Old dog new tricks

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 1, 2019

I had last Friday off so I decided to go into my darkroom. A little background story. I learned to do silver gelatin printing back in 1980 as a freshman undergrad. Back then, graded papers were widely available. I was taught to print on RC Kodak Polycontrast paper. For well over 30 years, I used Ilford variable contrast paper with Ilford's Multigrade filters. Just recently, I started to learn about split grade printing. It's opened up a whole new world of control over my printing. So, to make it even harder on myself, I also started using an F-stop timer. I was sure humbled in the darkroom.
I read a lot about the theories and practices of split grading printing, but doing it in the darkroom is quite something else. I'm the type of person that learns from doing. I have some questions about split grade printing.
1. Do you burn and dodge with the highlight exposure or shadow exposure?
2. Is the total time of both the shadow and highlight exposure fixed. If not, how does changing the shadow exposure or the highlight exposure effect the overall print?
3. So is it true that I could control the overall contrast by changing the 0 filter to a 2 and I should always use #5 filter for my shadow exposure.

Any tips and insight in greatly appreciated!

MattKing · Apr 1, 2019

Mainecoonmaniac said:
1. Do you burn and dodge with the highlight exposure or shadow exposure?

Yes
Burning with the high contrast filter accentuates the contrast where you are burning. Burning with the low contrast filter adds density.
Dodging the shadows with the high contrast filter can "open up" those shadows. Dodging highlights with the low contrast filter can hold back some veiling exposure, and cause them to be more brilliant.

Mainecoonmaniac said:
2. Is the total time of both the shadow and highlight exposure fixed. If not, how does changing the shadow exposure or the highlight exposure effect the overall print

Depends on the print. The high contrast exposure tends to have most affect on the shadows. The low contrast filter tends to supply most of the mid-tone and highlight image. So the affect of a change in one of the exposures on the overall image will depend on the subject.

Here is a good experiment to try. Take a print that satisfies you, has a reasonably wide range of tones, and was made with reasonable amounts of exposure with each of the low contrast filter and the high contrast filter. For simplicity of illustration, a print that didn't need much dodging or burning is best for the experiment. Record the times - one being the low contrast filter printing time, the other being the high contrast filter printing time.
Now do two more prints from that negative at exactly the same aperture and magnification settings - one being printed only with the low contrast filter for the low contrast filter printing time, and the other being printed only only with the high contrast filter for the high contrast filter printing time.
Now compare the results. Most likely you will find that the one printed only only with the low contrast filter for the low contrast filter printing time is relatively close to the final print, whereas the one printed only only with the high contrast filter for the high contrast filter printing time will show relatively little of the image.

Mainecoonmaniac said:
3. So is it true that I could control the overall contrast by changing the 0 filter to a 2 and I should always use #5 filter for my shadow exposure.

The 2 filter has essentially the same affect as a combination of some of the 0 and some of the 5, so yes you can approach it this way. You may find yourself wanting to add some 0 exposure as well.

Pieter12 · Apr 1, 2019

Here is what I know & do:

1. Burn & dodge with either or both filters depending on what you're after. For example, if you need more detail in the highlights, burn with the 0 (or 00) filter.
2. No. the ratio fo 00 to 5 filter determines the overall effective grade. So equal 00 and 5 exposure times give the equivalent of a 2 grade. As the difference in exposure times changes, so does the equivalent grade.
3. I don't know. I always use just 00 and 5 filters.

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 1, 2019

MattKing said:
Yes
Burning with the high contrast filter accentuates the contrast where you are burning. Burning with the low contrast filter adds density.
Dodging the shadows with the high contrast filter can "open up" those shadows. Dodging highlights with the low contrast filter can hold back some veiling exposure, and cause them to be more brilliant.

Depends on the print. The high contrast exposure tends to have most affect on the shadows. The low contrast filter tends to supply most of the mid-tone and highlight image. So the affect of a change in one of the exposures on the overall image will depend on the subject.

Here is a good experiment to try. Take a print that satisfies you, has a reasonably wide range of tones, and was made with reasonable amounts of exposure with each of the low contrast filter and the high contrast filter. For simplicity of illustration, a print that didn't need much dodging or burning is best for the experiment. Record the times - one being the low contrast filter printing time, the other being the high contrast filter printing time.
Now do two more prints from that negative at exactly the same aperture and magnification settings - one being printed only with the low contrast filter for the low contrast filter printing time, and the other being printed only only with the high contrast filter for the high contrast filter printing time.
Now compare the results. Most likely you will find that the one printed only only with the low contrast filter for the low contrast filter printing time is relatively close to the final print, whereas the one printed only only with the high contrast filter for the high contrast filter printing time will show relatively little of the image.

The 2 filter has essentially the same affect as a combination of some of the 0 and some of the 5, so yes you can approach it this way. You may find yourself wanting to add some 0 exposure as well.

