holowiki.org

HoloWiki's advanced section covers four main areas: holography safety, holography technology (hardware and setups), hologram recording materials (including chemistry), and holography theory (the mathematics and science behind holography). It also provides two reference tools — a glossary of technical terms and a list of common abbreviations — to help you read the rest of the material. This is aimed at people who already make holograms and want to go deeper, not at complete beginners.

The advanced topics, at a glance

How these fit together

The four subject pages are not independent. If you are working on a practical problem, you will usually move between them:

• Safety first. Before handling chemicals or running a laser, read Holography Safety. It is the one page the site explicitly marks as required reading.
• Technology → Materials → Theory. Holography Technology tells you what hardware and setups are used. Hologram Recording Materials tells you how to obtain, prepare, and process the recording medium, including the chemistry. Holography Theory explains why the setup and the material behave the way they do.
• Glossary and Abbreviations as you go. Technical terms and shorthand appear throughout the advanced pages. Keep the glossary and abbreviation list open as reference rather than reading them start to finish.

Related advanced material elsewhere on the site

The main page also points to advanced-adjacent resources that sit outside the four core topics:

• Experimenter's Corner — odd things to try, or what others have already tried.
• Hints and Kinks — tips and techniques shared by other holographers.
• Equipment and Homemade Equipment — gear used in making holograms, some of which is easily built at home.
• History of Dichromate Holography — a timeline of people and technology in dichromated gelatin holography, which pairs with the DCG material in the basic section.
• Recent additions include a DCG color tuning guide derived from the Holography Forum archives, a compilation of chemistry for holographic developers and bleaches (courtesy of Ed Wesly), and a cold water processing article by Ed Wesly.

Who this section is for

The advanced pages assume you already have a footing in holography. If you are just starting, the site's own structure points you to the Beginner's Corner and the Dichromated Gelatin basics first. Once you are making holograms and want to branch into DCG, tune color, mix your own developers and bleaches, or understand the underlying theory, the advanced section is where you go.

One practical note: the site describes itself as a wiki and FAQ maintained by the Holography Forum community, with John Fisher as site administrator. Content is contributed and updated over time, so specific pages — especially the chemistry compilations and recent additions — are worth checking for the latest version rather than assuming a fixed text.

Start with Beginner's Corner, then read Holography Safety before you attempt any setup. HoloWiki is the Holography Forum's wiki — "A Holography FAQ and Database for anyone who makes holograms" — and its main page is organized so a newcomer can move from basic concepts to equipment and experiments in a sensible order. The site is hosted by John Fisher, the volunteer site administrator, and the associated forum at holographyforum.org is where discussion happens.

A practical reading order

The main page groups its contents into four sections. For a beginner, this sequence works:

1. Basic Information → Beginner's Corner — "Basic information for getting a start in holography." This is the intended entry point.
2. Advanced Information → Holography Safety — chemical and laser safety, flagged on the page as "A must read!"
3. Basic Information → Equipment and Homemade Equipment — what you need to make holograms, and what you can build yourself.
4. Basic Information → Experimenter's Corner and Hints and Kinks — things to try, plus tips and techniques shared by other holographers.
5. Basic Information → Gallery — examples of "success, failure, and experiments," useful for calibrating what results actually look like.

What each starting section gives you

Beyond the basics

Once the fundamentals are clear, the wiki branches into:

• Dichromated Gelatin — basic information about "branching off into the realm of DCG holography," with a separate History of Dichromate Holography timeline.
• Holography Technology — hardware and setups for making holograms.
• Hologram Recording Materials — how to get, make, and use them, plus chemistry.
• Holography Theory — the mathematics and science behind holography.
• Holography Glossary and Abbreviations — technical terms and common shorthand used by holographers.
• History of Holography and Biographies of Holographers — the people and technology behind the field.

Recent additions worth knowing about

The "New Stuff and Recent Additions" list on the main page points to material that may not be linked from the beginner path, including:

• Presentation slides from the Tenth International Symposium on Display Holography, provided by Petr Lobaz.
• An albumen plates experiment by Filipe Alves.
• A cold water processing article and a compilation of chemistry for holographic developers and bleaches, both courtesy of Ed Wesly.
• A DCG color tuning guide derived from the Holography Forum archives.

If you get stuck

The main page notes that the Holography Forum "has moved back to its original home at http://holographyforum.org/forum." You can browse discussion threads as a guest, and the page states it "costs nothing to sign up as a full forum member" — newcomers are described as warmly welcomed. That forum is the place to ask questions the wiki doesn't answer.

HoloWiki (holowiki.org) is the Holography Forum's holography wiki, FAQ, and database, aimed at anyone who makes holograms. It is a reference site paired with the community at holographyforum.org, and John Fisher is listed as the site administrator and chief volunteer. You can browse the forum's discussion threads as a guest, and the site states that signing up as a full forum member costs nothing.

Who runs it and who it's for

The site describes itself as a place for an "eclectic group of holography enthusiasts, experts, amateurs, and professionals." Newcomers are explicitly welcomed. So the intended audience spans complete beginners through working holographers, rather than a single skill level.

What content the wiki organizes

The main page groups its material into four core sections plus a resources list:

Notable items listed under recent additions

• Presentation slides from the Tenth International Symposium on Display Holography, provided by Petr Lobaz
• An albumen plates experiment by Filipe Alves
• A Cold Water Processing article by Ed Wesly
• A compilation of chemistry for holographic developers and bleaches, courtesy of Ed Wesly
• A DCG Color Tuning guide derived from the Holography Forum archives

How to use it

Start with Basic Information → Beginner's Corner if you are new to holography, then move to Equipment and Homemade Equipment when you need to set up. Before handling chemicals or lasers, read Advanced Information → Holography Safety, which the site flags as a must-read. Use the Holography Glossary and Abbreviations pages to decode terminology in the rest of the wiki. If you want to discuss rather than just read, the forum at holographyforum.org is the companion space, and guest browsing is available before you register.

