Another printed color layer has been added to the two gum prints, respectively. A magenta layer added to the black layer of The Swing, and a Yellow layer added to Old Jerome Hotel. The changes in color are, at this stage, minimal, in that not much color accumulation is visible, to me anyway, behind the overall yellow color stain from the dichromate. That stain will be cleared as the final step in the process, after all the printing has been done. Then all the true colors show up distinctly.
What can be detected, slightly, is the addition of textural detail in the image. Each thin coating adds to the detail, adding more textural quality each layer, which is why the many coatings are important to arrive at an image that shows full detail in the final print, not just smudged colors. I would be lying if I said I know ahead of time how many layers any given print will ultimately have, or the colors I will use in each coating, or in what order. Those decisions are made before each layer is added. What I will note is that there is some commonality in print layers for the first four coats, usually. That is, I tend to frame the print image using the basic CYMK colors, although in reverse order; KMYC.
Each of those color mixtures is based upon the makeup of the image. The Old Jerome Hotel image has a sky to consider, how to layer to end up with a blue sky. The Swing image has no sky, but it does have a lot of vegetation, with a tree front and center. The mixing density of each color is predicate on these considerations. More magenta, influences with blue creates a brown color, if the magenta were thinner, and the Yellow layer is more prominent, the following blue layer then leaves a green color. Added to the standard coating procedure, covering the entire image with said color, localized coatings begin to assist is further defining areas of the image to conform to a desired effect, like blue sky, or green vegetation, without also shifting colors in other areas. Printing a palladium or silver might be considered as a procedure, to be a two dimensional application. Making a gum print is a three dimensional procedure.
Another, and better reason I am a bit stingy with copying and showcasing these gum prints is simply due to my visual failings along with limitations in faithfully replicating said digital images. First off, I'm nearly color blind red/green, beyond other visual damages to my eyes. Showing an image not representative of the real thing doesn't do anyone any favors, and misrepresents the practice entirely.
I will capture the prints once they have advanced sufficiently to demonstrate real progress, visually and of course once they are finished and cleared.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Second Gum Print
Having built the second printing frame allows me to work two gum prints simultaneously. I'm not in such a hurry as to want more than two at a time. Each print is very personal. I only do one gum print. No A/P and no other copies. Just the one image.
This print I began two days ago, and have just finished printing a second layer, the Magenta layer. This print, as the one posted yesterday began with the Gouache black base coat. What I have found is that this method sets up the image very similarly to printing gum over a black & white print, with the original b& white print showcasing the image with the gum over layers coloring the print. There are times when a different layering procedure is called for.
This image is on the same Fabriano watercolor paper, same preparations of the paper. First coat was Gouache black. Second coat was Magenta, not a deeply colored coating. I don't use measurements for the pigment amount in the gum. I just know a small dab on the end of a paintbrush tip works about right. I mix the color and see how transparent it is, looking through the clear 1 Oz mixing cups. When I have the color I want, I mix it with the potassium dichromate (13% solution) in equal amounts. For now I'm using a 1" wide artists brush, which works but is a bit slow for coating the entire area without streaking. I will be finding a 2 1/2" artist's brush to do this work in the future.
Second coat: Black then Magenta;
Again, you can see that the black image has been printed in to about Zone 5, with the highlights remaining pretty much uncolored. This is where the layering begins to take shape, each layer adding a bit more texture and depth to the image.
This print I began two days ago, and have just finished printing a second layer, the Magenta layer. This print, as the one posted yesterday began with the Gouache black base coat. What I have found is that this method sets up the image very similarly to printing gum over a black & white print, with the original b& white print showcasing the image with the gum over layers coloring the print. There are times when a different layering procedure is called for.
This image is on the same Fabriano watercolor paper, same preparations of the paper. First coat was Gouache black. Second coat was Magenta, not a deeply colored coating. I don't use measurements for the pigment amount in the gum. I just know a small dab on the end of a paintbrush tip works about right. I mix the color and see how transparent it is, looking through the clear 1 Oz mixing cups. When I have the color I want, I mix it with the potassium dichromate (13% solution) in equal amounts. For now I'm using a 1" wide artists brush, which works but is a bit slow for coating the entire area without streaking. I will be finding a 2 1/2" artist's brush to do this work in the future.
Second coat: Black then Magenta;
Again, you can see that the black image has been printed in to about Zone 5, with the highlights remaining pretty much uncolored. This is where the layering begins to take shape, each layer adding a bit more texture and depth to the image.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Beginning a Gum Print
I have written on gum printing before, mostly focused on the freedom of personal expression it allows. Writing about hand coated processes, and printing in precious metals in particular, is fairly straight forward as a process goes, with some flexibility for print color or contrast. Gum printing is an open boundary as a printing procedure, hence, my resistance to talking about it. Actually teaching gum printing is something I believe should only be a mentor/student arrangement, not a classroom exercise, for a number of reasons.
What I have decided to do is simply show the results of my gums, as I print them, layer at a time. This will at least offer up some idea of how the process unfolds and what that might look like. I built a second printing frame for gum printing, which is very easy to do, and I will show how I do it. To begin, I would offer a look at the simple printing frame that can be made fairly easily and cheaply.
What I have decided to do is simply show the results of my gums, as I print them, layer at a time. This will at least offer up some idea of how the process unfolds and what that might look like. I built a second printing frame for gum printing, which is very easy to do, and I will show how I do it. To begin, I would offer a look at the simple printing frame that can be made fairly easily and cheaply.
I have found it expedient to simply buy an artist's easel board made of a fairly heavy Masonite, with cutout for a handle, as seen in the drawing. It comes as an 18"x18" easel board, and being it is dedicated to printing an 8x10 gum I cut the top 4" off to have a 14" glass plate fit top to bottom. I use a 3/16" piece of glass to ensure there is no flexing when holding down the negative. I am looking for very flat compression evenly distributed over the entire area.
As the dotted line indicates, that is how I attach the glass to the board, using two inch wide reinforced packing tape, with the threads running through it. It is basically a hinge mount tape job, just the width of the glass. I use two or three layers offset a bit for best hinge results. The final piece of the printer frame is a simple metal clamp bought at a hardware or art supply store. Simply clamp the glass to the frame at the closed end at the bottom. A simple printing frame.
Paper preparation consists of three stages;
Hot water soaking for pre-shrinking the paper. This is a very important step. Do not shirk that duty. The water should be 120 degrees, soaking the each sheet for at least thirty seconds. One minute would be better, the problem is keeping the water hot through more than one sheet.
Sizing; I size using a 2 1/2% solution of Knox Gelatin at 110 degrees, soaking the paper for the same thirty seconds to one minute.
Repeat the sizing a second time, same % solution at the same temperature.
Paper; I prefer to use Arches 140# Hot Press watercolor paper. The prints I am making now are on Fabriano 140# Hot Press watercolor paper. The texture is different, with the Fabriano a bit more textured on the surface.
For a good percentage of my gums I begin with the black layer, using Gouache black. That maximizes the black base representing Zone 1 and some Zone 2, based upon personal choice. When printed in just right, the image will look like a sort of faded black and white image, a sort of framework of the image. The print time and float time are the two tools you have for controlling the print image, how much will be pretty much permanent and what will wash off in a short float time. For me, the float time shouldn't exceed five minutes.
