- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 2
- Format
- 4x5 Format
Hi everyone,
I'm experimenting with an unusual exposure process with ortho-litho film. I'm using strobe lights to make photograms on the surfaces of ortho-litho film, and currently using Ultrafine's .004 High Contrast film because it's affordable and comes in many sizes that I can improvise with. I've been honing in on the exposures with the strobes by using barn-doors to adjust intensity, and colored gels (red and yellow) to adjust contrast. In this case because this Ultrafine ortho-litho film has such high contrast, I'm using a yellow filter to minimize the contrast and push the tonal range, like you would with an enlarger.
Now to my question: How do I develop this ortho-litho film to most effectively keep the subtle tonal shifts and fight the contrast blow-out? Should I use a B&W film developer, or a paper developer? I've heard that you can dilute and chill paper developers to slow down the processing speed, but I'm wondering if there's a developer out there that people have used with this film that really works to keep tonality...any suggestions?
Also, what's the best ortho-litho film for a wide tonal range? I've found three that are affordable and have a wide size-range: Ultrafine, Arista II, and this new one that B&H is selling called MultiTone. I realize these are all intended for high-contrast, but since ortho film sheets can get expensive and usually only go to 8x10" max, these are the best options for what I'm making.
Thanks!
Evan
I'm experimenting with an unusual exposure process with ortho-litho film. I'm using strobe lights to make photograms on the surfaces of ortho-litho film, and currently using Ultrafine's .004 High Contrast film because it's affordable and comes in many sizes that I can improvise with. I've been honing in on the exposures with the strobes by using barn-doors to adjust intensity, and colored gels (red and yellow) to adjust contrast. In this case because this Ultrafine ortho-litho film has such high contrast, I'm using a yellow filter to minimize the contrast and push the tonal range, like you would with an enlarger.
Now to my question: How do I develop this ortho-litho film to most effectively keep the subtle tonal shifts and fight the contrast blow-out? Should I use a B&W film developer, or a paper developer? I've heard that you can dilute and chill paper developers to slow down the processing speed, but I'm wondering if there's a developer out there that people have used with this film that really works to keep tonality...any suggestions?
Also, what's the best ortho-litho film for a wide tonal range? I've found three that are affordable and have a wide size-range: Ultrafine, Arista II, and this new one that B&H is selling called MultiTone. I realize these are all intended for high-contrast, but since ortho film sheets can get expensive and usually only go to 8x10" max, these are the best options for what I'm making.
Thanks!
Evan