Thanks for your tips! I'll try that experiment because I'll know what I've learned will stick to my brain. So do you know that the total exposure of both the low contrast and high contrast must be the same? So let's say that I want to reduce my shadow exposure with the high contrast filter by 5 seconds, do I have to add the 5 seconds back to the low contrast filter highlight exposure? If that's the case, that would mean that if I reduced the highlight exposure, I would have to add the same amount to the shadow, high contrast exposure.

Pieter12 · Apr 1, 2019

Mainecoonmaniac said:
So do you know that the total exposure of both the low contrast and high contrast must be the same?

You can change the filter exposure times independently. If the exposure remains the same, then you haven't changed the overall grade/contrast of the print, just the overall exposure--darker or lighter. I recommend making test strips, first for the 00 filter then after determining that exposure (basically for minimum highlight detail),a test strip with that 00 exposure followed by a test sequence of the 5 filter on top of that.

MattKing · Apr 1, 2019

Pieter12 said:
You can change the filter exposure times independently. If the exposure remains the same, then you haven't changed the overall grade/contrast of the print, just the overall exposure--darker or lighter. I recommend making test strips, first for the 00 filter then after determining that exposure (basically for minimum highlight detail),a test strip with that 00 exposure followed by a test sequence of the 5 filter on top of that.

This order works well for a large percentage of negatives, but there are some subjects - primarily ones with large areas of detailed shadow and relatively small areas of detailed mid-tone and highlight - where it works better if you start first with testing for the high contrast filter and then, when you have that pinned that down, follow up with testing for how much low contrast filter exposure you need to add.

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 1, 2019

MattKing said:
This order works well for a large percentage of negatives, but there are some subjects - primarily ones with large areas of detailed shadow and relatively small areas of detailed mid-tone and highlight - where it works better if you start first with testing for the high contrast filter and then, when you have that pinned that down, follow up with testing for how much low contrast filter exposure you need to add.

So once the high contrast exposure is pinned down, do the test print with the low contrast filter on the same sheet of paper? Let's say I already know the exposure for my grade 5 exposure, I do the base exposure with the grade 5 filter then do the grade 0 exposure as a test strip on the same sheet of paper to see at what point I get decent highlight detail?

Pieter12 · Apr 1, 2019

Yes. Or the other way around, with the the predetermined 00 exposure first--

MattKing · Apr 1, 2019

Pieter12 said:
Yes. Or the other way around, with the the predetermined 00 exposure first--

+1

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 2, 2019

Thanks Matt and Pieter! I really appreciate your insight(s)!

MattKing · Apr 2, 2019

One more general piece of advice is in order. When you are learning to print, no matter which technique you are using, there is a tendency to spend a lot of time looking at the highlights and the shadows. While they deserve attention, in most cases it is the quality of the midtones that determines how well the print appears.
When you are doing tests with a view to determining your main low contrast filter and high contrast filter exposures, it is really important that you evaluate the rendition of what is usually the most important part of the image - the midtones. Once you have those looking the way you want them to, you can always tweak the shadows and the highlights with some judicious burning and dodging.

koraks · Apr 2, 2019

I always do the high contrast exposure first and then the low contrast one, since the low contrast exposure adds density to the shadows but not the other way around. This prevents the shadows from getting murky. Maybe my logic is off or something, but I've always done it this way with reliable results. I suppose it's always a matter of working out a process that works for you and that you yourself understand so you can manipulate the variables with some confidence.

MattKing · Apr 2, 2019

koraks said:
I always do the high contrast exposure first and then the low contrast one, since the low contrast exposure adds density to the shadows but not the other way around. This prevents the shadows from getting murky. Maybe my logic is off or something, but I've always done it this way with reliable results. I suppose it's always a matter of working out a process that works for you and that you yourself understand so you can manipulate the variables with some confidence.

I think we may be using terms in slightly different ways, because what I describe as the "high contrast exposure" is the #5 (or in the case of my Ilford Multigrade light source, the #4) and it is that exposure (not the low contrast exposure) that most affects the densities in the shadows.
I agree though that it is most important to work out a process that makes most sense to you.

koraks · Apr 2, 2019

I think we are using the terms the same way, but I posted halfway my morning coffee, which was evidently too early...I do the low contrast exposure first. Sorry for the confusion!
Btw, I don't split grade print all that much; usually a straightforward single grade print does the trick nicely (read: I'm a lazy bastard).

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 2, 2019

MattKing said:
I think we may be using terms in slightly different ways, because what I describe as the "high contrast exposure" is the #5 (or in the case of my Ilford Multigrade light source, the #4) and it is that exposure (not the low contrast exposure) that most affects the densities in the shadows.
I agree though that it is most important to work out a process that makes most sense to you.

I guess there aren't any hard and fast rules on split grade printing. As for me, I think I'll have to keep doing it until I find a workflow that makes sense for me. Maybe one of them is not using the method if the image doesn't make sense. I do have to say that split grade printing allows highlight and shadow detail to be extracted from an image in areas where it's difficult to burn and dodge. It's important for me not to get stuck in a method of working when it's not creative or doesn't allow me to grow as a photographer. It's just another tool in my arsenal. A very useful one!

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