Other tools of gum printing is warmed water, soft water spray through a controlled valve and a very soft brush for touching areas just enough to remove gum without losing the image. Slight agitation also increases the floating affect, removing gum.
First coat of gum; black
The image has begun to fill in to about Zone 5, leaving the shadowed areas as well as some of the middle tones with the black base. The print time for this layer was 7 minutes, just enough to fill in the tonal range up to about Zone 5. The next layer will be Magenta, and the print time will be increased to about 10 minutes to fill in the upper tonal ranges. Not too much Magenta, which would then mix with the next Yellow layer and become Orange. Some is good, as Orange and the next layer of Cyan (blue) will then become Brown. This is subtractive color theory. What is important to note is that the upper tonal ranges are not yet printed in.
Kallitype Print Tests
I have begun printing a gum, finally, after multiple days of preparing the paper. This in conjunction with the Kallitype printing. I can say that the first coat was successful, leaving a nice black framework of the image, sort of like a soft black and white print, not fully printed in, which was the goal. Anyone who has printed a gum knows there is more than one way of laying down the color layers and in what order. When I began printing gums the only material on the subject at the time was The Keepers of Light, which outlined the basic procedure. Over the years I have altered the order, and added an element or two, that for me, enhances the final image.
I won't be photographing the progress of the gum as it proceeds each color layer, as the gum process is such that any attempt to standardize the process does a disfavor to anyone wanting to learn the process. Not much different than teaching someone how to 'paint'. In what style, and medium becomes the question. Gum printing is a very personal approach to expressing a subjective handling of the process, unlike other historical processes, whereupon there are basic, sometimes rigid boundaries that cannot be altered. Printing in silver, as in salt paper or Kallitype, variations to solution percentages and developers are available, variations upon the theme. Yet the basic relationship of silver to salt or iron binder remains fairly constant. Same with Van Dyke and Cyanotype processes. Chemically, the boundaries are there for a reason. Not so with gum.
I spent yesterday testing out part of a Kallitype procedure that was employed earlier, in PJ's darkroom, which now, simply doesn't work well for the final image. Two things that differ from then to now. When mixing the silver with the ferric oxalate back then, there was a slight fizzing upon mixing. Now, absolutely none. Back then when printing a Kallitype the image became darker and filled in more of the tonal range; from Z1 up thru Z5 (usually) before developing, when the image would fully fill in. Now, even after ten minutes not much of the image appears, but can be slightly detected to appear to include Z4, maybe. When developer is poured on the print, the image is fully developed and dark immediately.
I'm not a chemist but it would seem to me that two variations of ferric oxalate are being employed. However, memory being that I ordered the said ferric oxalate both times from Bostick & Sullivan, and there is but one ferric oxalate powder. There is ammonium ferric oxalate and even ferric ammonium oxalate, but then I don't order either of those chemicals. That continues to be an unknown until I am able to make some comparisons with the two oxalate containers.
The tests I did with the Kallitype print was pre-rinsing the print in water before development. A second procedural change, once done at PJ's darkroom and now. Pre-rinsing the print then, cleared much of the unused silver to rinse off before development. Development was a bit slower then than now. Pre-rinsing the Kallitype in my darkroom yesterday also rinsed away unused silver, enough so that not much of the image was left to develop. The image was a faint wisp at 7 minutes, which fully printed in un-rinsed prints. At 13 minutes the image was strengthened, yet remained only about half of the textural part of the image. At 20 minutes, further fill in of the image, yet still seemingly without much of the textural quality that is so vital to the final image.
I won't be photographing the progress of the gum as it proceeds each color layer, as the gum process is such that any attempt to standardize the process does a disfavor to anyone wanting to learn the process. Not much different than teaching someone how to 'paint'. In what style, and medium becomes the question. Gum printing is a very personal approach to expressing a subjective handling of the process, unlike other historical processes, whereupon there are basic, sometimes rigid boundaries that cannot be altered. Printing in silver, as in salt paper or Kallitype, variations to solution percentages and developers are available, variations upon the theme. Yet the basic relationship of silver to salt or iron binder remains fairly constant. Same with Van Dyke and Cyanotype processes. Chemically, the boundaries are there for a reason. Not so with gum.
I spent yesterday testing out part of a Kallitype procedure that was employed earlier, in PJ's darkroom, which now, simply doesn't work well for the final image. Two things that differ from then to now. When mixing the silver with the ferric oxalate back then, there was a slight fizzing upon mixing. Now, absolutely none. Back then when printing a Kallitype the image became darker and filled in more of the tonal range; from Z1 up thru Z5 (usually) before developing, when the image would fully fill in. Now, even after ten minutes not much of the image appears, but can be slightly detected to appear to include Z4, maybe. When developer is poured on the print, the image is fully developed and dark immediately.
I'm not a chemist but it would seem to me that two variations of ferric oxalate are being employed. However, memory being that I ordered the said ferric oxalate both times from Bostick & Sullivan, and there is but one ferric oxalate powder. There is ammonium ferric oxalate and even ferric ammonium oxalate, but then I don't order either of those chemicals. That continues to be an unknown until I am able to make some comparisons with the two oxalate containers.
The tests I did with the Kallitype print was pre-rinsing the print in water before development. A second procedural change, once done at PJ's darkroom and now. Pre-rinsing the print then, cleared much of the unused silver to rinse off before development. Development was a bit slower then than now. Pre-rinsing the Kallitype in my darkroom yesterday also rinsed away unused silver, enough so that not much of the image was left to develop. The image was a faint wisp at 7 minutes, which fully printed in un-rinsed prints. At 13 minutes the image was strengthened, yet remained only about half of the textural part of the image. At 20 minutes, further fill in of the image, yet still seemingly without much of the textural quality that is so vital to the final image.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Follow up Kallitype
I made this Kallitype print the same day I printed "Barrel on Main Street", as the negatives for both images were printed at the same time. The treatment was the same. This image has much more highlight areas and textural middle tones than most other images. The bricks above the two cowboys are white, representing Zone 7, which has been the trickiest tonal range to get right in the printing.
I am learning the subtleties of the faint image showing up during printing, how much is actually printed in. One might say a similar exercise in visual inspection of a negative during development, using paracriptol green, likely misspelled. The latent image can be seen, if you know what you're looking for. Kim Weston knows about that, having developed 850 8x10 negatives his father sent him one summer for developing using visual inspection. Makes digital negative work laughably easy by comparison.
Palladium toned Kalllitype
"Longhorn Restaurant" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
I am learning the subtleties of the faint image showing up during printing, how much is actually printed in. One might say a similar exercise in visual inspection of a negative during development, using paracriptol green, likely misspelled. The latent image can be seen, if you know what you're looking for. Kim Weston knows about that, having developed 850 8x10 negatives his father sent him one summer for developing using visual inspection. Makes digital negative work laughably easy by comparison.
Palladium toned Kalllitype
"Longhorn Restaurant" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Arriving at a Print Time
All hand printers know that the print time for the medium being used is a most important part of the printing process. When I first began printing in hand coated mediums, I had only the sun for printing. Now, with a Solar Printer on hand half the equation has been formalized. The other half of course has to do with the negative. Ultimately, it is the density range that conforms to a hand coated medium characteristics that shapes the finished print. Nothing new.
