AuntiPode thanks for the question. Indeed there are a few real scary chemicals
(and way too many chemicals to describe) in this process. I am not yet doing
Daguerreotypes so I do not have to worry about mercury and ventilation issues.
The tintypes and ambrotypes have Cyanide, Ethyl Ether, etc. Cyanide can be
substituted as a fixer, its just a tad more time consuming to do the process then.
The danger in some areas is the mixing of the chemicals from the ground up
(being that different artists have different formulas) and understanding proper
ventilation and volatility. The chemicals once mixed will be used for the images.
If I have left overs that I may wish to dispose I will find a place that will do
that safely and will have to pay a hasmat charge.
Needless to say Collodium that is fresh batched gives a better range of grays
than older batched collodium and some artists prefer it better than others, still
there are artists that love it and will buy old mixed collodium. I just bought some
that had been mixed in 2006, it gives increased contrast to images. By old I
mean anything over 4 months.
