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living
with
Roll
Film
Exposure The virtues of Zone System discipline
may seem unavailable when each frame is not to be
individually developed. It is, however, possible to
preserve a good bit of Zone System rigor with
several useful tricks.
When the luminance range for
each frame in the roll is within acceptable limits,
and highlight tonality can be achieved with normal
(N) development, exposure of each frame can be
determined on the basis of low value placement by
traditional Zone System methods.
In an environment where
differences in the luminance range will require
abnormal development of select frames within the
roll, expose as if selective development
WILL be
possible and BE
SURE to note exposure
AND development data, as if single
negatives were being made.
When the roll is finished and
the range of development (N minus to N plus) can be
assessed, develop the roll for the frame requiring
the lowest contrast Contrast Index. The key here is
to expose AS IF
YOU WERE using a view
camera - "Expose for the shadows!"
Development
For ROLL
FILM, the old mandate to
"Expose for the shadows. Develop for the
highlights." is easily followed for the former,
probably impossible for the latter. As a result,
post-processing contraction or expansion is the
only available option. - I have chosen expansion.
- Determine the minimum
development needed for each film/developer
combination, while maintaining optimal
printability with various paper/developer
combinations. What is the maximum N-minus
development.
- Devise procedures for
achieving N-plus results.
- Selenium Toning
- Kodak Rapid
Selenium Toner not only alters the tone of
silver prints but also silver negatives.
In the process, the density of silver rich
areas of the negative is increased. There
is no change where there is no silver, and
the appearance of grain is not increased.
Sounds like the perfect intensifier.
- As per my original
notes, I use 1 part Kodak Rapid Selenium
Toner and 2 parts Heico Perma Wash working
solution. Ansel Adams, in his book
"The Negative", suggests 1:2 or 1:3.
Depending on the film, and degree of
intensification, I swirl individual frames
in a beaker for up to 5 minutes. If the
entire roll needs treatment, I use the
developing tank and agitate
constantly.
- Each film/developer
combination will react differently. Tech
Pan developed with Rodinal is quite active
and CAN achieve N+2 to N+3 results. At the
other end of the spectrum, film (including
Tech Pan) developed with PMK Pyro shows
little to no enhancement.
- Since Kodak Rapid
Selenium Toner is a solution of ammonium
thiosulfate (same stuff as Kodak Rapid
Fixer), you have essentially just re-fixed
the film and must go through your wash
cycle again. It is interesting that early
on, the suggestion was made to mix Kodak
Rapid Selenium Toner with Hypo Clearing
Agent or PermaWash - now Kodak recommends
plain water - and I doubt that it makes
any difference. It is simply that after a
half-century, I'm too old to change
Digital Negatives for Contact Printing
Computer control over imagery provides unlimited
opportunities and demanding constraints. Just as
traditional photography requires a negative with
sufficient information, so too does the digital
"file". The quality of the final image is indeed
tied to the quality of the source - "There is no
free lunch!" BUT, the opportunities are indeed
limitless and the introduction of "archival" inks
and paper, and the ability to make traditional
prints from digital negatives, make this one of the
most exciting advances in the history of
photography. It certainly adds a new dimension to
the use of roll film.
Printing
- Bleaching
W. Eugene Smith was the
absolute master of this, described in detail by
Mr. Smith himself in Darkroom.
The bleaching effect of potassium ferricyanide
is greatly enhanced by the addition of sodium
thiosulfate (hypo). The potassium ferricyanide
working solution shown above, when used by
itself, will work VERY
slowly - BUT
IT WILL WORK!. If hypo
is added to the ferricyanide solution or if hypo
is applied to the print, the bleaching action is
accelerated. Control over the process is gained
by alternately applying bleach , water, and hypo
in varying amounts. One can apply several bleach
cycles without seeing any change, then immerse
the print in hypo, and discover either a thing
of beauty, or horror. It all depends on the
amount of bleach still in the print emulsion
when applying the hypo. It DOES take a while to master the
process, but the results can be
rewarding.
Stock solution - 75g.
potassium ferricyanide, water to make 1
Liter
Working solution - (1:10 dilution) 91ml stock
solution, water to make 1 Liter.
Hypo - 240g. sodium thiosulfate, water to
make 1 Liter
Dry Bleaching
Ansel Adams, in his
book The Print, mentions "clearing the
highlights" with a Farmers Reducer
solution. When a dried, but not toned,
print is immersed in the working solution
of potassium ferricyanide, for a limited
time (5-30 seconds), the high values are
affected first as the solution soaks into
the emulsion. The print is then immersed
in water to neutralize the bleach, then
hypo to finish the bleaching process.
Little if any result may be seen during
the initial "bleaching" process, the final
result depending on how long the print is
immersed then rinsed prior to being
treated with the hypo. With care, the
process can be controlled to effectively
increase the overall contrast of the
print.
- Variable Contrast
printing paper.
Contrast control can be
achieved with variable contrast printing paper
in 3 ways. The results of each technique, using
the same paper, will be quite different, and the
results of any of the three processes with
different VC papers will also be quite
different.
- Using
filtration of a single color for the entire
exposure.
- The traditional
method of exposing variable contrast
paper, where varying amounts of yellow or
magenta filtration simulate the various
grades of printing paper.
- Using different
filtration for the low, and high contrast
emulsions.
- Method where pure
yellow filtration is used to find the
proper exposure for the highlights, then
pure magenta filtration is used to darken
the low values.
- Use of special
developers to adjust contrast.
Time honored contrast control
- Beers Two-Solution Developer - Dektol &
Selectol Soft.
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