Cut & Selenium toned negative

The two rows horizontally are the same negatives, the top two are the same negatives as the bottom two. The lighter one was "cut" and than toned. The two on the right are there to try to get the same exposures so the tones of the changed one is shown accurately.
Reference, The Darkroom Cookbook, page 301, Farmer's Cutting Reducer For overexposed negatives.
The normal solution was used a total of 5 minuets. Berg Selenium Toner 1:3 was used after a wash a total of 6 minuets.

In this set, the bottom two are the control image, they are supposed to be the same. The top two have been changed, they are the same negative, the stock shot is on the left and the cut & toned version is on the right. It was done with Farmer's Cutting Reducer and toned with Selenium, they are the same one negative. The weaker solution was used a total of 5 minuets then repeated with a fresh solution another 5 minuets. I think it turned out better than the backyard scene that used the stronger solution for half the time. Toning was three minuets in Berg Selenium 1:3 I think.

studiocarter said:

View attachment 158715
The two rows horizontally are the same negatives, the top two are the same negatives as the bottom two. The lighter one was "cut" and than toned. The two on the right are there to try to get the same exposures so the tones of the changed one is shown accurately.
Reference, The Darkroom Cookbook, page 301, Farmer's Cutting Reducer For overexposed negatives.
The normal solution was used a total of 5 minuets. Berg Selenium Toner 1:3 was used after a wash a total of 6 minuets.

Click to expand...

Interesting. As negatives to look at, the bottom right looks the best, if all you could do was look at a negative but I wonder which one gives the easiest and best print. Easiest and best print may even be from two different negatives.

Can you say which negative produces (a) the easiest and (b) the best negative in terms of what you'd want to have on your wall.
Thanks

pentaxuser

They have not been printed in the darkroom yet. I only tried to correct overexposed negatives. The bottom right one is exactly the same as the top right one. Only the scan is different. The left one was reduced and toned.

Please forgive my mental density but what is your goal? To thin the shadows of overexposed negs while increasing overall contrast?

I have increased the contrast of well-exposed negatives this way (for alt printing processes). A careful touch is needed to preserve some shadow detail. Proportional reducers might help, too. It would be interesting to note if the grain structure of the negtives changes significantly at any step in the process.

The proof will be in the printing!

That's good. Make it easier to print bad negs? I started by bleaching dark prints on fogged old paper then moved to dark negatives. And I just wanted to see if I could do some of the chemical manipulations read about.
I'd like to see some samples of intensifying negatives, like with sepia sulfide bleach and redevelopment, chromium intensifier etc.. My first sepia toned print was made yesterday. That was like magic. Will it really work on a negative, too?

It worked on two negatives just fine. They were bleached one minuet and they almost totally went away, then, after a wash, they were sepia toned. They got darker than they were.
More interesting is Selinum toning a silver print then bleaching and sepia toning. It does not take much toning with Selinum to block the sepia process.
Finding the balance of time and dilution comes next. Light values will be in sepia and darks in silver selinide.