"SILVER EMULSIONS"
& "NON TOXIC "LIGHT SENSITIVE COFFEE"

1975
I started a career in photography and
My research in PHOTOCHEMISTRY more than 40 years ago.
During those years I worked out many new ways and processes using
coffee liquid and in dry form.



1989
I discovered in coffee as developing agent. My Research lab was
surrounded by coffee fields. This was filmed and shown in in the main
Television channels of Costa Rica. I found that the extracts of the leaves
of the coffee plants and not roasted coffee seeds were a more potent
reducing agent than the beverage of roasted beans.

In all of them the principal reducing agent was:
3,4-Di-Hydrocinnamic Acid , which I isolated and crystallized.
I also found the this reducing acid is a tanning agent in the
presence of gelatin.


1992
two of these methods were documented live and seen
by more than 100 million people in latin america and the USA.
filmed in Sabados Gigantes/ Don Francisco.


1993
some of my coffee Art works won medals and awards
in the USA international northwest exhibition of photography.



1995
I disclosed in the US patent office a new way of making edible
and drinkable images using 100% coffee as a coloring matter.
there in the same year I also registered "CAFEGRAFIA" as trademark
for making photographic images with coffee in several different ways.


1995
My last major exhibit was in in the the Art gallery of congress of Costa Rica
where 30x40 inch large format coffee prints were exhibited.






1996
I invented a printing process that yielded 100% coffee
photographic images in chemically pure filter paper that could be drank.



1999
I made a photographic silver chloride paper that after being
developed with coffee; its image could be TRANSFERRED to any support ,
metal, glass, wood, stones, etc This paper could be FIXED IN PURE WATER
instead of the traditional hypo o thiosulphate fixer.

Thus this paper was ecological, it did away with the irritating
developer agents used at the time. I also found that slaked lime was
the ideal activating agent than the usual alkali sodium carbonate, It yields
high contrast and very clean image and is not caustic on the skin when
neutralized by the caffeic acid.

I also found out in that year that silver chloride emulsion could be
fixed with kitchen salt instead of the hypo fixer, and also that coffee was an excellent toning agent. all of this and many other of my discoveries were new.
My ECOLOGICAL WORK continued 20 more years.




2005
I wrote of book of silver gelatin emulsions
HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES AND PAPER.
with more than 300 illustrations of my authorship, in it, formulas
of My Panchromatic and Orthochromatic ultra rapid negative emulsions
were given yielding ISO 32.







2010
I built in the first coffee art museum
exhibiting more than 500 of my artworks.
there I imparted, for 5 years workshops for students and artists.

2024
LIGHT SENSITIVE COFFEE
one of my most ecological process was completed.

after 11 years research,
i managed to make coffee sensitive to light.
A fadeless print made directly on this photographic coffee paper will  last for centuries and can be
developed and fixed in plain water in less
than 2 minutes.


It is absolutely non toxic,
the fingers only touch water and coffee.


It is so easy and simple to work
that EVEN CHILDREN without a darkroom
can work it.

In tune with the ecological spirit of
Costa Rica, I have called it: "ECO-PAPER"



V I D E O S

 

TEXT MESSAGES
IN
COSTA RICA
6012 4695

CONTACT

CAFEDESAUL@GMAIL.COM