Toning B&W Slides with Kala Namak

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Posted to give an idea about what scanner saw and what got edited in Lightroom, as it'll inevitably look different than what's posted above on the light table.

I could be wrong, but the scanner probably got the color balance wrong and hence the pink tone in the highlights. The colors in the light table pic are closer to what you see in the slides.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

I could be wrong, but the scanner probably got the color balance wrong

No, my friend - you're EXACTLY RIGHT - will remove/update the nonsense I posted - thanks for pointing this out.

It does look like what's on the table + slight pink cast.
It's the age old Plustek 7600i Ai set to Positives and 16bit color. And got the tone wrong. How can I tell my scanner this?

 

[Ivo Stunga]

While I appreciate the sentiment, I have hard time accepting such deviation and there's far more accurate examples I've posted already in those strips, so it's not really a loss. Good riddance I'd say + I need to speak with my scanner.

That or to tone Highlights selectively in Lightroom to match the projection more closely, I'll repost those examples if I'll come ± close.

I can do better and should've never posted it

 

[MattKing]

I need to speak with my scanner

Careful what you say - in my experience, they tend to hold a grudge .

 

[nmp]

While I appreciate the sentiment, I have hard time accepting such deviation and there's far more accurate examples I've posted already in those strips, so it's not really a loss. Good riddance I'd say + I need to speak with my scanner.

That or to tone Highlights selectively in Lightroom to match the projection more closely, I'll repost those examples if I'll come ± close.

I can do better and should've never posted it

If you have color corrected grey card, you can scan it in and then use that to correct your slide scan color temp.

:Niranjan.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

All I have is an IT8 calibration slide that doesn't help, a pair of eyes popping out of a brain that sports lack of understanding of color/skill of balancing it - wish me luck
Here's a kicker: EOS 400D with WB set at Tungsten looks correct on it's LCD. But when said RAW gets Imported in LR and WB set to Tungsten, I takes on a pinkish cast too, far less dramatic. So I'll have to work with my scans from projection on the side for better representation.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

But when said RAW gets Imported in LR and WB set to Tungsten, I takes on a pinkish cast too, far less dramatic. So I'll have to work with my scans from projection on the side for better representation.

You may want to adjust Temp and Tint on LR to get the colors on the screen match the projection.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

You may want to adjust Temp and Tint on LR to get the colors on the screen match the projection.

That's the first thing I did, but correcting highlight cast this way messed up the rest of the picture and I didn't get anywhere, so I'm thinking of Split Toning in LR - That'll work just visually by comparison and leave the rest alone.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Kala Namak is a popular edible salt which can be used as a substitute for direct polysulfide toners as originally demonstrated by @nmp for salt prints. The salt can be used as indirect sepia toner for B&W slides and silver gelatin prints, as a second developer in B&W reversal processing and also as a nucleating agent. The easy availability of the salt across the world, the relative safety of the toner compared to more toxic alternatives, and its remarkable effectiveness in sepia toning make Kala Namak toning an interesting subject for experimentation and study. This thread is meant for sharing and discussing your experience of using Kala Namak for toning B&W slides.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

lol I solved this by working with the same scan in LR > Develop > Treatment: Black And White, and replicated the effect very closely just by doing Split Toning alone. Good, won't have to deal with bloated files and this way I can represent my toned slides to the best of my current ability.

Will post my scans and LR > Before/After at the new, appropriate topic.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

Here are my color-corrected scans.
It was best not to scan them at 16bit color and let the scanner get autoconfused, but to do the regular 16bit BW scanning workflow and replicate the effect very closely (side by side comparison with projected image) in Lightroom > Split Toning - down to the slight pink cast in highlights.


BKF: Kūdras apsaimniekošanas traktortehnika


A double

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Looks good!

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

I scanned some slides that I had toned using Kala Namak toner as described in post #30. Here is how the sepia tone on the slides looks like.

Here is one more example. Kodak Double X.

