Micro sized pinhole retouching

Curt · Jun 7, 2009

I was looking at some negatives I shot several years ago, 5x7 J&C 400, and noticed there are some pin sized pinholes, mostly in the sky areas of course. Is there a sky magnet that directs defects? What retouching method should be used, contact printers will no doubt know how. I wonder what liquid would fit on a brush hair or pin point to fill a hole that small. Describe your method and materials if possible.

Thanks,
Curt

Martin Aislabie · Jun 7, 2009

Curt, have the same problem as you black holes that are about the size of film grain.

I tried Farmers Reducer but found it spread too much turning micro sized black holes into far more noticeable larger (1+mm dia) white holes

I have resorted to knifing the black spots on a print

Take a very sharp scalpel, hold it at right angles to the paper and using only the very point of the blade, make tiny scratching movements.

Scratching small and often is better then a few heavy strokes.

Best to practice on scrap prints

After a while it can almost be fun :rolleyes:

I have not tried Knifing RC, I only do it to FB

Martin

DWThomas · Jun 7, 2009

I'm no expert, but I would likely try to spot opaque masking on the base side of the negative, leaving a white spot on the print to bring down with spotting stuff. At least, that's what I've done on a few (thankfully rare) occasions to deal with this sort of thing.

DaveT

archphoto · Jun 7, 2009

I have been using a 0,18mm technical drawing pen for those "holes" on the emulsion side of the negative.
If the spot is a tad too big you can correct that on the print.
Works for me.

Peter

wildbill · Jun 7, 2009

9 out of 10 times I try to correct something on the neg, I only make it worse. Pretty much the same for prints too. That's where the "art" in fine art comes in.

Curt · Jun 7, 2009

After looking though a strong magnifier I have come to believe that they are not pinholes but particles on the film prior to exposure. I went to Houston TX a couple of days after Katrina and loaded the film in a hotel bathroom then drove to Galveston and photographed there, it was hot and windy also. I have not had this happen on films since so either I had dirty holders or the bathroom had fine dust or the holders picked it up in the field or a combination of all. It will take some work but the negatives can be spotted and the prints spotted as well. I only want to select a few and they are not all bad just a few chosen ones.

David A. Goldfarb · Jun 8, 2009

Practice on scrap negs first:

Place the neg emulsion side down on a light box. Using a sharp stylus or a needle held perpendicular to the base side of the neg, stipple the base of the neg in the immediate area around and over the pinhole. This diffuses the light as it goes through the film and will blend in the pinhole or white spot on the print.

Another approach is to opaque the pinhole and spot it on the print as you would normally spot a white spot on the print.

Curt · Jun 8, 2009

I'll give the stipple technique a try, I made duplicate exposures of the negatives in the field just like Ansel said he did, this time it helps, I can take the really bad negatives and work on them first. I remember him saying he didn't bracket but made a second exposure and that's what I did then.

Thanks,
Curt

Curt · Jun 10, 2009

Another approach is to opaque the pinhole and spot it on the print as you would normally spot a white spot on the print.

This is what I am going to do.

Thanks all for the sounding board.

Curt

djkloss · Dec 23, 2009

I know I'm late on this thread, but I've been struggling with this for a long time, to the point of almost giving up. I finally tried the photoformulary reducer III and a 10/0 "liner" brush from Michael's. This type of brush worked like a charm (on the print). The other thing I did was to mix only a few drops using a 1ml dropper, rather than a whole 6ml as the instructions said. It worked perfectly. Spotting the print will be another challenge after toning (matching the color). I guess a steady hand and a lot of patience and determination are the key to success. (the brush is a Loew-Cornell #7350 Liner brush)

bdial · Dec 23, 2009

I haven't tried it yet, but the method that has been recommended to me is a soft lead drawing pencil with a very sharp point.

Curt · Dec 23, 2009

You know what those particles were? They were flakes of very old paint from some very old wooden 5x7 film holders. I have about 24 of the new Lisco, Riteway etc..... and the problem is gone. Paint doesn't chip and flake from plastic.... there is no paint on the plastic!

The negatives just have to be spotted and the amount of spotting is going to depend on how much you have to preserve the image on the sheet of film. I think it's kinda directly proportionate. How bad verses how much work. I suppose there are other means, electronically, to do the work or you could have someone, an expert at retouching, do the work for you. I gave up after a few hours. First it's the negative then it's the print, there is a limit to these things.

Micro sized pinhole retouching

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