The first hand coated process I learned was the salt paper process. It is the most straight forward and simplest of most other mediums. It is a printing out process, which allows full inspection all along the way, until the desired image is at hand, before further processing. For whatever reason I had back then, I settled on a very long scaled negative, as is usually the accepted view view; using a negative with a density range of Log 1.2 to 1.8. For the salt paper process such a negative prints best with a salted paper of 2 1/2% salt solution and 13% silver solution (my formula). I still have the portfolio of those fifteen prints, all untoned and as pristine as when they were printed.
The new reality being simply that with the use of digital negatives and the printer I have, reaching the equivalent of a Log 1.2 or higher negative is apparently not going to happen. What has become apparent is the the negatives I have printed, using the spectral density in the image, work well with a 10% silver solution, which happens to be the solution used in a Kallitype. Thus far, all the new prints from the new negatives have been Kallitype prints, for good reason. They all print at 7 minutes and end up with a full rich tonal range.
This of course indicates I have a print time for those negatives printed as Kallitypes. It also indicates that it is in my best interest to shift my salted paper formula to the 10% silver solution, beginning with 1 1/2% salted paper. That will roughly match the Kallitype printing range, better fitting the thinner negatives.
Most of the images in the Arizona Portfolio were digital images to begin with. The images of Jerome were shot with my Burke & James 5x7. All the images were printed using digital negatives. The developer I am using is the (black) sodium acetate developer.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Barrel on Main Street" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
The first hand coated process I learned was the salt paper process. It is the most straight forward and simplest of most other mediums. It is a printing out process, which allows full inspection all along the way, until the desired image is at hand, before further processing. For whatever reason I had back then, I settled on a very long scaled negative, as is usually the accepted view view; using a negative with a density range of Log 1.2 to 1.8. For the salt paper process such a negative prints best with a salted paper of 2 1/2% salt solution and 13% silver solution (my formula). I still have the portfolio of those fifteen prints, all untoned and as pristine as when they were printed.
The new reality being simply that with the use of digital negatives and the printer I have, reaching the equivalent of a Log 1.2 or higher negative is apparently not going to happen. What has become apparent is the the negatives I have printed, using the spectral density in the image, work well with a 10% silver solution, which happens to be the solution used in a Kallitype. Thus far, all the new prints from the new negatives have been Kallitype prints, for good reason. They all print at 7 minutes and end up with a full rich tonal range.
This of course indicates I have a print time for those negatives printed as Kallitypes. It also indicates that it is in my best interest to shift my salted paper formula to the 10% silver solution, beginning with 1 1/2% salted paper. That will roughly match the Kallitype printing range, better fitting the thinner negatives.
Most of the images in the Arizona Portfolio were digital images to begin with. The images of Jerome were shot with my Burke & James 5x7. All the images were printed using digital negatives. The developer I am using is the (black) sodium acetate developer.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Barrel on Main Street" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
Friday, February 24, 2017
Kallitypes from Thinner Negatives
The second negative printed with the Pictorico seems to me visually thinner than even the first negative of Doc Holliday. That means more work with the printing side of things. If it turns out that the Kodak printer has reached its limit of laying down ink on acetate, then, for now, I will be focusing on Kallitype printing, until perhaps I rejigger the silver/salt formula to handle thinner negatives. That too.
For whatever reason, that at the moment seemed a good idea, I added another minute to the print time, after printing the Doc Holliday print. Hence, the final image is a bit dark for my taste. It is a good beginning for a final print to come, however. A number of the images in this portfolio were taken in Tombstone, during different photo ventures, with the intent of reducing or eliminating the vestiges of modernity, as much as was possible with visitors in town. Turns out I was able to accomplish that, over time. The image below is Main Street, I believe looking north. I will soon be printing a view of Main Street looking south.
The negatives printed with the Kodak are fairly consistent in print time, at this time 8 minutes. This image was given 9 minutes. No explanation for why of that. The print was developed in sodium acetate developer (black developer) and cleared in a bath of EDTA, before being toned in palladium, then fixed and cleared before final washing.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Main Street" ~ 8x10 ~ (unfinished print)
Tombstone, Arizona
For whatever reason, that at the moment seemed a good idea, I added another minute to the print time, after printing the Doc Holliday print. Hence, the final image is a bit dark for my taste. It is a good beginning for a final print to come, however. A number of the images in this portfolio were taken in Tombstone, during different photo ventures, with the intent of reducing or eliminating the vestiges of modernity, as much as was possible with visitors in town. Turns out I was able to accomplish that, over time. The image below is Main Street, I believe looking north. I will soon be printing a view of Main Street looking south.
The negatives printed with the Kodak are fairly consistent in print time, at this time 8 minutes. This image was given 9 minutes. No explanation for why of that. The print was developed in sodium acetate developer (black developer) and cleared in a bath of EDTA, before being toned in palladium, then fixed and cleared before final washing.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Main Street" ~ 8x10 ~ (unfinished print)
Tombstone, Arizona
Thursday, February 23, 2017
New Negatives ~ New Kallitype Prints
The packet of Pictorico acetate sheets has finally arrived. Very good news, being I printed the last of the possible negatives on hand. The Kodak printer is a bottom feed, and I can only imagine it loops over a roller system then printed on the outside, which would be the bottom. Apparently not. Feeding the sheets in with the rounded corner on the left top, indicating the treated print side is facing you, begets ink running all over what should be the treated side. Rounded corner on the left. Visual inspection of the sheet indicates to me that the above is back asswards. The filmy side looks to me to be facing me when the rounded corner is on the top left. I'm not thinking this is just me. It either works or it doesn't.
Nonetheless, flipping the sheet over gave me a fairly nice negative image, although visually, it appears thinner than how the image looks on a screen. Also noticeable is this negative appears a bit thinner than the first one I printed. This may be due to having also put in new ink cartridges. Another variable to figure in the calculus. In the end, the negative printed. Seeing the densities of the negative showed me that trying a salted silver print would end up flat, as before, so for now the new negatives will be Kallitype negatives. They would also be very nice gum negatives.
The first print is of Tombstone's Doc Holliday. I met him just stepping off the street, onto the boardwalk during a visit and invited his participation by telling him how smashing he looked as Doc Holliday. He posed I snapped and told him I would be bringing a likeness of him in a palladium print one day. That day is closing in swiftly.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Doc Holliday" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
Nonetheless, flipping the sheet over gave me a fairly nice negative image, although visually, it appears thinner than how the image looks on a screen. Also noticeable is this negative appears a bit thinner than the first one I printed. This may be due to having also put in new ink cartridges. Another variable to figure in the calculus. In the end, the negative printed. Seeing the densities of the negative showed me that trying a salted silver print would end up flat, as before, so for now the new negatives will be Kallitype negatives. They would also be very nice gum negatives.
The first print is of Tombstone's Doc Holliday. I met him just stepping off the street, onto the boardwalk during a visit and invited his participation by telling him how smashing he looked as Doc Holliday. He posed I snapped and told him I would be bringing a likeness of him in a palladium print one day. That day is closing in swiftly.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Doc Holliday" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Kalitype Print ~ Old Negative ~ Palladium Toned
As comparison to the newly printed negative of Miller's Store, posted yesterday, this Kallitype was made from one of the first digital negatives PJ printed for me on his very large Epson printer. That was before we began employing spectral density to the negatives, which, it turns out is mostly due to the prototype printer that PJ now owns. As I noted in the last post the negatives needed to have some something to add to the print time, as without the spectral density, print times on silver were but a scant few minutes, and for me, not a print time with image control. I probably shouldn't have said that, as the question will surely arise as to what the hell that might mean.
