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I have accepted a position as Head of Engineering at Lacroix Precision Optics in Batesville, Arkansas, starting in early July. Lacroix is one of the best optical shops in the United States for fabricating traditional spherical and aspheric optical components - lenses, prisms, mirrors, etc. I will be joining them to help manage their future growth, introduce optical design expertise and assembly capabilities to the company, and improve optical shop and fabrication processes at their company. I will also drive the design, development, and manufacture of high quality optical products such as photographic and imaging lenses.
As some of you may know, I am originally from Arkansas. While the new day job position is the enabler, the primary reason we're moving is to live closer to my parents and be near them as they get older, let the kids see their grandparents more often, etc. PICTORIOGRAPHICA AND THE MANUFACTURE OF DRY PLATES WILL MOVE WITH. Once we've settled into our new residence in early July, I will be working to get operations back up and running in a new facility there. Watch social media for updates. PHOTO RETRO, Southern New Hampshire's Center for Analog Photography, will continue to operate under ownership of Bob McElroy - who is awesome and loves analog photography as much as you or I. If you are local, please give Photo Retro your patronage for all your film and darkroom needs. Thank you all for your ongoing support and interest in photographic dry plates. Plates manufactured at our new location are expected to begin shipping in August 2022. I found some time to perform color rendition testing using J Lane Speed Plates. Metered at ASA 25, the rendition is similar to unsensitized plates but at a "more modern" speed. Drop a Yellow #2 aka K2 filter in front of the lens, add compensation time for the filter, and the orthochromatic response of the plate becomes evident. The bottom images of the MacBeth chart were shot in the test conditions shown in each caption. Development time was per Pictoriographica's standard recommendation. Both plates were scanned at the same time with the same settings. The plate scans were cropped, and coupled to the color versions of the chart. 
The following chart provides characteristic curve data for recent J Lane Speed Plates Orthochromatic ASA 25 emulsions. Correct exposure will be found by spot-metering on a gray card in mid-spring at mid-latitudes during mid-morning under northerly lighting conditions. See the Technicals and Tips Page for more detail on variations due to latitude, time of day, and time of year. The batch number can be found on the back of each box of plates in PURPLE TEXT  The following chart provides characteristic curve for J Lane Dry Plate ASA 2 Emulsion Batch # 53 and 54. Correct exposure will be found by spot-metering on a gray card in mid-spring at mid-latitudes during mid-morning under northerly lighting conditions. See Technicals and Tips Page for more detail on variations due to latitude, time of day, and time of year. The emulsion batch number can be found on the back of the box in PURPLE TEXT.  I am pleased to announce that Burley Camera of Hythe, Kent, in the UK is now stocking J Lane Dry Plates! Burley Camera specializes in antique film and plate cameras, making dry plates the perfect match for photography the old school way. Burley Cameras is initially stocking traditional British Dry Plate Sizes of Whole Plate, Half Plate, Quarter Plate, and 6th Plate for both lines of plates: The ASA 2 J Lane Dry Plates and Orthochromatic ASA 25 J Lane Speed Plates. Feed your dry plate camera! If they don't have a size in stock that you'd be interested in, let them know and they can get those plates for you.
Burley Camera's contact info and link to their website is listed on the Where To Buy page of the website. Characteristic Curve for Batch #53 of J Lane Dry Plates (ASA 2 Plates). The batch number can be found on the back of the box, in purple.  Here are measured Characteristic curves for the latest batches of J Lane Dry Plates (#52) and J Lane Speed Plates (#O-22). As always, feel free to contact me with questions!   Quick post to share characteristic testing of recent ASA 2 and Orthochromatic ASA 25 emulsion batches. You can determine batch # by looking on the back of the box of plates. J Lane Dry Plate Batch 44 has great tonality, but as you can see the contrast is low with a gamma around 0.45. I recommend metering at ASA 1.5 to ensure you are out of the toe entirely. It will scan nicely (see the MacBeth chart below).   J Lane Speed Plate Batch O-14 came out really well. Pretty much exactly where I want it.  Quick blog post to share the characteristic curve for the latest batch of Orthochromatic 25 emulsion. Compared to the previous batches, I was able to reduce the base fog significantly. It is a bit fast and you can probably meter at ASA 32, and contrast is a bit high as well but it is what it is! I will tame that with the next batch.  I'm pleased to announce that Don's Photo Equipment of The Lone Star State is now stocking J Lane Dry Plates and J Lane Speed Plates!
With similar motivation as myself in getting the wonderful cameras of the dry plate era off your shelf, Don's Photo Equipment is an awesome store supporting analog photography in the Dallas area. Currently stocking plates in 4x5 and 8x10. Check out their contact info on our "Where to Buy" page.   A year in the making, the ChromaGraphica Double Dry Plate Holder Kickstarter campaign was launched on Friday, 9 August 2019 at noon. By the end of the weekend, the campaign had already raised 50% of its funding goal.
Designed to be affordable, familiar in operation, and a good quality product, if successful the ChromaGraphica will be the first mass-produced double dry plate holder to be available new in decades. The holder, released in this campaign in 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10, is designed to fit all standard backs in their respective sizes. In 4x5, the holder will also fit Graflok backs. In such a niche market as large format (not to mention dry plate), the support of the community has been essential and, may I say, overwhelmingly awesome! If you are interested in getting your hands on a holder or two, please pledge your support to the campaign. Don't assume that the campaign will be successful and that these will be available after. The campaign is going to cover the costs of manufacturing an initial production run. It cannot be overstated how critical it is that the campaign succeeds, for only by reaching the funding goal will these become a reality. The link to the campaign page is below. Feel free to take a look and enjoy the presentation we put together. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dryplateholder/the-chromagraphica-double-dry-plate-holder -Jason |
AuthorI'm the guy behind the curtain, Jason Lane, coating plates instead of sleeping. Archives
June 2022
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