Thank you, Ned. The supportive words are very much appreciated.

I agree. Most Groups don't get much traffic. Same reason that Dpug doesn't, I suppose. People want to post on the main forum. I know I'd give anything to be able to freely discuss emulsion making there. APUG was the first "internet forum" I heard of and I've loved it here ever since. Unfortunately, my very presence seems to infuriate another member. All I have to do is post. No matter how benign, it's guaranteed to start a dump of deliberate misinformation and unpleasantness. No reasonable person wants to get in the middle of something like that, but even worse, it makes it look like emulsion making is impossibly difficult and/or unduly hazardous. It's neither, of course. The situation makes me tired and sad, and that is definitely not my default state . Even APUG isn't worth it.

I hope you give emulsion making a try someday. When you're ready, TLF will be there. There are many proven recipes. The Ammonium Bromide Plain Silver recipe (blue-sensitive) has been making a lot of dry plate artists very happy. It's in the tutorial section with all the information you need to be successful. Good luck and fun in your photography!

All my best,
d

denise

the world of photography is full of people who like things done their way or the highway. it is full of people who may or may not be experts but they claim to be ... and it is full of people who
clear new trails, experiment and find ways of doing things that others may have overlooked, may have thought were not necessary, or they make claims about things not working, or not working as well
or being dangerous or ... whatever .. to dissuade people from going down that path.
apug, is a great place and there is a slight mix of people who bushwhack new trails and a large amount of people who will say anything to dissuade folks from going against the grain, following a trail to its end
and maybe learing that that trail lead to someplace great. i have, like you, been at the receiving like of wild eyed photographers who insisted it was their way or the highway,
who insisted if you strayed from the ( their ) path it would be the end &c and in the end they were wrong, nothing bad happened, things worked out.

i would not take the critique from the people whose job it is to dissuade - but continue to do what you are doing, publish your findings, keep your website going, and don't listen to the people that
do their best to make claims that aren't totally true and discourage people and you from doing your thing, we'll miss you here, but you won't be far !

your website is great, its one of my regular-reads and am all the richer because of it ( bought everything but the gelatin and ricer today ! )
and i plan on screwing up something awful sometime very soon !
i wish in the 1980s your website existed ( or the equivilant in 1985 -- a 'zine ? ) i would have kept making my own and my life would have taken a different turn than it has taken the last 29-30 years !
( having spent thousands of dollars on store bought film, and paper ! )
john