I have printed this image before, as a salted silver, with the problem for me at the time being it printed flat and needed much more density range. We were printing in sunlight at the time. There was much less predictability with that procedure. Of course it was the only way I had for printing thirty years ago and I did just fine. This image will be part of the Arizona Portfolio, once I have a final print. This one isn't entirely to my liking, and with a new negative I can correct the issues. One thing I can say at this time is that I will be reducing the density of the spectral density used on the negatives, to bring the print time down just a bit.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Old Jerome Hotel" ~ 8x10 (not a finished print)
Jerome, Arizona
I have printed this image before, as a salted silver, with the problem for me at the time being it printed flat and needed much more density range. We were printing in sunlight at the time. There was much less predictability with that procedure. Of course it was the only way I had for printing thirty years ago and I did just fine. This image will be part of the Arizona Portfolio, once I have a final print. This one isn't entirely to my liking, and with a new negative I can correct the issues. One thing I can say at this time is that I will be reducing the density of the spectral density used on the negatives, to bring the print time down just a bit.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Old Jerome Hotel" ~ 8x10 (not a finished print)
Jerome, Arizona
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
New Kallitype Print ~ Palladium Toning
Still I wait for my Pictorico, patiently, UPS and all, holding up the entire production line. In the meantime I pulled out old negatives, printed before I began employing spectral density to the negative image. What I am finding out is that the jump from the print distance of the first printer to my current printer is sufficient to warrant taking another look at the spectral density I'm currently using. It worked quite well in the prototype printer, 160W at 8" from the print. My current printer remains the same 160W at 12" from the print. I am working to arrive at a print time for silver between 10-15 minutes. That makes a gum print, using much thinner negatives less than ten minutes and a palladium print about the same, theoretically. Time will be the arbiter of that.
I have one negative I was able to print on the final sheet of acetate I had on hand, from the Arizona Portfolio. Being I can't yet reprint the negative to add densities for comparison, the negative came out well, and would print well as a salted silver if I used a 10% silver solution to a 1% - 1 1/2% salted paper. My paper is salted at 2 1/2% that a 13% solution of silver will be applied. My choice is to rework the negative to conform to that. Realizing that staying with a formula or procedure just 'cause that's the way it was always done, is not what you might call a good strategy. I fall pray to that from time to time. A new consideration for me is that I have begun shooting b&w film for development once again, for the purpose of printing 5x7 palladium prints, in a portfolio. The first will be the Old Barrios of Tucson, Arizona.
For a number of reasons, the old formula/process I employed thirty years ago needs to be revisited, tested against a different regimen that might satisfy printing in more than one medium, as a developed negative, as well as an enlarged version, which then can be altered for any medium. First stop for that test will be printing salted silver prints using 10% silver solution and 1 1/2% salted paper. The constant in this process, for me, is double coating. I firmly believe in that part of the process. Another aspect of the finished image is of course the toning. For this portfolio I am toning the prints in palladium. When I began printing the Kallitypes I used sodium citrate for the developer. This is a warm toned (brown) developer. I switched to sodium acetate as it is the (black) developer. The Kallitype leaves deep blacks that even palladium doesn't warm or soften. The palladium shows up in the middle and upper tones, as a warm tone. I believe befitting this portfolio, visually as well as historically.
The image I'm posting is from the negative I printed on the Kodak 3250 printer. Turns out, it is a bit flat, something I altered recently from the original, which had a considerably longer density range. Changing printers, and apparently darkrooms, has altered how the image is printing. The change in printing the Kallitypes, from printing sessions in PJ's darkroom, and now, remains considerably different, in that there is no printing in of the image now. Just the faint whisper of an image. What I have detected is the color change after ten minutes. The yellow gives way to a soft tan, with some darkening in areas outside the image. After ten minutes I could see Zone 1 and a smidgen of Zone 2 showing up, so I gave it another 5 minutes. The results, as closely replicated from the original print as I am able to muster digitally; below. For whatever reason I didn't crop off the coating edges. I'm still not happy with the image as it is, so there will be further printings after I can print a new negative.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Miller's Store" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
I have one negative I was able to print on the final sheet of acetate I had on hand, from the Arizona Portfolio. Being I can't yet reprint the negative to add densities for comparison, the negative came out well, and would print well as a salted silver if I used a 10% silver solution to a 1% - 1 1/2% salted paper. My paper is salted at 2 1/2% that a 13% solution of silver will be applied. My choice is to rework the negative to conform to that. Realizing that staying with a formula or procedure just 'cause that's the way it was always done, is not what you might call a good strategy. I fall pray to that from time to time. A new consideration for me is that I have begun shooting b&w film for development once again, for the purpose of printing 5x7 palladium prints, in a portfolio. The first will be the Old Barrios of Tucson, Arizona.
For a number of reasons, the old formula/process I employed thirty years ago needs to be revisited, tested against a different regimen that might satisfy printing in more than one medium, as a developed negative, as well as an enlarged version, which then can be altered for any medium. First stop for that test will be printing salted silver prints using 10% silver solution and 1 1/2% salted paper. The constant in this process, for me, is double coating. I firmly believe in that part of the process. Another aspect of the finished image is of course the toning. For this portfolio I am toning the prints in palladium. When I began printing the Kallitypes I used sodium citrate for the developer. This is a warm toned (brown) developer. I switched to sodium acetate as it is the (black) developer. The Kallitype leaves deep blacks that even palladium doesn't warm or soften. The palladium shows up in the middle and upper tones, as a warm tone. I believe befitting this portfolio, visually as well as historically.
The image I'm posting is from the negative I printed on the Kodak 3250 printer. Turns out, it is a bit flat, something I altered recently from the original, which had a considerably longer density range. Changing printers, and apparently darkrooms, has altered how the image is printing. The change in printing the Kallitypes, from printing sessions in PJ's darkroom, and now, remains considerably different, in that there is no printing in of the image now. Just the faint whisper of an image. What I have detected is the color change after ten minutes. The yellow gives way to a soft tan, with some darkening in areas outside the image. After ten minutes I could see Zone 1 and a smidgen of Zone 2 showing up, so I gave it another 5 minutes. The results, as closely replicated from the original print as I am able to muster digitally; below. For whatever reason I didn't crop off the coating edges. I'm still not happy with the image as it is, so there will be further printings after I can print a new negative.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Miller's Store" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Tombstone, Arizona
Monday, February 20, 2017
Variations Between Print Mediums
The more I wade into printing in the different printing mediums of even silver, the more it becomes clear to me that there are variations upon the theme, with much wider boundaries than imagined. The medium I printed in over the years, back in the day, was salted silver prints, the salt paper process. What I began printing last year was the Kallitype, which I've become quite fond of. As I mentioned in an earlier article, the Kallitype process is pretty much identical to the platinum/palladium printing process. Although I'm learning that a palladium process print can be printed to be developed out, or, it can be printed out, without needing a developer, just the EDTA clearing bath. I confess I recently learned that from reading to different 'Bibles' on hand coated processes, two different authors. Then you weigh in with Dan Burkholder for a third perspective.
