- Choose exposure to get the highlights how you want them, then choose contrast filter to get the shadows how you want those. I learned this from Ralph Lambrecht when his book came out, after rather too many years of unsystematic flip-flopping.
- Paying attention to detail (e.g. enlarger alignment) makes a big difference even with mediocre equipment.
- Be nice to your working solutions. When printing, the main purpose of the stop-bath is not to stop development but to save the fixer from contamination. Give it time to get in there if using FB paper. Using two fixer baths (of which number 2 is freshly mixed) is also hugely beneficial.
When making your first tests strips in printing, turn all filtration off and place a small bit of paper on the brightest highlight, darkest shadow and mid-tone and then just experiment with exposure times.
I know. It's what has driven so many people to digital photography.Stop bath with indicator is just so damned expensive!
View attachment 326009
Just had an enjoyable romp through your website...very, very, nice work!
- Choose exposure to get the highlights how you want them, then choose contrast filter to get the shadows how you want those. I learned this from Ralph Lambrecht when his book came out, after rather too many years of unsystematic flip-flopping.
- Paying attention to detail (e.g. enlarger alignment) makes a big difference even with mediocre equipment.
- Be nice to your working solutions. When printing, the main purpose of the stop-bath is not to stop development but to save the fixer from contamination. Give it time to get in there if using FB paper. Using two fixer baths (of which number 2 is freshly mixed) is also hugely beneficial.
Just had an enjoyable romp through your website...very, very, nice work!
On your About page you say...
"...But my working life went down another route entirely, and I wasn’t able to invest much effort in taking photographs until quite recently. Consequently, this website is a rag-bag collection of occasional images with not much in common except that I like them..."
If they are mostly post-retirement photographs, you have been prolific to say the least. Also, I would argue against your feeling they have "not much in common" as they exhibit a very strong consistency of vision, no matter what subject matter you photograph.
May I suggest:
1) Organize about 20 of them,
2) bundle them up,
3) and make appointments to go see some gallery owners and/or publishers.
You my friend, are 'the real deal'.
Just had an enjoyable romp through your website...very, very, nice work!
Thank you both so very much! I haven’t blushed for a long time.I happily concur.
When making your first tests strips in printing, turn all filtration off and place a small bit of paper on the brightest highlight, darkest shadow and mid-tone and then just experiment with exposure times.
Also, fog a piece of printing paper under bright light and give it maximum development. Take another piece of printing paper and fix it straight from the box. Wash both and pin to your darkroom wall. You then have a comparison to any print you make, when white light switched on, for max black and white.
I had read somewhere that Ansco 120 was superior to Selector Soft. The writer ended with something like, "If you don't believe me, test it and you'll never go back".
I had been using Dektol & Selector Soft separately & combined. That last comment about Selector Soft got under my skin and wouldn't go away, so I tested it, and never went back. The Selector Soft prints were muted, veiled, while the Ansco 120 prints were 'soft' yet still had vibrancy and distinct separation of tones.
That led to trying Ansco 130 (which was snappier than Dektol) and now that I was comfortable making developers from scratch, I dabbled around a bit and came up with 12/15 which worked for my images.
Lesson being...keep your spidey senses up at all times...watch and listen for the signs...follow tantalizing paths...scratch creative itches...there is no One & Only Way.
hi Murray,
Thanks for your reply.
But what you mean with Selector Soft? I googled it but could not find .
oops...sorry...stupid auto correct.hi Murray,
Thanks for your reply.
But what you mean with Selector Soft? I googled it but could not find .
But a wet print looks much different than a dry print. Instead use Dektol and develop for two minutes. That eliminates development time as a variable and it is easier to get to the proper exposure.
HiChoose exposure to get the highlights how you want them, then choose contrast filter to get the shadows how you want those. I learned this from Ralph Lambrecht when his book came out, after rather too many years of unsystematic flip-flopping.
When making your first tests strips in printing, turn all filtration off and place a small bit of paper on the brightest highlight, darkest shadow and mid-tone and then just experiment with exposure times.
Also, fog a piece of printing paper under bright light and give it maximum development. Take another piece of printing paper and fix it straight from the box. Wash both and pin to your darkroom wall. You then have a comparison to any print you make, when white light switched on, for max black and white.
Hi cliveh,
Could you tell a little more about it?
Hi cliveh,
Could you tell a little more about it?
Also fluorescent tape is useful for a spatial memo when it's full black on the darkroom.
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