Perishable skills. A frustrating return to the darkroom. Advice needed.

aparat · Feb 12, 2023

I used to print a lot. It was never easy, but it was simple. I had a system. I had decent skills that I could use to make decent prints. Due to various health and life issues, I had to stop using the darkroom about five years ago. I continued taking pictures every now and then, but photography was on the back burner. Over the past few months, I have made an effort to return to photography and, eventually, to the darkroom. My return, so far, has been much harder than I anticipated. I've done three short printing sessions so far, and I kept making rookie mistakes all the time. It started by being completely overwhelmed with the backlog of negatives. It was downhill from there. If it wasn't for the amazing tools from @Nicholas Lindan I probably wouldn't have made a single print. It turns out, printing is a perishable skill and I completely lost it.

I won't bore you with all the missteps and mistakes I made, but I will say that the most important conclusion is that a hybrid digital workflow (i.e., scanning film, even with a phone, and sharing electronically) and a completely analog workflow are worlds apart. Each can be used to produce amazing work, of course, but they require very different, almost completely incompatible skills. I never truly understood that, and I am just learning it the hard way.

Any advice on moving forward, especially on how to recover my printing skills would be greatly appreciated!

faberryman · Feb 12, 2023

Cut yourself some slack. It takes time to get back in the groove after a long layoff for any activity. Don't toss in the towel after three short sessions.

What do you plan to do with the images you have selected to print?

AnselMortensen · Feb 12, 2023

My advice:
Put on some mellow music of your choice. Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" comes to mind.
Leave the 'outside world' outside of your darkroom.
Don't stress over it.
Don't rush yourself...no deadlines.
Make test strips.
You're going to waste paper, sure, no problem.
Lower your immediate expectations.
Enjoy the 'process'.

albada · Feb 12, 2023

Get a paper cutter. Cut 8x10 sheets into quarters (4x5), and relearn on those, at 1/4 the cost of 8x10s.

MTGseattle · Feb 12, 2023

Great advice above. My first darkroom foray after about an 8-year gap I did the same thing; I cut down and/or used smaller paper than my intended final print size, and I made about a million test strips. This was at a public darkroom as well, so I had a semi-captive audience for second opinions.

MTGseattle · Feb 12, 2023

Also, don't try and jump right back in with a "difficult" negative. Pick something with a nice exposure to soften the re-learning curve.

ic-racer · Feb 12, 2023

Some things that I do:

1) Evaluate the negatives on a light table with a good loupe (don't waste time making proof sheets when you could be making fine prints)
2) Based on that, pick ones that look good for printing. For example in the stacks shown there are only a few.
3) Work up each image systematically with little test prints before using a full sheet.
4) Print small.
4) Be prepared to dodge or burn a little on each print.

ic-racer · Feb 12, 2023

One has to make a choice of the prints don't look good.

Either, continue and struggle to try and get it right or move to the next negative (presuming you have stacks of negatives).

One might say that if you move on, and not struggle, you won't learn. But, my experience is that frustration of poor prints can lead to lack of incentive. Whereas, good, easy-to-print negatives foster motivation to print more.

I have been printing B&W since 1973 and am still learning how to print 'difficult' negatives. It really takes years of experience to print the difficult ones. So, I'd just print the easy ones to start. That is, negatives that were exposed and developed correctly and are in focus and have a uniform lighting based on the evaluation on the light table.

warden · Feb 12, 2023

MTGseattle said:
Also, don't try and jump right back in with a "difficult" negative. Pick something with a nice exposure to soften the re-learning curve.

Totally agree. Easy negatives first.

ic-racer · Feb 12, 2023

This is an example of an easy to print case. This image just stood out on the negative sheet. It already was darker in the corners from the lens light fall off. There was nothing to dodge or burn, the image was in focus and properly exposed. After making a few tiny test prints, this print was the first and only one needed of this negative.

rcphoto · Feb 12, 2023

I print for me. I enjoy the act of making a print and I enjoy my prints even if they are technically incorrect.

My advice would be go into it with the mindset you are trying to re-learn. Accept that you are going to make mistakes, and just enjoy your time in the darkroom. If you can't find any enjoyment, stop. Forcing it may just make it less enjoyable.

Kino · Feb 12, 2023

I am facing the same dilemma. It's been tough readjusting to printing in a darkroom with my decade plus break in printing.

I shot some seagulls last weekend on 35mm b&w, processed the film and then proceeded to drive myself crazy trying to print one negative. Rather than just make a basic print, I shot off into split filter printing and trying all these different, more advanced techniques which resulted in about 10 prints of poor to mediocre quality.

It finally sank in that I could just make a single print at 2.5 grade with a simple exposure and take it for what it was; a rather mundane image of a seagull.

I am swamped with a backlog of negatives too, so I have resolved to just spend some time getting them organized into printfile sleeves and making modern contact sheets before I go crazy with the printing.

