Ice Forms

Excellent interior details here.... good work Logan

Andrew Moxom said:

Thanks all for taking the time to comment. It felt so good to actually print. Also to try a new paper. I learned on graded paper back in the day, but have been using VC paper for many years, but it felt good going back to graded for this darkroom session.

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Andy, knowing you use Pyrocat for your negatives, do you notice when you print with graded paper, that the contrast is higher than if you were using the same filtration on VC paper? I remember printing my Pyrocat negatives on Kentmere Bromide and Emaks papers, and there was something about the highlights and very rich blacks that just stood out to me. Printing the same negs on VC paper was almost a let-down, because while I was able to benefit from split grade printing, the extreme ends of the tones just were not the same. I miss those papers a lot, actually.

Thomas, i find pyro negs print MUCH easier on graded paper, and i have heard that the negs need less development for use on graded paper as graded paper sees the stains differently than VC paper.. I think the yellowish nature of the stain can cause a reduction in contrast on VC paper. I do find that pyro negs intended for VC paper need to have a lot more oomph in them and that's why i think you need to develop pyro negs longer for VC paper. Often times, they need harder filtration to get them to print well. As for split grade printing, when i do it, i follow what Bob Carnie does... Rather, than do a grade 00 filtration exposure, then a 5. I do a grade 2, then a grade 5 exposure. It seems to help bring more punch out of a VC paper. Again, I am no scientist, or have I completed any thorough testing on the above theories. Other folks may have some input on that, with test data.Going back to the graded papers. You might like the FOMA S112. They do both matt and glossy... I tried the matt G2 and G3, and first impressions are good. While i have spent a few years now using Foma 123 variant vc paper, i have not tried the newer version of it for fear it wont be the same! So I tried something different. I will continue to print on the graded paper stash for a little bit so I can get a good comparison with how it stacks up against some of my other prints. Of added interest, i was amazed at how well the S112 toned. I use a fairly diluted bleach to cut the highlights back ever so slightly, and then do the sulphide toning for a minute. After a short 10 minute wash, they go in the selenium. For this specific print, the selenium made the mids and lows really separate out and pop without blowing the high values that much, or causing a color shift to plum/purple.

Cool. I think we see the same things regarding graded / VC papers and pyro negs. PMK was the same way for me, for that matter. Tri-X and PMK was the cat's meow on Brovira, but as soon as I tried it on VC paper it simply wasn't the same. I too have read it's the stain of the film developer that gets the blue sensitive graded paper to react differently from the blue-green sensitive VC.