Burning in on Alt Processes

philldresser · Oct 4, 2006

OK this is probably a very basic question but what methods (if any) are you using to do local burning or dodging on Contact printed alt-process prints.

I have struggled with this on a particular negative but have yet to find a way of focussing the UV light in a controlled manner as you can with an enlarger light source.

Phill

rwyoung · Oct 4, 2006

Make a mask to sandwich with the negative or in some other way place in register and give it more exposure.

I suppose if you were using sunlight and a relatively slow process, you could shade the print frame with your body or hands and burn in much like you would with an enlarger and projected negative.

Dodging would be a similar process.

clay · Oct 4, 2006

Check out the "gray area" subforum.

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 4, 2006

An attraction of albumen printing and other printing-out processes is that they are self-masking, so they tend not to need much local manipulation. As the shadows begin to appear, development slows down in the shadow areas so the highlights can come in without the shadows becoming blocked--so one option is just to try a printing out process for negs that are too contrasty in the process you're using.

If the prints are too flat, you can intensify the neg.

Other options are contrast masking, and handwork on the neg with pencils and/or dyes.

RobertP · Oct 4, 2006

If you are using a point light source like a plate burner then you can dodge and burn just like a projection print. Units like a Nuarc 26 1K are great for this. If you are using a light box like an Edwards Eng. light box, it can be somewhat more difficult because you don't have much room. But it can be done with cutting a mask from rubylith or something similar that will block the UV light.

Michael Mutmansky · Oct 4, 2006

Phil,

You don't need to focus the light, you simply need to block it from getting to the paper. Even with a fluorescent unit, you can put cardboard over areas you wish to dodge, and even use wands with a little flag on the end in the same manner as is done with an enlarger.

Think of the negative in the contact print sandwich as the projected image from an enlarger. As long as you can see where the details are on the negative that you wish to dodge, you can block light from getting to them to affect the image in the exact same manner as an enlargement.

If you are talking about a digital negative, put the adjustments in the negative and print them straight.

---Michael

philldresser · Oct 4, 2006

Thanks for all the responses so far.

Haven't been into the grey area yet

I have tried the blocking of light using cardboard on a kallitype (not self masking) but found it very cumbersome mainly due to the cardboard having to be very near the frame as the light source (Tubes) is so diffuse.

I will try and get some rubylith and play around with it

Cheers

Phill

sanking · Oct 4, 2006

philldresser said:
OK this is probably a very basic question but what methods (if any) are you using to do local burning or dodging on Contact printed alt-process prints.

I have struggled with this on a particular negative but have yet to find a way of focussing the UV light in a controlled manner as you can with an enlarger light source.

Phill

If you already made a print and determined that some areas need to be dodged or burned in you then you have the potential for a mask right there. Just cut out the areas of the print that neeed to be burned in and place the mask/print over the senstized paper as you expose. To soften the edges of the burn put supports of one to two inches high under the mask/print. You may also need to move the mask around just a bit during exposure to further soften the edges. This method words very well with UV banks of fluorescents because the light is already coming in at a very low angle, which softens the edges aroud the burn area.

This assumes you made the test print on a fairly thick paper. Vellum obviously would not work here.

Sandy King

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 4, 2006

Depending on what process you're doing, yet another approach is to print for the shadows and bleach back the highlights.

philsweeney · Oct 5, 2006

Though not done often I'll just bite the bullet and stand there shaking the card or cutout like Sandy said. Fortunately constant shaking is not necessary as compared to burning in on faster contact papers.

Burning in on Alt Processes

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Burning in on Alt Processes

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