There are things I know, because I've done it and have print in hand, or, there are things I've learned from updated reading of said authors writing the books on procedures. One of the things I've come to know is that printing with silver, or palladium salts, enjoy a wide range of printing styles, with a selection of developers for each medium, and even printing out processes can be altered to include a developer, such as the salt paper process. Black and white photography can be a very malleable process. Two such overlapping developers are sodium citrate and sodium acetate. Both can be used printing a Kallitype or a palladium print. EDTA is a better agent for clearing the iron from the paper than citric acid. The different between the two procedures is percentages of the constituent solutions. Kallitypes use 10% silver solution and 20% ferric oxalate. Palladium printing uses 15% chloropalladite solution with 27% solution of ferric oxalate, although one can use ferric ammonium oxalate for more contrast, as per said Bible on the subject. Just know, using the same negative, a Kallitype will print more contrasty, usually with much deeper blacks, than will a salt paper version, unless the silver solution used is at the lower end; 10% solution, same as the Kallitype. Altering the silver solution (as well as % salt solution respectively) alters the printable range.
What is different with the Kallitype process at my new darkroom, from printing Kallitypes at PJ's darkroom, is that the image formed as would be expected from a printing out print, with half, to perhaps 65% of the print would be printed in before the print was pulled and put in the developer. Now, using the same ferric oxalate from the same source, the image doesn't come up beyond a pale wispy image, yellowish of course due to the oxalate. After ten minutes under UV light, still no real image, but in a blink after the developer was poured over the print, there was a deep rich print with lots of dMax blacks.
The negative I used for that was from one printed before I began employing Burkholder's spectral density. The print I made this afternoon was from a newer negative I printed off the Kodak printer recently. That spectral density makes a vast difference. Ten minutes merely realized about half the desired image, perhaps filling in to say zone 5. Now the work will be to define the best amount of spectral density to use to reach a print time between 10-15 minutes for silver prints, which should be about a 7-9 minute palladium print. I will certainly know more after some testing though.
Paper preparations continue with the gum paper, now but one step from being ready to begin a print. Soon I will have a gum print to show for, layer at a time. For me, a good gum print will have at least six layers, a really fine one will have over a dozen. Printing larger gum prints is actually easier, being much easier to see the particulars of the print, especially at my age. I found a set of wide Sable type brushes that will make fine gum brushes. Very smooth coats, when a full coat is desired. Printing begins very soon.
There are things I know, because I've done it and have print in hand, or, there are things I've learned from updated reading of said authors writing the books on procedures. One of the things I've come to know is that printing with silver, or palladium salts, enjoy a wide range of printing styles, with a selection of developers for each medium, and even printing out processes can be altered to include a developer, such as the salt paper process. Black and white photography can be a very malleable process. Two such overlapping developers are sodium citrate and sodium acetate. Both can be used printing a Kallitype or a palladium print. EDTA is a better agent for clearing the iron from the paper than citric acid. The different between the two procedures is percentages of the constituent solutions. Kallitypes use 10% silver solution and 20% ferric oxalate. Palladium printing uses 15% chloropalladite solution with 27% solution of ferric oxalate, although one can use ferric ammonium oxalate for more contrast, as per said Bible on the subject. Just know, using the same negative, a Kallitype will print more contrasty, usually with much deeper blacks, than will a salt paper version, unless the silver solution used is at the lower end; 10% solution, same as the Kallitype. Altering the silver solution (as well as % salt solution respectively) alters the printable range.
What is different with the Kallitype process at my new darkroom, from printing Kallitypes at PJ's darkroom, is that the image formed as would be expected from a printing out print, with half, to perhaps 65% of the print would be printed in before the print was pulled and put in the developer. Now, using the same ferric oxalate from the same source, the image doesn't come up beyond a pale wispy image, yellowish of course due to the oxalate. After ten minutes under UV light, still no real image, but in a blink after the developer was poured over the print, there was a deep rich print with lots of dMax blacks.
The negative I used for that was from one printed before I began employing Burkholder's spectral density. The print I made this afternoon was from a newer negative I printed off the Kodak printer recently. That spectral density makes a vast difference. Ten minutes merely realized about half the desired image, perhaps filling in to say zone 5. Now the work will be to define the best amount of spectral density to use to reach a print time between 10-15 minutes for silver prints, which should be about a 7-9 minute palladium print. I will certainly know more after some testing though.
Paper preparations continue with the gum paper, now but one step from being ready to begin a print. Soon I will have a gum print to show for, layer at a time. For me, a good gum print will have at least six layers, a really fine one will have over a dozen. Printing larger gum prints is actually easier, being much easier to see the particulars of the print, especially at my age. I found a set of wide Sable type brushes that will make fine gum brushes. Very smooth coats, when a full coat is desired. Printing begins very soon.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Blip in the Road
All I have to post today are my apologies for not having a decent article to post. Intermingling with folks at close proximity at airports and busy turista destinations brings with it potentially nasty strains of things for which there may not even be a name for it. From a quick check using the tracking number of my order of Pictorico acetate film, the probability is good it should arrive about the time I regain the vigor needed for a full on printing binge. Once I have the acetate sheets in hand I will burn through them fairly quickly, being I have a folder full of images that will make up the Arizona Portfolio. The prints I have been posting derive of that portfolio. Ultimately, the portfolio will consists of 15 prints, which will fill a case.
What I can say at this time is that one of the images ready for printing is the one below, of two horses hitched to a wagon in front of a storefront on Main Street Tombstone. The single "Horse Head" image is from another angle, as is the third image of these horses, with their humans attending them, which also is ready for printing. What was most inviting of these horses was their being white, offering a point of chiaroscuro, between the white and black positioning. The Horse Head image was printed as a salted silver. The Kallitype version will greatly strengthen the blacks in the image.
First print will be a salted silver, followed by a Kallitype version.
What I can say at this time is that one of the images ready for printing is the one below, of two horses hitched to a wagon in front of a storefront on Main Street Tombstone. The single "Horse Head" image is from another angle, as is the third image of these horses, with their humans attending them, which also is ready for printing. What was most inviting of these horses was their being white, offering a point of chiaroscuro, between the white and black positioning. The Horse Head image was printed as a salted silver. The Kallitype version will greatly strengthen the blacks in the image.
First print will be a salted silver, followed by a Kallitype version.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Second Print ~ Kallitype
The second print I wanted to test out was a Kallitype, using a negative I began with several months ago, before I began using spectral density in the negative. For this to work feasibly I wanted to boost the contrast and reach a deep dMax black. This negative was a bit thin to make that happen with the salted silver process I am using. The primary control for contrast in salt paper printing is the mixture and relationship between the silver solution and percentage level of the salted paper. Shorter scale negatives will print much better with a 10% silver solution with a 1% to 1 1/2% salted paper. My negatives are scaled at approximately 1.2 to 1.5 so I use a 13% solution of silver and 2 1/2% salted paper.
The Standard Kallitype process uses a 10% solution of silver and a 20% solution of Ferric Oxalate. Even between darkrooms differences show up in printing. Even when they are unexplainable. A good case in point being the way the Kallitype print behaves in my darkroom as opposed to PJ's darkroom. When printing the Kallitypes in Pj's darkroom, for weeks, the image came up in the print, just like expected in a printing out process, although a Kallitype is a combination of both. The coated areas outside the negative field became very dark after several minutes, as one might expect sensitized paper. Not so when I printed in my new lab. Same ferric oxalate power, same 10% silver solution, but when I printed them I only got a wispy yellowish light image on the paper, after ten minutes under the printing light. I was getting a full salted paper print in about five minutes from the same printer.