What it is not

HoloWiki is a community-maintained reference and FAQ, not a store or a course. The source material does not list pricing, paid tiers, or login requirements for reading the wiki itself; it only notes that forum membership sign-up is free. Treat it as a starting library and a pointer to the forum, and verify specific chemistry, exposure, or safety details against the individual articles and current forum discussion before relying on them.

HoloWiki covers dichromated gelatin holography in three distinct places: a basic introduction in the Dichromated Gelatin section, a historical timeline in History of Dichromate Holography, and a practical DCG Color Tuning guide compiled from the Holography Forum archives. Supporting material on the chemistry and recording materials sits in the Hologram Recording Materials section. If you are new to DCG, start with the basic section; if you are already coating plates and want to shift playback color, go straight to the color tuning guide.

The DCG-specific pages

The site describes the Dichromated Gelatin page as "basic information about branching off into the realm of DCG holography" — that phrasing matters. It is an entry point, not a complete coating manual. Expect orientation and pointers rather than a step-by-step lab protocol.

Where the chemistry and materials live

DCG is as much a chemistry problem as an optics problem, and HoloWiki does not isolate it entirely in the DCG section. Two other areas carry relevant content:

• Hologram Recording Materials — how to get, make, and use recording materials, plus their chemistry.
• Compilation of chemistry for holographic developers and bleaches, credited to Ed Wesly — useful when your DCG work overlaps with wet processing of other materials, or when you need to compare developer and bleach formulations.

If you are trying to source or mix dichromated gelatin itself, the recording materials section is the place to look before assuming the DCG page has it.

Related pages worth knowing about

A few other sections on the site support DCG work indirectly:

• Holography Safety — flagged on the main page as "a must read." Dichromate is the obvious reason this matters for DCG practitioners.
• Cold Water Processing article by Ed Wesly — relevant if you are working with processing schedules that avoid hot baths.
• Experiment with albumen plates by Filipe Alves — a different sensitized-emulsion approach, useful as a comparison if you are weighing DCG against alternatives.
• Holography Glossary and Abbreviations — worth a pass before reading the DCG material, since the terminology is dense.

How to use these pages in practice

1. Read Dichromated Gelatin first to confirm DCG fits your setup and goals.
2. Check Holography Safety before handling dichromate.
3. Read Hologram Recording Materials for the chemistry side.
4. Use the DCG Color Tuning guide once you have plates and want to control replay color.
5. Consult History of Dichromate Holography if you need to trace a technique or attribution back to its source.

One caveat: the color tuning guide is described as derived from the Holography Forum archives, so it reflects forum discussion rather than a single authored reference. Treat it as a record of what practitioners tried, and cross-check against the recording materials page.

What HoloWiki is, in short

HoloWiki is the Holography Forum's wiki — "a Holography FAQ and Database for anyone who makes holograms." It is hosted by John Fisher, the site administrator, and the associated forum at holographyforum.org is where discussion happens. Browsing is open to guests, and the main page states that signing up as a full forum member costs nothing. The DCG content is one part of a broader structure that also includes a Beginner's Corner, an Experimenter's Corner, equipment pages, a gallery, and advanced theory.

HoloWiki's historical material is organized into three sections under "A Little History": a general timeline of holography, a separate timeline for dichromated gelatin (DCG) holography, and biographies of holographers. If you want to understand how the field developed, who drove it, or how a specific technique like DCG evolved, these pages are the place to start. The site is the wiki arm of the Holography Forum, hosted by site administrator John Fisher.

The three history sections

The split matters: DCG gets its own timeline because it developed as a distinct branch with its own contributors and milestones, separate from the broader arc of holography. If your interest is in recording materials rather than the field overall, the dichromate page is the more targeted read.

What each section is useful for

History of Holography — Use this when you want the overall sequence of events and the technical developments that mark each stage. It is a timeline format, so it works well for placing a technique or a person in context.

History of Dichromate Holography — Use this if you work with or are considering DCG. The site treats DCG as a major branch elsewhere too (there is a separate "Dichromated Gelatin" page under Basic Information and a DCG Color Tuning guide derived from the forum archives), so the history page complements the practical material.

Biographies of Holographers — Use this when you want to know who is behind a technique or discovery rather than just what happened. It is the people-focused counterpart to the two timelines.

How to use these pages

1. Start with History of Holography for the broad timeline.
2. If your interest narrows to recording materials, move to History of Dichromate Holography.
3. Cross-reference names you encounter against Biographies of Holographers for background on the individuals.

The history pages sit alongside a larger structure on the main page: Basic Information (Beginner's Corner, Dichromated Gelatin, Experimenter's Corner, Hints and Kinks, Equipment, Homemade Equipment, Gallery), Advanced Information (Holography Safety, Abbreviations, Holography Glossary, Holography Technology, Hologram Recording Materials, Holography Theory), and Other Resources. So you can move from a historical question into the practical or theoretical material on the same topic.

Who this is for

These sections suit readers who want the development arc of holography — students, hobbyists entering the field, or anyone trying to understand how a particular method or material came about. They are reference material rather than tutorials: expect timelines and profiles, not step-by-step instructions. For hands-on work, the Beginner's Corner and Experimenter's Corner are the relevant starting points instead.