I have been under a misapprehension. I thought you were arguing that, even without dodging and burning, a split-grade print was superior to a print made with a single filtered exposure. My apologies.
Why not? I've done it plenty of times if my negative fits onto a grade 2 contrast range and gives a print I like. Why introduce filters with the resultant loss of light if I don't need to? I'll leave the filters set to 0 in my colour head and then they are completely out of the light path.
As I mentioned, the Ilford Multigrade paper tech sheet says that unfiltered is an identical contrast range to a Multigrade 2 filter.
It is! I'll consider grade 2 special case because it is achievable without filtration, but I think a split grade is superior to a single grade exposure. No apology necessary, I wasn't clear.I have been under a misapprehension. I thought you were arguing that, even without dodging and burning, a split-grade print was superior to a print made with a single filtered exposure. My apologies.
It is! I'll consider grade 2 special case because it is achievable without filtration, but I think a split grade is superior to a single grade exposure. No apology necessary, I wasn't clear.
Those would be the same. However, that's not what we are talking about in split grade vs conventional printing.
Just to be clear, that’s not my position. I do use split-grade technique on occasion for difficult prints that require a lot of dodging or burning. In the process of learning, I satisfied myself that I could make a basic split-grade print that was indistinguishable from a single-grade print.Someone who tired it and gets it, unlike those who based on nothing claim that is cannot work and would never be useful.
Clearly a lot of people find it so. In most cases I find it easy enough to arrive at a very acceptable print without split-grade. Similarly, I don’t feel a need for f-stop timing.Split printing is the easiest way to arrive at an acceptable result.
Ah, but there’s the rub. I may wallow in the sheer beauty of a nice silver gelatine print, but I always wonder whether I could do better. Hence my interest in @Craig’s assertion that a split-grade print is intrinsically better than a single-grade print of the same contrast. Always open to being persuaded if it isn’t just a question of preference.The ultimate test for everyone though is if you are satisfied with your prints then you are doing ok.
Clearly a lot of people find it so. In most cases I find it easy enough to arrive at a very acceptable print without split-grade. Similarly, I don’t feel a need for f-stop timing.
Ah, but there’s the rub. I may wallow in the sheer beauty of a nice silver gelatine print, but I always wonder whether I could do better. Hence my interest in @Craig’s assertion that a split-grade print is intrinsically better than a single-grade print of the same contrast. Always open to being persuaded if it isn’t just a question of preference.
The extreme filters, #00 and #5 are sharp-cut filters. The #00 filter basically passes no blue and the #5 filter passes no green. Use them for split-grade printing to eliminate any possible effect from intermediate wavelengths.OK, so where does this leave under-lens filter sets used with a tungsten bulb? Are they sharp-cut filters? Does the effect @Craig reports apply to split-grade printing using them?
Dichroic filtration, when not set on maximum density, passes a broad spectrum of light. Only at the extremes do you get (relatively) sharp-cut filtration from a dichroic head.Alright, that clears it up. I don't agree that conventional printing would necessarily involve a broad spectrum exposure; I think in many people's practice, that's not what it is. It's not in mine, and never has been, since I've always used either dichroic filters ....
Dichroic filtration, when not set on maximum density, passes a broad spectrum of light.
Yes. Many don't realize that most dichroic heads work by simply moving the dichroic filters into and out of the light path. When the filter is only partially engaged, only partial filtering takes place. At 25M, only a tiny bit of the magenta filter is in the light path. The rest is unfiltered tungsten light from the enlarger bulb. Ditto for any other intermediate setting.To clarify, when I wrote that bit, I was thinking not just of the color heads I've used but also/mostly the 500H system I used for a few years. Dichroic filters in principle are quite sharp cutoff as you remarked earlier. That of course still allows additional broad spectrum light to be blended into the mix.
Isn't that what these fora are for?... Anyway, we digress, I suppose.
Pretty typical of what I need to do a lot of times. Notice that there's a lot of edge and corner burning; basically dealing with fall-off. And, often a too-contrasty negative and a lot of dodging and burning makes a better print than one "tailored" for the paper contrast. Mid-tones get a lot more separation and the important extremes get dodged or burned.I received an email from Magnum this morning notifying me of a new series of analog prints they are offering. Check out the extent of the dodging and burning on those prints. Is that typical of what you do? Is there some characteristic or defect in films and papers that necessitates such elaborate hand waving? Or is it all artistic interpretation? Also, I didn't notice any notations on split grade printing, or the use of multiple contrast filters.
Darkroom Prints
Magnum Darkroom Prints reveal an analog history — how depth and layers are accentuated through the printing process and how the subject is brought to life. Featuring the marks and inscriptions by Magnum master printer Pablo Inirio, seen below, or in some cases the photographer themself, these...www.magnumphotos.com
Some of my prints have a lot of dodging and burning, maybe not quite as elaborate. I suspect those prints shown predate multi-grade papers.I received an email from Magnum this morning notifying me of a new series of analog prints they are offering. Check out the extent of the dodging and burning on those prints. Is that typical of what you do? Is there some characteristic or defect in films and papers that necessitates such elaborate hand waving? Or is it all artistic interpretation? Also, I didn't notice any notations on split grade printing, or the use of multiple contrast filters.
Darkroom Prints
Magnum Darkroom Prints reveal an analog history — how depth and layers are accentuated through the printing process and how the subject is brought to life. Featuring the marks and inscriptions by Magnum master printer Pablo Inirio, seen below, or in some cases the photographer themself, these...www.magnumphotos.com
I received an email from Magnum this morning notifying me of a new series of analog prints they are offering.
Are they actually produced in a darkroom on photo paper exposed under an enlarger? I ask because when I clicked on the details it says they are:
That sure sounds a lot like an inkjet print to me, I'm not aware of any silver-gelatin paper made by Hahnemuhle.
- Archival Pigment Print
- Printed on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta paper
Why would they be darkroom prints?
I doubt Magnum is selling any newly made silver gelatin prints, except maybe for special commissions. In an interview from about 7 years ago, Magnum's printer, Pablo Inirio, said he was "freelancing". As for the dodging and burning charted on the work prints, he said, "I have my notes and I follow them as much as I can, but it changes from day to day; I can do it one way one day, and the next day, for some reason, totally different." Interview here.
Interesting, thanks. Inirio's notes on the James Dean photo are just as complicated as those shown earlier (also by him? - yes I thought the style was the same). So I'm not clear whether they were for silver-gel printing or for inkjet?
Did someone with good handwriting just copy them over from the originals? Or did a contemporary printer mark down his burn and dodge notes for these old negatives?
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