Monthly Update

[Steve Sherman]

Greetings

http://www.steve-sherman.com/tech_notes.cfm

Each one of the photographs this month are on display during the New England Large Format Photography Collective's fall exhibit at the Landau Gallery, Belmont Hill School in Belmont, MA. The exhibition runs from October 6th through November 6th, with gallery hours from 8:00 _- 5:00. If you are close by and would like an invitation and directions please e mail me @ steve@steve-sherman.

 

[George Collier]

Thanks for sharing these, Steve. Very nice work, and good examples of Pyrocat. I haven't been able to make it work for me (not quite the look I'm after, and I think the reddish brown stain may be working against my V54 blue-green enlarger cold light), but your images are urging me to give it a try again.

 

[timbo10ca]

Lovely as always..... Great info on technique always helps too.....

 

[Steve Sherman]

Thanks for sharing these, Steve. Very nice work, and good examples of Pyrocat. I haven't been able to make it work for me (not quite the look I'm after, and I think the reddish brown stain may be working against my V54 blue-green enlarger cold light), but your images are urging me to give it a try again.

Hi George, I have the same Aristo 54 bulb, blue only, green would be opposite as far as contrast goes.

My enlarging negs are designed to be on the flat side. I find that with the higher level of blue the contrast with VC paper is real nice with no filtration at all.

If ever I do need filtration I am able to put colored gels ABOVE the negative stage and control contrast that way. I use ordinary and very inexpensive "theatre gels" in a deep blue for maximum contrast and middle green for lowest contrast. You can effectively print different parts of the same print to varying degrees of contrast using this method. Splitting the times using varying amounts of both colors will produce any contrast grade that a VC head could.

Cheers!

 

[George Collier]

Hi Steve - I actually have used the green and blue gels and compared them with the #00 and #5 Ilford MG filters I have, and was surprised to find the exposure time and contrast between the two pairs to be very close. Since the gels are extremely thin and awkward, I've gone back the Ilford ones, but kept the gels.
I also use an Aristo head that has the drawer above the neg stage with the filter holder (I have an extra holder for switching out the filters when printing.)
But now that you mention it, I'm not sure I ever tried the blue and green filters with a Pyrocat neg. I may have to do that.
Thanks.