Chemical treatment..?

ToddB

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Hey guys,

I was surfing Darkroom printing on youtube. I saw interesting vid of a Japanese fellow , a young guy.. doing darkroom printing. Everything made sence, however there was one part that caught my curiuosity.. While print was still wet, hey put it in a open face cabinet and treated a couple area with some sort of chemical treatment with a brush.. it wasn't spot toning it was something else. Can anyone here tell maybe from was discribe what he might be doing.

Todd
 

MattKing

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He may have been bleaching parts of the print - do you have a link?
 

Bob Carnie

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He is bleaching the print to open shadow areas or pop the highlight, what he isn't showing is that after doing that step its back to the fix, or the print will eventually be screwed.
 

MattKing

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Yep - localized bleaching.

I'd be cautious emulating him too closely at first, as he handles the wet paper quite vigorously and a lot. That takes a fair bit of experience if you are going to avoid damaging your prints.

EDIT: What Bob says. In general, in fact: "What Bob says".
 

cliveh

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Bob Carnie said:
He is bleaching the print to open shadow areas or pop the highlight, what he isn't showing is that after doing that step its back to the fix, or the print will eventually be screwed.
Click to expand...

Why?
 
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ToddB

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Bleach..? Like Clorox bleach for laundry? I bet you have to do it fast and get it back into fixer as you mentioned.

Todd
 

cliveh

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I thought the original post reference was using farmer's reducer which to me would make more sense, so I can see where the difference of opinion derives.
 
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ToddB

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WOW!! This is exciting!! I might have to try my hand with this.

Todd
 

pentaxuser

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ToddB said:
WOW!! This is exciting!! I might have to try my hand with this.

Todd
Click to expand...
I take it that you spotted his use of a constant shower of water. Bleaching even with quite dilute bleach without the application of water initially under the spot being bleached can result in the bleach run-off bleaching bits you don't want bleached. I'd apply the running water to the bleached area as well very quickly after application as the action will continue otherwise and over-doing the bleaching is easily done.

Have fun and I hope you will show us "before" and "after" examples of prints you have done.

pentaxuser
 

cliveh

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I like this video, but think she is washing after bleaching and not re-fixing.
 

Toffle

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This reminds me of the excellent documentary by Richard Dunkley called Robin Bell's Silver Footprint, which was produced to accompany Bell's book of the same name. At the time of its release there was a longer version of the trailer available online, which included local bleaching, but now only a short trailer is available. The full length video is available for sale here.

[EDIT] ...which reminds me. A few years ago I saw a series of videos online which was essentially a reality show of B&W print students going through a number of challenges under the guidance of a master printer. As I recall, it was sort of a sink or swim kind of competition, but they did receive some challenge-specific tutelage before they were set loose with limited paper resources to create their final prints. Now, I've never found this series again, so I'm beginning to think it might be a product of my imagination. Has anyone else seen these videos?

Cheers,
Tom
 
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miha

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cliveh said:
I like this video, but think she is washing after bleaching and not re-fixing.
Click to expand...

She is washing off the excess with the hose, then re-fixing.


Btw, anyone recognise the enlarger in the OP video?
 

pentaxuser

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Tom are you thinking of a video with, I think, Italian students? If it's that one then it isn't your imagination. I saw it also but I thought it very poor from an instructional aspect. Mind you, to be fair, that wasn't really its purpose although it gave hint that the viewer would learn from it. Sadly I didn't

pentaxuser.
 

Toffle

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Yup, that's the one. I guess that means I'm not crazy. I agree that the show missed the mark. Reality show drama is really out of place in the darkroom. I give them credit for trying to create a show based on traditional printing, but that's about it.
 

Bob Carnie

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Simply some people like to do this... Look at all of Salgado's enlarger prints, they have all been bleached retouched to some degree,,

Was very popular when the only paper you could get was graded.

allowed the printer to use higher grade for contrast pop , and then bleach back blocked up areas.

cliveh said:
Why?
Click to expand...
 

Toffle

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Just sayin'... I'd love to see a Bob Carnie video, or work beside him for a week, and clear away many of my misconceptions of what constitutes good printing practices. Bob, do you do workshops?
Anyway... seriously, Bob. Do a video.
 

Bob Carnie

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Well funny you ask

My new Lab on THE DANFORTH is a month away, I have made about 30 videos on printing , bleaching toning and also discussions on printmaking, Also
included is a lot of footage of some of the shows I have done, A good friend has been videoing for over 10 years our events and about two years ago I asked
him and his son to come in on Sundays, we have a beer together and I do various segments.

I was a speaker at CCOPE in May and I showed some of videos to the teachers from different schools across Canada... They loved them and want me to send copies to them so they can show their students... There is a real interest in all the major University's and Colleges in Canada.

I was afraid that the videos were going to be so amateurish and hokey I would be laughed out of the lecture hall.. Quite the opposite.

So it got me thinking, I am going to have a brand new website within the month , I should put on all the videos, so I have hired an editor to take the hours of tape
and put it into short and long versions.

Its all about my style of printing from lith, solarization, split , digital negs for multiple register gum over pt pd an straight pt pd.
So if you are patient with me I will be posting all of them in their original state, warts and all.. I have taken all the swearing and politically verbage out, well almost. I have left
in sections that show my distain for the microwave crowd and their printing methods.

I am hoping they will be of interest to young and old printers and future printers.




QUOTE=Toffle;1671410]Just sayin'... I'd love to see a Bob Carnie video, or work beside him for a week, and clear away many of my misconceptions of what constitutes good printing practices. Bob, do you do workshops?
Anyway... seriously, Bob. Do a video. [/QUOTE]
 

Toffle

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Great news, Bob! I wish you best of luck in the new location.

Next question... do you take 58 year old apprentices?

I hope you make it out to Photostock again in the next few years. The event has really grown in size and substance. It would be great to see you again.

Cheers,
Tom
 

AgX

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Bob Carnie said:
Sorry , maybe answered too soon, if you do not refix the bleach will continue on. Ian and some of the chemist's can give you the best answer .
Click to expand...

This very much depends on the type of "bleach" used. Most reducers do not need fixing after application.
 
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