Question about tones in a print and sliding them "up the scale"

[Bob Carnie]

Lith is addictive be careful

 

[Doremus Scudder]

I'm half Bob and half Michael R. I'll even pull a print from the developer tray and toss it before development is complete and go make another one at a different exposure. However, when I get down to the final, very fine print adjustments, like + or - 15 seconds in the developer or + or - 10CC magenta or a little more dodging here and burning there, I like to dry the print down, hang it up on the white board and evaluate it under display lighting alongside other prints made just slightly differently. This actually takes up most of my printing time. Sometimes I end up with several "performances" of a print that I like well enough to keep. I like to ring-around the keepers though, just to be sure.

Best,

Doremus

 

[Craig75]

I will make a general work print, a hard test strip, a softer test strip and leave them in kitchen for a couple of days before deciding if its worth continuing with it and if so doing what to it. Im very slow!

 

[rpavich]

Well, I see what folks mean when they talk about the tones expanding and contracting. I just printed a contact sheet that I had shot and printed one frame. It was a picture of me and so I kept my skin tone at a mid and changed the filter pack to expand the other tones outward. Very interesting and enlightening.
I also learned that shooting Eastman 5222 at box speed of 250 works and that my developing time was a bit long but that's another thread.

 

[Bob Carnie]

Its funny how we all approach printing... For me I am finished before I start. I always know where I want to be and once I accomplish this feat technically the print is done... I am one who will once the print is done in my opinion, then do a couple of variations quite far from the final I just finished. Only for curiosity 9 times out of 10 the final print is what goes to the wall.

Right now I am embarking on a set of duo tones Gum Prints, and the biggest challenge is to pick the pigments for each layer and how I plan to reveal each layer... Once I start printing its pretty fast to get to what my mind is seeing now...


Is that Pre Visualization???? its how I work.

 

[Craig75]

Well, I see what folks mean when they talk about the tones expanding and contracting. I just printed a contact sheet that I had shot and printed one frame. It was a picture of me and so I kept my skin tone at a mid and changed the filter pack to expand the other tones outward. Very interesting and enlightening.
I also learned that shooting Eastman 5222 at box speed of 250 works and that my developing time was a bit long but that's another thread.

you could try something like this

1. so you have made a print at softer, regular and hard grade with the negative developed for say 10mins
2. take a few quick shots outside your house or around your neighbourhood. develop those negatives for say 14mins
3. then made a soft regular and hard grade print from them
4. take a few quick shots outside your house or around your neighbourhood. develop those negatives for say 6 or 7 mins
5. then made a soft regular and hard grade print from them

this will show you contrast range on enlarger, and how change in development time for negative affects enlarger contrast too.

its boring job but it will give you the information to move forward and start playing with enlarger as a contrast device with more control.

(possibly? thats what i did anyway)

 

[rpavich]

you could try something like this

1. so you have made a print at softer, regular and hard grade with the negative developed for say 10mins
2. take a few quick shots outside your house or around your neighbourhood. develop those negatives for say 14mins
3. then made a soft regular and hard grade print from them
4. take a few quick shots outside your house or around your neighbourhood. develop those negatives for say 6 or 7 mins
5. then made a soft regular and hard grade print from them

this will show you contrast range on enlarger, and how change in development time for negative affects enlarger contrast too.

its boring job but it will give you the information to move forward and start playing with enlarger as a contrast device with more control.

(possibly? thats what i did anyway)

Thanks!
I think that will be a good project for today. I'm off work for the thanksgiving week and need things to occupy my time.