Improving visibility for dodging and burning

[OKK]

At least for your burns you could take a work print and cut out the burn area. It would be easier, I imagine, to hold an 8x10 mask over an 8x10 enlargement, for example. I lost my left eye to Steroid medication, so I really understand your complication. Re Koraks point about seeing on the card, it should be a white card, not black, and if using a Work print the comprehension of place within the print is enhanced.

I offer my sympathy and condolences for the loss of vision in your left eye.
I manage burning less difficulty but most complicate task is to identifying exact location of dodging point and seeking for advise for better solutions.

 

[MattKing]

Yes, I do turn off safelights while exposing and am using LPL 7452 enlarger with quarts 250w halogen lamp.

Is that configured with a condenser light source, a variable contrast light source, or a colour printing light source?

 

[OKK]

Is that configured with a condenser light source, a variable contrast light source, or a colour printing light source?

Here is my enlarger specification and I do set B&W mode while printing;

Is that configured with a condenser light source, a variable contrast light source, or a colour printing light source?

Here is my enlarger spec and I set B&W mode while printing;

 

[MattKing]

Here are the choices for light source - which one do you have installed.

A digital pic of the front of the enlarger head will likely tell us.

 

[Hilo]

I only use condenser enlargers, Leitz up to 6X9 and a Durst for larger negatives.

Just out of curiosity, when using an enlarger with any of the options in the previous post of Matt:

Will the projected image be the same in terms of brightness? Compared to the simple condenser enlarger, using mostly the 150watt bulbs?

I use 150 watt bulbs 70% of the time, and 75watt or 250watt bulbs for the remaining 30%.

 

[MattKing]

I only use condenser enlargers, Leitz up to 6X9 and a Durst for larger negatives.

Just out of curiosity, when using an enlarger with any of the options in the previous post of Matt:

Will the projected image be the same in terms of brightness? Compared to the simple condenser enlarger, using mostly the 150watt bulbs?

I use 150 watt bulbs 70% of the time, and 75watt or 250watt bulbs for the remaining 30%.

It depends on the enlarger's light path, any modifiers in the light path, and the bulb used.
I'm currently using an LPL7700 - mostly with the variable contrast light head. Previously I mostly used an Omega D6 with an Ilford Multigrade 400 head, or a Beseler 67C with either dichroic colour head or condenser head.
The enlargers I used before the LPL7700 offered the option of choosing different mixing boxes for different film formats. That choice made a big difference to the light intensity for the smaller formats.
The LPL7700 is relatively rather dim when used for 35mm, and quite bright when used for 6x7 - or even with 6x8.5, which I'm able to do after fiddling a bit with the glass carrier.
All of which is to say that it is difficult to pin down how bright the image is for @OKK , without knowing the exact configuration.

 

[Hilo]

Matt said:

All of which is to say that it is difficult to pin down how bright the image is for @OKK , without knowing the exact configuration.

Right!

 

[cliveh]

Why not turn the aperture up full and without any paper below and the darkroom light off, practice the dodging/burning you require. Then when you come to do it at the printing aperture with paper, you will have a much better idea of what you have to do.

 

[Hilo]

Cliveh's suggestion is very good.

Something from about 40 years ago came to me: I taught printing to groups and someone had a similar situation as the OP. She just could not locate where to dodge.

Another person in the group suggested to give names to the actual spot(s) that needed dodging. Like face, eyes, dark trees, front of house . . . We'd hear her while printing, calling out these names. After some sessions she managed much better, saying: "this helps me to imagine the actual image, instead of seeing the negative image".

---

OKK: in case your size of paper is rather small: consider going up one or two sizes.
My smallest size (workprint) has always been 24x30cm, the image a bit smaller. This is roughly A4.

 

[OKK]

Why not turn the aperture up full and without any paper below and the darkroom light off, practice the dodging/burning you require. Then when you come to do it at the printing aperture with paper, you will have a much better idea of what you have to do.

Thanks for suggestion and let me try.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Doing split grade printing with the strongest yellow and magenta filters [0 and 5] can get one most of the way to dodging and burning.

 

[OKK]

Matt said:

All of which is to say that it is difficult to pin down how bright the image is for @OKK , without knowing the exact configuration.

Right!

Hello Matt, what kind of head is best bright image for LPL 7451(Condensor,

Matt said:

All of which is to say that it is difficult to pin down how bright the image is for @OKK , without knowing the exact configuration.

Right!

Matt, Which head would you recommend (Colour, VCCE or B&W ) for best brightness? I do only B&W printing.

 

[MattKing]

Matt, Which head would you recommend (Colour, VCCE or B&W ) for best brightness? I do only B&W printing.

A condensor head may provide the highest light intensity - it is hard to say without having all three available to compare them.
The different options are rarely evaluated in that way - you are the first I've ever encountered with a desire to have higher light levels for normal B&W printing. I see more requests for advice on how to lower the light output, because most modern papers are quite sensitive - they offer higher "speed" - and higher light levels lead to printing times that are too short.
Someone who makes a large number of exceptionally large colour prints - mural size prints, as an example - would be most interested in high light levels.
Normally I would suggest reaching out to the Canadian distributor for LPL enlargers - KHB Photographix - as the owner, Kevin Brown is a a great source of information. I sourced the information about light sources I posted earlier from KHB's website. Here is KHB's website link: http://www.khbphotografix.com/.
I do think though that if you increase the light levels, you will run into problems with too-short printing times.
Perhaps the colour head might help with that, in that it might permit you to add more red to the light from the enlarger - the paper isn't sensitive to moderate levels of red light, but your eyes are.

