reducing density of negatives

[Dan Dozer]

I've got a couple of negatives that ended up with too much contrast to effectively print and need to know if a reducing agent (like Farmers Reducer) will reduce the dense areas in the negative without changing the thin areas much. I don't want to loose shadow detail in the prints by reducing down the highlights. I didn't think it would be possilble to get too high of a contrast negative to print with platinum/palladium, but I've managed to do it.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

After processing your pert stuck with what you've got. Further fixing could bleach the negative. Best to try and print it out.

 

[keithwms]

There are many different reducers... some are proportional and some are not, just read up on that.

I suppose one other thing you might do is pre-expose your Pt/Pd emulsion.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I've got a couple of negatives that ended up with too much contrast to effectively print and need to know if a reducing agent (like Farmers Reducer) will reduce the dense areas in the negative without changing the thin areas much. I don't want to loose shadow detail in the prints by reducing down the highlights. I didn't think it would be possilble to get too high of a contrast negative to print with platinum/palladium, but I've managed to do it.

Dan

Don't use Farmers Reducer. It will make it worse and increase the contrast. If you can't cover the contrast with VC papers, get a proportional or super-proportional reducer. However, most of these chemicals are pretty nasty. Is the negative really worth the effort? For more details, try to find a copy of 'Negative First Aid' by Liam Lawless, which was published in Darkroom User, 1997, issues 3-6.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I've got a couple of negatives that ended up with too much contrast to effectively print and need to know if a reducing agent (like Farmers Reducer) will reduce the dense areas in the negative without changing the thin areas much. I don't want to loose shadow detail in the prints by reducing down the highlights. I didn't think it would be possilble to get too high of a contrast negative to print with platinum/palladium, but I've managed to do it.

Sorry, I overlooked the platinum/palladium part in my first reply. In that case, you might be more interested in a contrast reduction mask, as used for unsharp masking. That will get the contrats out, and only takes the typical brews.