Lichfield Cathedral East End (failed sky burn in)

• 

  macfred

• Oct 26, 2017

You're probably right - it looks a little overdone but the halo around the cathedral creates a kinda mystcal mood.

 

• 

  Svenedin

• Oct 26, 2017

I have another version with less burn to the sky. The halo is less obvious but the sky is not so menacing. I wanted a foreboding mood really. I could perhaps make a custom mask but I'm not sure it's worth it as the photo is fairly boring. It is acceptable as a version with a white sky but there is little contrast in the building.

 

• pentaxuser

• Oct 26, 2017

One of the most difficult burns there is. It's the kind that Ralph Lambrecht devotes a lot of space to in his book. He uses Stonehenge as the picture which has exact parallels with this picture. Needless to say it's a complicated procedure. I suspect it could be done with "waving hands" after about 3 x100 boxes of paper - minimum

 

• 

  Svenedin

• Oct 26, 2017

@pentaxuser It was fun making shadow puppetry! It will be back in Lichfield next June so maybe the light will be better next time. I was at a conference and the last lecture of the day sounded so boring I skipped it and went to take some photographs. My punishment for this sin is that the light had all but gone!

 

• Fraunhofer

• Oct 29, 2017

Custom mask would work well, the outline of the cathedral is not so bad. You can make one exact mask and one paper cut-out which you put at 1/3 of enlarger height and split your burn half/half... I'd think its worth it.

 

• 

  Svenedin

• Oct 29, 2017

@ Fraunhofer. OK. So how would I make my masks? If I project the image on to the easel I can copy the outline of the cathedral and then cut out the mask but this would be an exact mask that would have to sit on the paper. I could make a smaller mask by bringing the enlarger head down and following the same procedure. How then do I use the two masks?

 

• Fraunhofer

• Oct 29, 2017

The original size mask would be used directly on the paper for say 1/2 of the burn and the smaller mask would be hand-held above the paper for the second 1/2 of the burn with a bit of movement, fixing any sharp edge artefacts you made with your first mask. It's a bit fiddly, but doable. Note, make the smaller mask first, because the larger mask has to be quite exact, so you would not want to move the head after you've made that one.

 

• 

  Svenedin

• Oct 29, 2017

@Fraunhofer Thank you. I will give it a go next time I'm in my darkroom. Maybe next weekend. For the photograph above I burned in the sky with a higher grade to give it a more angry look (and because there is not much contrast in the sky). I have heard that burning in with a softer grade can make the burn less obvious. Do you think it is worth trying that?

 

• Fraunhofer

• Oct 29, 2017

Yes, I burn sky typically with a very soft grade 0 or 00. BTW, you can also do a three way split of your burn time and do 1/3 with your free hand.

Just to be clear, I did not invent all that, most of if is well described in Tim Rudman's Master Printing course, but it does work. The first time you try it, you'll gonna use 10 sheets or so, but the second time you can have it down with 2-3 sheets. I find it very rewarding.

 

• 

  Svenedin

• Oct 29, 2017

Thanks. I do have that book. I must find it! Edit: found the book. I’m away for a few days. I’ll make it my bedtime reading.