Buckle Mark in Print

Worker 11811 · Mar 13, 2013

I'm working on a print from a negative that has a small buckle in it. The buckle shows up as a light streak in the print:

Top edge. Right third. Crescent shaped streak.
This is just a scan from a work print. (Print size: 6"x8".) (Ilford MGIV FB.)

Okay... So I got sloppy and buckled the film. It happens once in a while but it usually doesn't show up as much.

What can I do to deal with this?
Crop it out? I like the crop as-is except for the mark.
Spot it? The mark is almost an inch long. It'd be a pain to get right. Wouldn't it?
Dodge it? I think I'm going to lighten the sky a bit, anyway.

I'd normally pass it up and try not to screw up next time but this image is part of a sequence that I'd like to use.

brucemuir · Mar 13, 2013

Maybe try burning it in?
I guess you could try to crop to a pano aspect ratio but that will mess up the wonderful composition.

Nice shot and worth working on imo.

You could also sandwich a neg with another sky on there. With or without clouds but if it's a sequence the clouds wont match...

Newt_on_Swings · Mar 13, 2013

Doesn't look like it would be that hard to carefully burn in that streak just a bit to match the sky.

Depending on how many copies you want after you have made your correction you can rephotograph the print and use that to make the extra copies to make it easier on yourself.

You can also add in clouds if you choose to make a composite of the scene with a mask to cover that area.

Also are you using a glass neg carrier? A tight one sandwiching the negative may reduce the appearance of that bend.

Worker 11811 · Mar 13, 2013

I plan to make this part of a sequence:

I'm planning to put them all in the same frame with a multi-opening matte.
I will have to dodge/burn the foreground and the sky to make all three consistent.
In that process, I'll probably end up lessening the mark. I can probably burn it in a little, in the process.
Maybe I can spot some of it out by hand. I'll be spotting by hand anyway...

What I can't fix in the darkroom or by spotting I'll just re-crop by covering over with the matte.

Do you think a "Cinemascope" style crop would look good with these? I was thinking about arranging them in a horizontal row.

I don't have a glass negative carrier but I'll see if I can track one down. It's a 120 format negative.
The enlarger is a Beseler 23C. I also have an Omega D-2 but the Beseler is the better of the two, condition-wise. Better lenses.

AOCo · Mar 13, 2013

Leave it in ! I was in an exhibition in Porto last week with magnificent 20 inch by 20 prints (and some 40 by 40), some of them badly scratched, and yet they retained their full emotional value.

Nicholas Lindan · Mar 13, 2013

The print has just way too much sky in it. Crop the top 1/4 off. Now, what buckle mark was that....?

Actually, it does look better with not so much sky.

Worker 11811 · Mar 13, 2013

Just finished redoing the whole set of photos. Re-cropped and recomposed. The size came out to about 9.8" x 6.1". Almost perfect golden ratio. When I did that, I was able to crop out the buckle mark. The rest of the photo seemed to fall into place, right on the golden section. If you laid an Archimedes Spiral on those pictures, iit wouldn't quite line up but you can measure 1,2,3 with your fingers.

Test prints are in the wash, right now. If they come out the way I hope, I'll be ready to print finals in the morning.

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Doremus Scudder · Mar 14, 2013

Nicholas Lindan said:
The print has just way too much sky in it. Crop the top 1/4 off. Now, what buckle mark was that....?
Actually, it does look better with not so much sky.

... and spend some time spotting the dust marks while you're at it.

Doremus

Worker 11811 · Mar 14, 2013

Yes, I will.
I don't waste time cleaning negatives and spotting on test prints. I just dust off the negatives with caned air or a brush and go.

When it's time to make final prints I'll clean the negatives as well as I can, first. If canned air and a soft brush doesn't do it, I wash the negatives with distilled water and PhotoFlo, carefully clean with a Q-Tip then dry them well in a dust free area before proceeding. 90% of hand spotting is eliminated that way.

Worker 11811 · Mar 17, 2013

Results

Here's how I ended up cropping them:

Now to make final copies and decide how to frame them.
All in one frame or three separate frames? I like the single frame idea but that would end up being 36 inches wide and 10 inches tall. I'm afraid that would look odd.

HMFriedman · Mar 19, 2013

Worker 11811 said:
Here's how I ended up cropping them:

View attachment 65874 View attachment 65875 View attachment 65876

Now to make final copies and decide how to frame them.
All in one frame or three separate frames? I like the single frame idea but that would end up being 36 inches wide and 10 inches tall. I'm afraid that would look odd.

Any chance you could remove a bit from the bottom and add a touch to the top without getting your buckle back in the image? I like the panorama crop but would like to see the horizon just below the midline of the print.

Buckle Mark in Print

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