Pushed film / best (fiber based) paper?

Alowies · Dec 15, 2016

Hello

I am new to this place but could use some advice.
I have been experimenting with pushed film ( differen brands/ push/ developing) to get the kind of dark , grainy atmosphere, little underdeveloped and underexposed.

I like the different outcomes, but they are so hard to print well on my Ilford fiber based matte classic paper. I love this paper cus its like drawing paper but as soon as it dryes, my image is too dark, less greyscale and very flat.

So today i decided to stop my efforts and - despite the fact that i like this paper- i should accept the fact that it's maybe not the best paper for these negatives.

Any advice on a ( fiber based ) paper that can handle these negatives without making them too bright and shiny ( since it is a dark, grainy series with a uncanny feeling) .

Any advice would be welcome! Thanks!

faberryman · Dec 15, 2016

I think the problem is with the negatives, and not the paper. There are no magic bullets in the paper aisle. Are you using variable contrast filters? Ilford MGFB Classic gives you a contrast range of 00-5 to work with. As with any fiber based paper, there is a 10-15% dry down you need to account for when printing.

Alowies · Dec 16, 2016

Thanks for your reply. Yes for sure it has to do with the negative ( since i manipulated them to get this kind of atmosphere). When i develop them they look ok on the matte paper ( ehen they are wet: it looks really intense and the way i want). Soon as it dryes you see the image get flat and with no depth at all.
So i just guess, since it looks ok when it is wet, there must be some kind of paper which gives better results. I use variable contrast in the enlarger...

Thanks!

bernard_L · Dec 16, 2016

You have a better chance to retain part of the "wet" look with glossy paper (air-dried).

Lachlan Young · Dec 16, 2016

Alowies said:
Hello

I am new to this place but could use some advice.
I have been experimenting with pushed film ( differen brands/ push/ developing) to get the kind of dark , grainy atmosphere, little underdeveloped and underexposed.

I like the different outcomes, but they are so hard to print well on my Ilford fiber based matte classic paper. I love this paper cus its like drawing paper but as soon as it dryes, my image is too dark, less greyscale and very flat.

So today i decided to stop my efforts and - despite the fact that i like this paper- i should accept the fact that it's maybe not the best paper for these negatives.

Any advice on a ( fiber based ) paper that can handle these negatives without making them too bright and shiny ( since it is a dark, grainy series with a uncanny feeling) .

Any advice would be welcome! Thanks!

My experience with this paper is that it is very controllable in terms of contrast etc & has significantly less drydown than MGIV used to have. I like it immensely.
It's quite capable of rendering everything from intense, contrasty images to smooth & subtle without much effort - obviously the blacks will be charcoal-ish once dry.

I'm not entirely sure what sort of look you are aiming for - flat-ish & grainy, or punchy & contrasty a la Moriyama/ Provoke?

It would be helpful if you could give an example of what you want the prints to look like & what they are actually looking like.

An image of the neg would help massively too.

howardpan · Dec 16, 2016

Try to print with 15% less time than what your test strip indicates. Them wet print will always look brighter than the dry print so you compensate by making a brighter than desired print and let the dry down get you to your final print.

Alternatively, you can try to determine your exposure time by analyzing a dry test strip. I have heard a hair dryer or microwave would help accelerate the dry down process.

tezzasmall · Dec 16, 2016

Hi Alowies.

I too love the matt paper, so would be interested like others to see some of your work - can you upload or link to some somewhere?

As for advice, others have said what I would recommend ie 1. try giving 10 to 15% less time to your exposures and your final images dry should be closer to what they look like wet tone wise. And 2. to get the 'wet look', however much you might not want to, you may have to try glossy or pearl surfaces instead to get something similar to what you get in the chemicals - but try the reduced time first and let us know how you get on.

Terry S

Pushed film / best (fiber based) paper?

Alowies

faberryman

Alowies

bernard_L

Lachlan Young

howardpan

tezzasmall

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