 

[pentaxuser]

Careful what you say - in my experience, they tend to hold a grudge .

Only likely to occur, surely Matt, if you call it a regressive and say you will hold it to account?

pentaxuser

 

[Ivo Stunga]

Careful what you say - in my experience, they tend to hold a grudge .

I guess they're in league with Satan Printers.


Had another blast today - pushing Kentmere 400 2 stops and doing partial redevelopment/toning. A stack of two toned slides ready for projection. Reversed as normal > 3min redevelopment > Wash > Toning to completion > Fix.


I heard you like Kala Namak so while I was cooking with Kala Namak I took a picture of Kala Namak and toned it in Kala Namak.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

That's a cool idea and excellent result!

 

[nmp]

I guess they're in league with Satan Printers.


Had another blast today - pushing Kentmere 400 2 stops and doing partial redevelopment/toning. A stack of two toned slides ready for projection. Reversed as normal > 3min redevelopment > Wash > Toning to completion > Fix.


I heard you like Kala Namak so while I was cooking with Kala Namak I took a picture of Kala Namak and toned it in Kala Namak.

Damn...this is good...you guys are taking this to new heights.

I'd like to see some silver gelatin paper now....

:Niranjan.

 

[MattKing]

I'd like to see some silver gelatin paper now....

I'm working on it!

 

[nmp]

I'm working on it!

Looking forward to it....we will have to bifurcate the thread all over again....

:N

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Here're a few results from my recent attempt at split toning using Kala Namak toner. This is Kodak Double X film reversal processed. I used a diluted Kala Namak toner (1/2 TSP in 500ml water) as the second developer for about five minutes and then completed the second development in a regular B&W developer.

#1:

#2:

#3:

Split-toning of slides via second development is a bit tricky as you get only one chance. On the positive side, it gives finer grain than full sepia toning and finer detail than partial bleach followed by sepia toning.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

Damn...this is good...you guys are taking this to new heights.

THANK YOU

Here're a few results from my recent attempt at split toning using Kala Namak toner.

Sweet, man!

And let's not forget these hard working men, literally bringing a mountain to us!

 

[nmp]

Here're a few results from my recent attempt at split toning using Kala Namak toner. This is Kodak Double X film reversal processed. I used a diluted Kala Namak toner (1/2 TSP in 500ml water) as the second developer for about five minutes and then completed the second development in a regular B&W developer.

#1:
View attachment 297645


#2:
View attachment 297646

#3:
View attachment 297725

Split-toning of slides via second development is a bit tricky as you get only one chance. On the positive side, it gives finer grain than full sepia toning and finer detail than partial bleach followed by sepia toning.

Those look great indeed. When you say split tone, you meant warm tone towards the highlights and the shadows more neutral, right? I may be wrong, but I am seeing fairly even warm tone all over - perhaps KN is too fast as the first developer or it is fairly linear across the tonal range?

:Niranjan.

 

[nmp]

THANK YOU


Sweet, man!

And let's not forget these hard working men, literally bringing a mountain to us!

Thanks for the video link. Very interesting. I wonder if there is one for how they convert this Pink Salt to the Kala Namak that we are using. That seems like a mystery to me.

Regarding your picture of Kala Namak, did you arrange it in some kind of circular pattern?

:Niranjan.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

When you say split tone, you meant warm tone towards the highlights and the shadows more neutral, right? I may be wrong, but I am seeing fairly even warm tone all over - perhaps KN is too fast as the first developer or it is fairly linear across the tonal range?

That was my intent but as you noted the warm tone is through out the tonal range. I suspect this way of split toning, i.e. first using a dilute Kala Namak toner as the second developer and completing the second development in a regular reversal second developer might not achieve true split toning.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

Regarding your picture of Kala Namak, did you arrange it in some kind of circular pattern?

No, it's a visual pattern created by overlaying and rotating one layer a bit. And packing said sandwich in a slide mount to project/scan/enjoy