Being this was not supposed to be happening in my mind, and experience, so I did what any good lab worker does, expect either contamination or mis-mixing. So I mixed both solutions again, paying very close attention to weights. Same thing, light wispy image after ten minutes, so the next thing was to see what happens when you pour developing over the print. The image appears faster than a blink of the eye. And the blacks were definitely dMax. I was really impressed, and expected with the amount of light I put to that print it would just turn black. Turns out the ten minutes will now be the print time for the next Kallitype.
Two things I have come to realize about Kallitypes in the past weeks. The 10% silver solution really boosts blacks and overall print contrast, compared to a salted silver print, at 13% silver solution, using the same negative. And secondly Kallitypes, like salted silver and palladium printing, can be accomplished in different ways with different outcomes, as well as, using the same procedure that unfolds very differently but ending up with the same outcome. I'll have more on this subject when I get into palladium printing, which can be both developed out or printed out. Who'd have thought.
One of the things I am still waiting for is the Pictorico OHP acetate sheets so I can begin printing the folder full of images I have to add to the Arizona Portfolio. For now I am preparing paper for gum printing. This round will be Fabriano 140lb hot press watercolor paper. Normally I use Arches, of the same weight & press. A very good tooth and good paper weight for the many coats to come.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Disuse #1" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Eugene, Oregon
The Standard Kallitype process uses a 10% solution of silver and a 20% solution of Ferric Oxalate. Even between darkrooms differences show up in printing. Even when they are unexplainable. A good case in point being the way the Kallitype print behaves in my darkroom as opposed to PJ's darkroom. When printing the Kallitypes in Pj's darkroom, for weeks, the image came up in the print, just like expected in a printing out process, although a Kallitype is a combination of both. The coated areas outside the negative field became very dark after several minutes, as one might expect sensitized paper. Not so when I printed in my new lab. Same ferric oxalate power, same 10% silver solution, but when I printed them I only got a wispy yellowish light image on the paper, after ten minutes under the printing light. I was getting a full salted paper print in about five minutes from the same printer.
Being this was not supposed to be happening in my mind, and experience, so I did what any good lab worker does, expect either contamination or mis-mixing. So I mixed both solutions again, paying very close attention to weights. Same thing, light wispy image after ten minutes, so the next thing was to see what happens when you pour developing over the print. The image appears faster than a blink of the eye. And the blacks were definitely dMax. I was really impressed, and expected with the amount of light I put to that print it would just turn black. Turns out the ten minutes will now be the print time for the next Kallitype.
Two things I have come to realize about Kallitypes in the past weeks. The 10% silver solution really boosts blacks and overall print contrast, compared to a salted silver print, at 13% silver solution, using the same negative. And secondly Kallitypes, like salted silver and palladium printing, can be accomplished in different ways with different outcomes, as well as, using the same procedure that unfolds very differently but ending up with the same outcome. I'll have more on this subject when I get into palladium printing, which can be both developed out or printed out. Who'd have thought.
One of the things I am still waiting for is the Pictorico OHP acetate sheets so I can begin printing the folder full of images I have to add to the Arizona Portfolio. For now I am preparing paper for gum printing. This round will be Fabriano 140lb hot press watercolor paper. Normally I use Arches, of the same weight & press. A very good tooth and good paper weight for the many coats to come.
Palladium toned Kallitype
"Disuse #1" ~ 8x10 ~ 1/5
Eugene, Oregon
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Windish Pyro Formula ~ Fully Compensating
After copious accolades over the Beutler formula, I have as many to hang on pyrocatechol, otherwise known as Pyrocatechin. There is another form of pyro; pyrogallol or pyrogallic acid. This form of pyro makes up a staining formula that is a bit trickier to use than pyrocatechin. Both are in white flake form, both highly oxidizing as they really absorb oxygen. In developer form, they don't have a very long shelf life, which is why I rejiggered the original Windish formula, mixed to 1000ml, to a one use then toss formula.
The Beutler formula is a semi-compensating formula, meaning the compensating action's affect is at the higher densities. The highlights. Pyro, on the other hand is a fully compensating developer, meaning it also alters densities below Zone 4, affecting the shadow detail. Pyro is also a 'tanning' developer, the tanning being part of the oxidizing arrangement, turns the negative to a chocolate brown, instead of the normal charcoal black of most negatives. It is the Preservative (sodium sulfite) that controls the amount of tanning action. The accelerator controls the energy of the developer and the ultimate acutance.
When the sodium sulfite is reduced, the tanning of the negative increases, however, there also occurs a bit of what might be said to be 'textural fogging' as it is the sodium sulfite that keeps the oxygen from being absorbed by the pyro, hence tanning/fogging. Too much sodium sulfite and it retards the pyro tanning that is desirable. One of the original accelerators used with pyrocatechen was the standard sodium carbonate. Actually a very good formula. However, once I switched to sodium hydroxide I never went back. Sodium hydroxide is the most volatile of all the photo chemicals. A quarter teaspoon of that plopped in a 1000ml beaker of cold water will make it boil. Should you make the mistake of pouring water over the same amount in a beaker, very bad things will happen, including burns to whatever part of your body the resulting chemical explosion reaches. Be very careful with sodium hydroxide.
The primary reason I altered the formula was due to this chemical's volatility. I mix a 10% solution of sodium hydroxide, then add the ml needed; 1ml = 1g equivalents in a give formula. Much easier to measure out 4ml of hydroxide to add to a formula than attempting to add the dry powder to the liquid. Being I learned most of my photo-chemistry from old books I could find on the subject, my education derives from practices of much earlier times, such as the use of pyro/OH developing Kodak's super XX 250 film. So said the 'leading' photo book on portraiture, circa 1930's & 1940's. The reason given was the tonal qualities for skin tones, and it's unrivaled acutance. That is something I can say without question remains true today. Two things that make a pyro/OH negative stand out, is the chocolate color and the bah relief feel of the emulsion side. You can literally feel the edges of the emulsion when you run your finger over the emulsion side. It shows up quite nicely in the image as well.
As I pointed out above, the compensation action affects both the shadows as well as the highlights. A choice has to be made when using pyro, concerning shadow detail. Normally, it is desirable to under-rate the film 3/4 to 1 full stop when using a compensating developer. However, just know that doing so when using pyro, increases shadow detail by increasing densities to the lower tonal densities. For some, this would be a wonderful thing. For those that want the W. Eugene Smith look to their images, with lots of deep blacks from Zone 3 and below, you can simply rate your film as indicated and add a small amount of developing time as needed to control highlights. Easy enough to do by proper placement of values before clicking the shutter.
It should also be noted that there is another way around mixing a full 1000ml bottle of pyro, beyond the method I employ, which is to simple make a two stock solution then mix before use. I just found the mix and use method to my liking. I will leave both formulas;
Windish Pyro; Two stock solutions Measuring spoon method
Solution A;
Water @115 deg 350ml
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous) 20g 1/2 Tbl + 1 1/8 Tsp
Pyrocatechin 10g 2 1/2 Tsp
Cold water to make 500ml
Solution B;
Potassium Carbonate (anhydrous) 60g 3 Tbl + 1 Tsp
cold water to make 500ml
Dilution: Equal Parts A:B
Developing Time; 7 minutes
Single Use Formula; "Tanning Formula" (use of hydroxide makes it a tanning formula)
Solution;
To 1 oz water @110 Add 3 ml (10% solution) sodium sulfite
then stir in 1 g (1/4 Tsp) Pyrocatechin
Tank or Tray development;
[24 oz ~ 735ml] 15 ml solution
add to 735 ml water
then add 4.5 ml (10% solution) sodium hydroxide
[16 oz ~ 490ml] 10 ml solution
add to 490 ml water
then add 3 ml (10% solution) sodium hydroxide
Developing; ISO 125 ~ 10 minutes; ISO 320/400 ~ 13 minutes
Constant agitation first minute; with 15 seconds agitation each minute thereafter, for best results.
