Tweaking color chemistry for artistic effect

peoplemerge

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Hey guys,

I'm on a color theory kick, and looking for controlled/repeatable ways to distort the processed image using chemistry. I have a lot of base chemicals at my disposal, CD-2, CD-3, as well as a huge amount of fresh C41, E6, and RA4, and I'm looking for a way to learn about how they bind in order to do things like isolate one primary color or gradient, leaving the others desaturated. Or more than one color. I have the equipment and knowledge to do this in a print using my enlarger using masks and color packs, but if it can be done chemically, that would allow me to apply these to experimental motion picture.

I'm totally open to either learning cool things you've tried, and if I have to learn enough photo chemistry to be dangerous, I'm down! (Edit: I have a book by George T. Eaton, "Photographic Chemistry" which has a few chapters on color).

Thanks!
Savage Glory Photography
 

koraks

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I think your best bet would be to selectively bleach colors. Theres a kodak tech pub on bleaches for color dyes somewhere with separate bleaches for C, M and Y.
 

Rudeofus

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You should be able to throw off the color balance by adding small amounts of Phenyl-Mercaptotetrazole to first developer or color developer and extending development. The idea is, that PMT binds extremely tightly to silver and will therefore be used up in the top most layers of your film. Another way to cause color mayhem would be addition of color couplers to your color developer, e.g. from these Rockland toner kits. With C-41 you could also think about bleach bypass processing, then use red/blue/sulfur toner on the silver left behind.

Do you plan to pursue this as a larger artistic project, or do you just search for some quick procedures to better understand the materials and their chemistry?
 
OP
OP

peoplemerge

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Neat... is that available in any consumer-available US products/sources?

Rudeofus said:
Another way to cause color mayhem would be addition of color couplers to your color developer, e.g. from these Rockland toner kits.
Click to expand...

Yes! Now that's a fascinating idea. I'll try that.

Rudeofus said:
With C-41 you could also think about bleach bypass processing, then use red/blue/sulfur toner on the silver left behind.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, I have some formulas for doing bleach bypass. Red/blue/sulfur toners are another great idea.

Rudeofus said:
Do you plan to pursue this as a larger artistic project, or do you just search for some quick procedures to better understand the materials and their chemistry?
Click to expand...

It's for an artistic project. I recently made a new friend who's an experimental cinematographer; like me is devoted to film. He also shoots stills on his Nikon and processes b/w film at home, so we're going to put in some time wet printing; I'm going to teach him the wet color processes.
 

kevs

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Cross-processing E6 film in C41 chems is a good way to get an odd look, results tend to be colour-shifted with odd casts and high contrast.
https://crossprocessing.info/
 
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