 

[OKK]

The different options are rarely evaluated in that way - you are the first I've ever encountered with a desire to have higher light levels for normal B&W printing. I see more requests for advice on how to lower the light output, because most modern papers are quite sensitive - they offer higher "speed" - and higher light levels lead to printing times that are too short.
Someone who makes a large number of exceptionally large colour prints - mural size prints, as an example - would be most interested in high light levels.
Normally I would suggest reaching out to the Canadian distributor for LPL enlargers - KHB Photographix - as the owner, Kevin Brown is a a great source of information. I sourced the information about light sources I posted earlier from KHB's website. Here is KHB's website link: http://www.khbphotografix.com/.
I do think though that if you increase the light levels, you will run into problems with too-short printing times.
Perhaps the colour head might help with that, in that it might permit you to add more red to the light from the enlarger - the paper isn't sensitive to moderate levels of red light, but your eyes are.

Thank you for detail info and I currently have colour module.

 

[cowanw]

Perhaps the colour head might help with that, in that it might permit you to add more red to the light from the enlarger.

How does that work with a LPL 7452 ?

 

[MattKing]

How does that work with a LPL 7452 ?

To add red with a colour head:
Add the same filtration for all three filter settings.
Then subtract cyan.

 

[cowanw]

To add red with a colour head:
Add the same filtration for all three filter settings.
Then subtract cyan.

Hmm. Meanwhile you are increasing yellow filtration (minus blue) and increasing Magenta (minus green) prolonging your exposure time.
Or just leave cyan at zero all the time and let all the red through all the time.

 

[MattKing]

Hmm. Meanwhile you are increasing yellow filtration (minus blue) and increasing Magenta (minus green) prolonging your exposure time.
Or just leave cyan at zero all the time and let all the red through all the time.

The approach will probably result in a lengthened printing time, unless combined with a larger lens aperture. The two together might make the image on the paper easier for the OP to see.
As we are focusing in this thread on increasing the visibility of the image on the paper in order to aid the OP's ability to see it, it's worth trying. The red component is visible, but should have no effect on the print itself.
A similar approach may help those who are unhappy in general with too short printing times.
Whereas I'm slightly unhappy with the long printing times I need to use with my LPL7700 with 35mm negatives - so it would be the opposite of what I need.

 

[koraks]

Meanwhile you are increasing yellow filtration (minus blue) and increasing Magenta (minus green) prolonging your exposure time.

Filtering always results in a reduction of light. That's the whole point of subtractive systems, after all.

 

[cowanw]

And because filtering always results in a reduction of light, dialing up the cyan filter and then dialing it back down does not allow you to add more red to the light from the enlarger.

 

[MattKing]

And because filtering always results in a reduction of light, dialing up the cyan filter and then dialing it back down does not allow you to add more red to the light from the enlarger.

It may very well allow you to open the aperture more, resulting in a more visible red light image at the paper during the exposure, without shortening the exposure time.

 

[cowanw]

Changing the Yellow and Magenta can do as you describe, but Cyan has nothing to do with Black and White papers.
I am afraid I do get my knickers in a knot when changing Yellow and Magenta filters is conflated with Cyan, particularly when suggesting discussing neutral filtering, for example. Although I must admit that your post # 41 was a new take on Cyan adjustment. (I looked for a happy tetter totter or up/down emoticon, but could not find one.)
I feel that people who talk about changing cyan values as regards Black and White are confusing things with their Colour printing experience.
I have diverted OKK's post enough, though.

 

[MattKing]

Changing the Yellow and Magenta can do as you describe, but Cyan has nothing to do with Black and White papers.
I am afraid I do get my knickers in a knot when changing Yellow and Magenta filters is conflated with Cyan, particularly when suggesting discussing neutral filtering, for example. Although I must admit that your post # 41 was a new take on Cyan adjustment. (I looked for a happy tetter totter or up/down emoticon, but could not find one.)
I feel that people who talk about changing cyan values as regards Black and White are confusing things with their Colour printing experience.
I have diverted OKK's post enough, though.

Bill,
The only reason you need to adjust the cyan dial is that it happens to effectively be the minus-red dial - so that is what you use in the rare circumstance that you wish to adjust the amount of red in the exposing light.
In this case, the OP needs more light in order to be able to see. But the OP doesn't want to shorten the exposure time. So the OP needs to open up the lens aperture, and then adjust the filtration to keep the exposure time workable - increasing all three filter amounts equally will do that. Then, to increase the visibility the OP can dial back on the cyan filtration - by doing so, the image gets brighter, but the extra light is only red light, so the exposure remains correct.

 

[cliveh]

The cyan dial for black & white printing can act as a neutral density filter should you so wish.

 

[Bill Burk]

I think the goal here is to increase the visible image without decreasing the print time. Longer print time would be a benefit for dodge and burn.


So more red, a lot of red if possible. So much red you can see with vision problems. Maybe an in-front-of-the-lens red filter.