The differences between these two formulas can be seen mostly between the accelerators, with the first formula using carbonate and the second using hydroxide, making it a 'tanning' developer. It is the oxidation brought on by the hydroxide that facilitates the tanning. Although a pyro negative is a chocolate color and appears to be a bit 'thin' in the densities, the densities are nevertheless there.
This is the developer I used almost exclusively for my artwork, consisting mostly of scenics at the time. I have yet to have anything yet to develop with pyro so will have to post an old image of a salted silver print, made from a pyro/OH developed negative. The negatives in this Oregon portfolio are in the range of Log 1.2 density range; developed in the Windish pyro/OH formula for 20 minutes.
Un-toned Salted Silver Print
"Jerome House" ~ 5x7
Jerome, Arizona
The Beutler formula is a semi-compensating formula, meaning the compensating action's affect is at the higher densities. The highlights. Pyro, on the other hand is a fully compensating developer, meaning it also alters densities below Zone 4, affecting the shadow detail. Pyro is also a 'tanning' developer, the tanning being part of the oxidizing arrangement, turns the negative to a chocolate brown, instead of the normal charcoal black of most negatives. It is the Preservative (sodium sulfite) that controls the amount of tanning action. The accelerator controls the energy of the developer and the ultimate acutance.
When the sodium sulfite is reduced, the tanning of the negative increases, however, there also occurs a bit of what might be said to be 'textural fogging' as it is the sodium sulfite that keeps the oxygen from being absorbed by the pyro, hence tanning/fogging. Too much sodium sulfite and it retards the pyro tanning that is desirable. One of the original accelerators used with pyrocatechen was the standard sodium carbonate. Actually a very good formula. However, once I switched to sodium hydroxide I never went back. Sodium hydroxide is the most volatile of all the photo chemicals. A quarter teaspoon of that plopped in a 1000ml beaker of cold water will make it boil. Should you make the mistake of pouring water over the same amount in a beaker, very bad things will happen, including burns to whatever part of your body the resulting chemical explosion reaches. Be very careful with sodium hydroxide.
The primary reason I altered the formula was due to this chemical's volatility. I mix a 10% solution of sodium hydroxide, then add the ml needed; 1ml = 1g equivalents in a give formula. Much easier to measure out 4ml of hydroxide to add to a formula than attempting to add the dry powder to the liquid. Being I learned most of my photo-chemistry from old books I could find on the subject, my education derives from practices of much earlier times, such as the use of pyro/OH developing Kodak's super XX 250 film. So said the 'leading' photo book on portraiture, circa 1930's & 1940's. The reason given was the tonal qualities for skin tones, and it's unrivaled acutance. That is something I can say without question remains true today. Two things that make a pyro/OH negative stand out, is the chocolate color and the bah relief feel of the emulsion side. You can literally feel the edges of the emulsion when you run your finger over the emulsion side. It shows up quite nicely in the image as well.
As I pointed out above, the compensation action affects both the shadows as well as the highlights. A choice has to be made when using pyro, concerning shadow detail. Normally, it is desirable to under-rate the film 3/4 to 1 full stop when using a compensating developer. However, just know that doing so when using pyro, increases shadow detail by increasing densities to the lower tonal densities. For some, this would be a wonderful thing. For those that want the W. Eugene Smith look to their images, with lots of deep blacks from Zone 3 and below, you can simply rate your film as indicated and add a small amount of developing time as needed to control highlights. Easy enough to do by proper placement of values before clicking the shutter.
It should also be noted that there is another way around mixing a full 1000ml bottle of pyro, beyond the method I employ, which is to simple make a two stock solution then mix before use. I just found the mix and use method to my liking. I will leave both formulas;
Windish Pyro; Two stock solutions Measuring spoon method
Solution A;
Water @115 deg 350ml
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous) 20g 1/2 Tbl + 1 1/8 Tsp
Pyrocatechin 10g 2 1/2 Tsp
Cold water to make 500ml
Solution B;
Potassium Carbonate (anhydrous) 60g 3 Tbl + 1 Tsp
cold water to make 500ml
Dilution: Equal Parts A:B
Developing Time; 7 minutes
Single Use Formula; "Tanning Formula" (use of hydroxide makes it a tanning formula)
Solution;
To 1 oz water @110 Add 3 ml (10% solution) sodium sulfite
then stir in 1 g (1/4 Tsp) Pyrocatechin
Tank or Tray development;
[24 oz ~ 735ml] 15 ml solution
add to 735 ml water
then add 4.5 ml (10% solution) sodium hydroxide
[16 oz ~ 490ml] 10 ml solution
add to 490 ml water
then add 3 ml (10% solution) sodium hydroxide
Developing; ISO 125 ~ 10 minutes; ISO 320/400 ~ 13 minutes
Constant agitation first minute; with 15 seconds agitation each minute thereafter, for best results.
The differences between these two formulas can be seen mostly between the accelerators, with the first formula using carbonate and the second using hydroxide, making it a 'tanning' developer. It is the oxidation brought on by the hydroxide that facilitates the tanning. Although a pyro negative is a chocolate color and appears to be a bit 'thin' in the densities, the densities are nevertheless there.
This is the developer I used almost exclusively for my artwork, consisting mostly of scenics at the time. I have yet to have anything yet to develop with pyro so will have to post an old image of a salted silver print, made from a pyro/OH developed negative. The negatives in this Oregon portfolio are in the range of Log 1.2 density range; developed in the Windish pyro/OH formula for 20 minutes.
Un-toned Salted Silver Print
"Jerome House" ~ 5x7
Jerome, Arizona
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Negative Developer ~ Beutler 105
Now that I will be using the Burke & James once again, it is time to mix developers. There are only two developers I use; Beutler 105, a semi-compensating developer, and a hybrid of the Windish Pyro formula. I rejiggered the Windish formula slightly, making it a mix & use, then toss formula. Each formula deserves attention, so I'll begin with Beutler, as it is a simple, straight forward developer that lasts a long time on the shelf.
My choice of film, to begin, is Arista EDU 200ISO 5x7 sheet film. One of the things I liked about that film was the ISO rating. I have used FP-4, and HP-5, both very good film in all formats. But then again most modern films are high quality, with most having certain characteristics that make it someone's choice. There was also the plug on the listing, saying 'if you liked Kodak's Super XX 250, then you will love this film'. I'm game. I loved Super XX film. I have two sheets already loaded into a cut film holder, awaiting the final acid, (Boric acid) for mixing the acid hardening fixer for negatives; F15.
I will be developing using compensating developers, thereby shooting a stop over the rating. That puts my metering at 100 ISO. The only two avenues I'll either be using the original negative for contact printing a portfolio in palladium, or scanning it for enlargement to an 8x10 digital negative, scaled for whatever printing medium desired.
