Finished Negatives ~ Ready for Printing

I am sticking my neck out a bit here posting a negative as finished, before printing. It certainly won't be the first run around the block I've made for naught. I am fairly confident of this negative and these densities though, due to the last negative out; Stagecoach on Main Street, which printed right on the pre-visualized density range/relationship, as hoped. The negatives following have all been prepped the same way, roughly with the same density range and relationship as that one. The optimal word here being 'roughly', being the process utilizes visual inspection in setting the actual densities. There is no scientific or mathematical formula for this route. Old fashioned visual inspection brings this about. Sort of titillating, no?

I'm bringing up the terms range, and relationship separately simply because I believe them to be separate yet dependent variables affecting the negative, and hence the finished image. Once again, density range denotes the difference between the thinnest density of a negative (Zone I) and the densest density (Zone VIII), the basis of which means that when the 'print time' has been reached, Zone VII will have printed in, with the expected textural detail, and all Zones beneath Zone VII will also be printed in according to their relationship to other existing densities. That's the handshake.

Once a printable density range has been identified and applied to the negative image, the shape of the contrast index curve, more specifically the relationship between the tonal densities of that negative, is then created by defining the relationship of the tonal densities. By using the Curves function, bulging the curve to add overall density, shapes the curve to favor middle tones, decreasing the amount of the image's lower tonal values, and some highlight values. Utilizing the contrast function, then adding dichromate to the sensitizer, or developer, for increased contrast range reverses this, with most of the print image either as Zone 1-3 or Zone 7-8, with very little if any middle tones. Both processes produce finished images of beauty. They both have very different visual qualities.

The point of which is simply this. The choice of how your final print will look is yours to make, when preparing the negative. My personal view being that this should be done with each image to be printed, on its own merits, and personal choice of the mood of the image, bases upon those choices. Each printer has to find a process that accords to how they want their prints to look. There are numerous processes from which to choose.

One negative; two density ranges ~ two different density relationships
Original Negative;

What would have been a 'soft' negative when I began working with digital negatives, is now very hot, when also applying the spectral density. The woman in the doorway, and the storefront area behind her were depressed when trying to print down the roof & building area top of print.












Updated Negative; shorter density range with increased density in the lower tonal ranges.

The densities on the roof area is not that much more than the rest of the densities. I have not defined any part of this print where Zone VIII will be present. The only area I can see where Zone VII might show up is the strip of sunlight that separates the roof from the upper building facade. This is not planned as a full scale 8 zone print. The highlight area may reach Zone VII when all other values reach their respective print time. What can be seen is the redistribution of density values in a slightly different relationship to each other.