult to make a good result and silvernitrate is expensive

[@jettholladay6954]

Borut Peterlin thanks thats really helpful. Do you know if potassium dichromate is illegal everywhere? Because i live in America and it looks like it can be bought online... Maybe its a chemical substitute?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Jett Holladay from May 2018 it's illegal in EU. Otherwise it's very common chemical in printing industry. That's why they forbid it, because people were handling it without proper safety measures. And it's great polluter. And cancerous

[@louhautdavid6451]

Sorry for my little speech. Now I understand the message

[@SAHBfan]

your wife is going to be FURIOUS when she sees what you've done to the kitchen sink :-o

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

+SAHBfan She married me, she's guilty!

[@ojounico]

Genial!!!!

[@louhautdavid6451]

I like the humour but I find the music too much understandable. Whatever, beautiful job.

[@paulkolesnikov1441]

before you throw away all the bad prints of the pan of dirt you wanted to throw away you should take a picture of the prints you're going to throw away of the pan of dirt you're going to throw away.

[@jettholladay6954]

paul kolesnikov you just really hurt my mind there😂😂😂

[@LesleyAnnPrice]

I can't wait to try. I have never liked digital and still use film. Look at my Website LesleyAnnPriceArt.com. Section on photography.

[@Foxglove963]

You don't expose the sensitised paper to 'daylight', but rather to the UV rich rays of the sun, and you don't use baking soda but borax with the gold chloride. Omit the beeswax and that damn trumpet.

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

+Foxglove963 borax, baking soda, ammonium,... anything that makes the solution 8pH is OK. Even if you leave it at about 6pH (depends on the concentration of AuCl solution ) you will still get it toned, but the raise of pH it will make the toning more efficient. The daylight is UV rich light (at least at this side of the planet) and it's much better then any UV lamp by far! Beeswax is the traditional way of protecting silver-chloride from sulphur from atmosphere! I learned for the best expert at the best place in the world, George Eastman House.

[@vicentecabezas9212]

Hi. I want start witht albumen and salt print process but I dont kwow what papers to use. What papers do you use?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

anything that is acid free. i use Fabriano F5 or other papers. Like the other day I've bought aquarel acid free paper, works perfectly

[@vicentecabezas9212]

Borut Peterlin Thak you very much!! As i said, I'm starting with XIX century process so I may have a few more questions. Did you have an e-mail or a way to contact you to told you about my project?

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

if it's very specific question that I did not cover with my videos, then yes - if timing will be right. That said best is to learn at workshop. George Eastman House has the best workshops. If you're in EU, then better to drop by to one of my workshops, either individual or group one.