That and put on some calm music and destroy any notions of a deadline.

pentaxuser · Feb 12, 2023

aparat, are you looking for advice on the how to "retrieve the information that you think or know is still there in your head which might involve a kind of a "Zen" approach or might it be simpler if you were to tell us specifically what problems you are having/mistakes you are making so we can direct our help to specific things?

pentaxuser

mshchem · Feb 12, 2023

Contact proof sheets. MHOFWIW

ags2mikon · Feb 12, 2023

I would start with a negative that you have printed before and was easy for you then. If it is an image that you really liked then all the better. Start with small prints first and before long you will be back in the swing.

Brendan Quirk · Feb 12, 2023

Mistakes happen after layoffs. My little input: make sure you do every step the same way every time. Practice makes perfect... (or wards off the errors!)

Kino · Feb 12, 2023

mshchem said:
Contact proof sheets. MHOFWIW

Translation?

Bill Burk · Feb 12, 2023

ic-racer said:
4) Be prepared to dodge or burn a little on each print.View attachment 329538

ic-racer,

That’s a beautiful set.

My wife and I talked about this last night. How we have to think about things that we used to know how to do.

Last Sunday, I repaired a Kenwood KA-7002 with blown power transistors. Granted it was my fault because I cranked it and touched the phono input. But the weird thing is I had no faith in my ability to do it. (Today I am cooking chili and still don’t know what I am doing). Took less time to fix the stereo though, because I had a tester tool that told me the bad part (like Nicholas Linden’s tool but for electronic parts). And I had spare power transistors from the last time because I bought extra.

But it’s happening to me with everything.

In the darkroom just try to make three prints in a session, even if it’s just once every other week you’ll soon get back in the groove.

I prefer making full size prints. I think it’s better for my confidence to always add to my collection.

I avoid using bad paper (if I know it fogs), again to help my confidence.

I agree with ic-racer about dodge and burn but go a step further. I don’t feel like I did a negative justice unless I do one or the other. Look at the test strip for something that looks better on the next step over from the one that you want to use for the base exposure. Then dodge or burn it that much.

When you see the print matches the main part and the dodged or burned part you’ll know you did something that made a difference.

MattKing · Feb 12, 2023

mshchem said:
Contact proof sheets. MHOFWIW

Kino said:
Translation?

I'm guessing "My Humble Opinion, For What It's Worth".
I don't think the skills perish. I think they need exercise before they can regain their tone.
And the most important thing? That your past experience gives you an idea about what you can and want to achieve. That is something that it is hard for rank beginners to get to.

mshchem · Feb 12, 2023

Kino said:
Translation?

Contact sheets teach how to get correct exposure of film in the camera. Ol' Fred Picker was right about contact sheets. If you get the film exposure correct, and film development is consistent, your enlargements should be easy.

If you make a contact proof of your negatives and there's dramatic under and overexposure you're going to have a big problem making enlargements.

My humble opinion for what it's worth.

redbandit · Feb 12, 2023

FOr every week you dont make a print, assume you will end up ruining 1 sheet of paper when you DO start making prints again.

Keep a few fun negatives around that you like, and keep notes on how you think they enlarge best. Pull one out, make a rough estimate, make a print and see how things work out.

aparat · Feb 12, 2023

Thank you all for all those thoughtful comments! I have been reading them and taking them to heart. I did another short session today (I can only spend up to about 45 min. working), and made progress. The only thing I changed was the lens. Printing 6x6 negatives on a 8x10 paper, with an 80mm lens put the enlarger head way too close to the baseboard, giving me no room to work. I swapped the lens out, and was able to work more comfortably. I should have mentioned that I cannot work standing up, so that's a limitation of sorts.

Next time, I will do what @ic-racer and others recommend and pick a negative that should be easy to print. I was having a hard time deciding which negatives to start with - I had so many - and failed to do the sensible thing, start with an easy one.

koraks · Feb 13, 2023

A print a day keeps the psychiatrist away.

Just keep doing it. Over and over, whenever schedule allows. You're way smart enough to (re)learn as you go along

Rick A · Feb 13, 2023

As mshchem stated, contact print a proof sheet for every roll. That will give you practice getting the exposure and the physical routine of printing, plus you can see what exactly each negative will need to print (or even if it's worth printing).

snusmumriken · Feb 13, 2023

aparat said:
Thank you all for all those thoughtful comments! I have been reading them and taking them to heart. I did another short session today (I can only spend up to about 45 min. working), and made progress. The only thing I changed was the lens. Printing 6x6 negatives on a 8x10 paper, with an 80mm lens put the enlarger head way too close to the baseboard, giving me no room to work. I swapped the lens out, and was able to work more comfortably. I should have mentioned that I cannot work standing up, so that's a limitation of sorts.

Next time, I will do what @ic-racer and others recommend and pick a negative that should be easy to print. I was having a hard time deciding which negatives to start with - I had so many - and failed to do the sensible thing, start with an easy one.

I refuse to believe that anyone as systematic as you are will be stuck for long.

Perishable skills. A frustrating return to the darkroom. Advice needed.

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Brendan Quirk

Kino

Bill Burk

MattKing

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Perishable skills. A frustrating return to the darkroom. Advice needed.

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