Litho film or similar - or possibly litho film used as a mask in the printing steps. Basically it's designed to give almost no halftones (ie black/ white only, with very high density and very low fog) unless exposed to a halftone screen.
Has he exposed litho film from original? I haven't used or even know any available litho film so I don't know its properties.
Here is one more:
View attachment 276451
It could also be document film processed in a normal developer - in fact, that's probably more likely, as you may get some halftone (and was available in 135 canisters readily), but it varies - and you can always then print on G5 to punch out any remaining mids. To put it another way, process CMS20ii in ID-11 or XT-3 or whatever and see what happens.
Wouldn't that just produce pretty well exposed negative with midtones? I assume you suggest CMS 20 so to have low base+fog? But I'm pretty sure G5 isn't enough to pull that kind of result out of normally developed film?
CMS 20 is extremely high contrast when processed in a normal contrast film developer.
Ilford has an Ortho film as well.
Not sure if he had access to very sophisticated film.
it's unlikely to be document film mainly because at the time he made the images document films was less common but lith and line films were every where.
If these were (as the available evidence suggests) darkroom manipulations, lith or line seems much more likely. Nevertheless, document films were hardly uncommon in the 1960s (within the technical sectors that used them for their intended purposes - remember that Koudelka trained as an engineer and would have been familiar with the storage media used at the time). It's not out of the realms of possibility that he borrowed some materials from his then day-job.
I think you also need to look at the books available in the 1950's and 60's becaused these techniques were illustrated in them, and they were similar images in BJP Almanacs before WWII.
Ian
Looks like Rollie 25 before you use #0 contrast filter.
As per this NYT article, for his Prague invasion photographs (1968), Koudelka used cinema film. Might have also been the case for his earlier theater photos.
Excerpt: "By dawn Mr. Koudelka was out in the street with his Exakta camera loaded with cinema film that he cut from the end of exposed movie reels. That type of film may account for the etched graphic depth of the grain in his pictures."
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/arts/design/14geft.html
I print for Markéta Luskačová who is another great Czech photographer from Prague and a contemporary of, and good friend of Josef Koudelka. I remember her telling me about her and Josef often buying cuts of motion picture stock from a Prague cameraman. This was actually illegal, as the film company was State owned under communism, but was a way for the cameraman to make something on the side and for young photographers to get film cheaply. However, they never really knew what they were getting and if it was fresh stock or something years old and found in a cupboard. Often it was in an unmarked tin, so no clue until processed what film it was. I think they used to share a darkroom, but both had left Czechoslovakia (as was) by the mid 70s. My impression of the images originally posted is as others said, probably copies of prints on lith or line film and greatly enlarged. Will have to ask Markéta next time I see her. She always has great and fascinating stories!
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