Burning with Variable Contrast Papers and different contrast levels

[silvercloud2323]

Hello,

I am very curious to find out what the importance is of burning, into a variable contrast paper, this with different contrast levels going from yellows onto magenta values on the enlarger head.
And how it's done.


Thanks

 

[Paul Howell]

There are several ways, although not a big fan, a negative with a lot of small details that needs to be burned in split contrast printing has worked for me. Othertime I will cut a hole in 11X14 black cardboard and tape a contrast filter it to burn in larger detail, but I need to remove the filter I have installed. If using a VC or color head you just to burn in the area like you would with graded paper, using the setting for the contrast your want for that part of the print. I guess you do the same with a filter, remove the filter and burn in as well.

 

[silvercloud2323]

There are several ways, although not a big fan, a negative with a lot of small details that needs to be burned in split contrast printing has worked for me. Othertime I will cut a hole in 11X14 black cardboard and tape a contrast filter it to burn in larger detail, but I need to remove the filter I have installed. If using a VC or color head you just to burn in the area like you would with graded paper, using the setting for the contrast your want for that part of the print. I guess you do the same with a filter, remove the filter and burn in as well.

oke thx

But what's the difference between burning into an image with a low contrast filter (yellow) and with an high contrast filter ( magenta 170 for example).

 

[Kilgallb]

If you burn a skyline with a low contrast filter, say 00 the dark foreground is less affected so the delineation point between the dodged area and the burned area is less noticeable.

The same can be said if you dodge a dark area while exposing with a #5 filter, the lighter greyer areas are less affected so the dodging is not as noticeable.

 

[jimjm]

Burning with a low-contrast filter (00, 0, 1) will usually bring out detail in lighter areas such as clouds. It will not affect mid-range tones or dark tones as much.
A higher contrast filter like a 4 or 5 will affect the darker tones more. There's no quick simple way to learn, it just takes a lot of practice to get it down. I'd recommend a book from Tim Rudman or Bruce Barnbaum, if you want to see what's possible from an expert printer.
Here's a simple example of mine below. Overall print exposure was at grade #2, but the window was blank white without any outside detail. There was window detail in the negative, but it would have made the rest of image too dark if I extended the base exposure long enough to bring it out. I wanted to burn in the outside details without making the window frame or the shutter doors too dark. I cut a hole to match the window shape in cardboard ( about half the size of the image on the print) and held it a few inches above the easel while burning in the window with a #0 filter (after the base exposure has been made). Important to keep the cardboard moving slightly during exposure to blend in the difference.
I then did some more burning-in of the ceiling area, floor and lower corners with #3 and #4 filters to darken those areas a bit.

 

[MattKing]

Not surprisingly, the choice of filtration for the burn will affect the contrast of the burned area.
Sometimes, you want to decrease that contrast - which usually brings in more detail across a wider range of negative densities.
Sometimes you want to increase that contrast - which brings in more delineation across a narrow range of negative densities.
In jimjm's example, the range of densities in the window area was probably quite wide, even if it was all crowded into the highlight recording shoulder of the film. So a low contrast burn restored a lot of information and put it on the print.
It is often quite rewarding to work counter-intuitively - burn with a high contrast filter in what appears to be a detail deficient highlight area, like bright clouds in the sky. That can have a really nice result: adding contrast to that part of the image, which means that there is added form and shape to the clouds.

 

[GregY]

Matt, that's a good explanation. Years ago when I got my Zone VI VC head i noticed if i used the soft light i got overall added density in cloud highlights, but not detail...... I stumbled on using the hard light for less time and got the effect i was looking for in the print.

 

[jimjm]

Thanks for the clarification, Matt. Yep, the lower grade filter usually just adds density to the highlight and higher grade filters can add "weight" to the darker details of the same area to give more contrast. It can be a lot of trial and error, but I've had quite a few Eureka! moments in the darkroom.

 

[awty]

Burning with a low-contrast filter (00, 0, 1) will usually bring out detail in lighter areas such as clouds. It will not affect mid-range tones or dark tones as much.
A higher contrast filter like a 4 or 5 will affect the darker tones more. There's no quick simple way to learn, it just takes a lot of practice to get it down. I'd recommend a book from Tim Rudman or Bruce Barnbaum, if you want to see what's possible from an expert printer.
Here's a simple example of mine below. Overall print exposure was at grade #2, but the window was blank white without any outside detail. There was window detail in the negative, but it would have made the rest of image too dark if I extended the base exposure long enough to bring it out. I wanted to burn in the outside details without making the window frame or the shutter doors too dark. I cut a hole to match the window shape in cardboard ( about half the size of the image on the print) and held it a few inches above the easel while burning in the window with a #0 filter (after the base exposure has been made). Important to keep the cardboard moving slightly during exposure to blend in the difference.
I then did some more burning-in of the ceiling area, floor and lower corners with #3 and #4 filters to darken those areas a bit.

View attachment 325631

Great explanation and example Jim. The more you practice at this the better printer you'll be.