I have written on compensating developers in the past, but it is worth refreshing the concept for anyone not familiar with compensating developers. Simply put, compensating developers use only one reducing agent, never two, which would create the superadditivity that compensating developers do not want. D-76 is one such two reducing agent developers (Metol & Hydroquinone) with plenty of superadditivity. If it is used straight, with but two minutes over recommended time, there would be precious little left of any textural quality after Z6, with densities above that "blown out" as they say.
A single reducing agent developer won't do that, by its very nature. I'm not saying one can't blow out a negative with a compensating developer if they tried hard enough. The point of a compensating developer is that it is far more gentle on the upper densities during normal development. There are two such developers I have used extensively and found them to be superlative developers. The first is a very old formula, going back just about the time Alfred Stieglitz was finding his way around a camera. Beutler 105. It is easy enough to find if you google it. There are several variations upon the theme, some cutting everything in half to make half as much. Not sure what that was about, but he seemed to really like it.
Beutler is a semi-compensating developer. The contribution it affords is holding back the densities above Zone 6. The standard use is 1:10 for 8 minutes for ISO 125. It is a very simple formula that is easily memorized. You don't need a formula mixing book to dig out, although my book does have all the formulas listed at the end for easy reach. Beutler uses Metol as the reducing agent. No hydroquinone. There is no need for a restrainer. The formula has a wide range of developing abilities, from the standard 1:10 to 1:7 or even 1:5, and I can say from experience that is a very energetic developer at those undiluted strengths. Another excellent characteristic of this developer is that it keeps quite well, and at 1:10 a quart of that develops a lot of negatives.
Beutler 105:
Water ~ 115 degs 750ml
Metol 5 g
Sodium Sulfite 25 g
Sodium Carbonate (anhydrous) 25 g
Water ~ Cold to make 1000 ml
Standard dilution; 1:10
Developing Time; ISO 125 ~ 8 minutes; ISO 320/400 ~ 10 minutes
Thirty years ago, I marched my two kids out into the back yard for portraits whenever I was trying out a new formula. Family legends have grown of that. What made me choose Beutler was the portrait I took of my daughter, in bright sunlight with her very light blonde hair. I was looking for a formula that would hold in the highlights, even in direct sunlight. This formula did that, and more. There was a time when I had to compensate for a negative two stops under. A metering oops. I used the 1:5 mixture and it worked like DK-50. What I will be working on now, is the developing time needed for densities to reach Log 1.2 to 1.5. Knowing Beutler as I do, I believe that combination will be a mixture of 1:7 for 14-15 minutes. At 1:7, the contrast index curve of Beutler will begin to approach that of what a D-76 curve might look like. I made many, many portraits commercially using this formula.
Beutler Portrait
FP-4 rated (80 ISO) developed Beutler 105 ~ 8 minutes
My choice of film, to begin, is Arista EDU 200ISO 5x7 sheet film. One of the things I liked about that film was the ISO rating. I have used FP-4, and HP-5, both very good film in all formats. But then again most modern films are high quality, with most having certain characteristics that make it someone's choice. There was also the plug on the listing, saying 'if you liked Kodak's Super XX 250, then you will love this film'. I'm game. I loved Super XX film. I have two sheets already loaded into a cut film holder, awaiting the final acid, (Boric acid) for mixing the acid hardening fixer for negatives; F15.
I will be developing using compensating developers, thereby shooting a stop over the rating. That puts my metering at 100 ISO. The only two avenues I'll either be using the original negative for contact printing a portfolio in palladium, or scanning it for enlargement to an 8x10 digital negative, scaled for whatever printing medium desired.
I have written on compensating developers in the past, but it is worth refreshing the concept for anyone not familiar with compensating developers. Simply put, compensating developers use only one reducing agent, never two, which would create the superadditivity that compensating developers do not want. D-76 is one such two reducing agent developers (Metol & Hydroquinone) with plenty of superadditivity. If it is used straight, with but two minutes over recommended time, there would be precious little left of any textural quality after Z6, with densities above that "blown out" as they say.
A single reducing agent developer won't do that, by its very nature. I'm not saying one can't blow out a negative with a compensating developer if they tried hard enough. The point of a compensating developer is that it is far more gentle on the upper densities during normal development. There are two such developers I have used extensively and found them to be superlative developers. The first is a very old formula, going back just about the time Alfred Stieglitz was finding his way around a camera. Beutler 105. It is easy enough to find if you google it. There are several variations upon the theme, some cutting everything in half to make half as much. Not sure what that was about, but he seemed to really like it.
Beutler is a semi-compensating developer. The contribution it affords is holding back the densities above Zone 6. The standard use is 1:10 for 8 minutes for ISO 125. It is a very simple formula that is easily memorized. You don't need a formula mixing book to dig out, although my book does have all the formulas listed at the end for easy reach. Beutler uses Metol as the reducing agent. No hydroquinone. There is no need for a restrainer. The formula has a wide range of developing abilities, from the standard 1:10 to 1:7 or even 1:5, and I can say from experience that is a very energetic developer at those undiluted strengths. Another excellent characteristic of this developer is that it keeps quite well, and at 1:10 a quart of that develops a lot of negatives.
Beutler 105:
Water ~ 115 degs 750ml
Metol 5 g
Sodium Sulfite 25 g
Sodium Carbonate (anhydrous) 25 g
Water ~ Cold to make 1000 ml
Standard dilution; 1:10
Developing Time; ISO 125 ~ 8 minutes; ISO 320/400 ~ 10 minutes
Thirty years ago, I marched my two kids out into the back yard for portraits whenever I was trying out a new formula. Family legends have grown of that. What made me choose Beutler was the portrait I took of my daughter, in bright sunlight with her very light blonde hair. I was looking for a formula that would hold in the highlights, even in direct sunlight. This formula did that, and more. There was a time when I had to compensate for a negative two stops under. A metering oops. I used the 1:5 mixture and it worked like DK-50. What I will be working on now, is the developing time needed for densities to reach Log 1.2 to 1.5. Knowing Beutler as I do, I believe that combination will be a mixture of 1:7 for 14-15 minutes. At 1:7, the contrast index curve of Beutler will begin to approach that of what a D-76 curve might look like. I made many, many portraits commercially using this formula.
Beutler Portrait
FP-4 rated (80 ISO) developed Beutler 105 ~ 8 minutes
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
First Print ~ New Darkroom
My absence has not been for naught. Not completely. I was busy making the custom
darkroom I spoke of ad nauseum over the past months. Apparently, such an
endeavor takes much energy and even more time. It is done, just in time
to be whisked away to Puerto Vallarta upon the invitation from old
friends who have a time share. It was splendid, as painful as it was to
be away from said yet unused darkroom. Just too easy to digress over
fond memory experiences.
Not all the chemistry has arrived, and what is missing is needed for mixing fixer for negatives. The film did arrive, and my choice to begin was Arista EDU 200ISO 5x7 sheet film. One of the things I liked about that film was the ISO rating. I have used FP-4 and found it to be a very good film. But then again most modern films are high quality, with most having certain characteristics that make it someone's choice. I will be developing using compensating developers, thereby shooting a stop over the rating. That puts my metering at 100 ISO. The only two avenues I'll either be using the original negative for contact printing a portfolio in palladium, or scanning it for enlargement to an 8x10 digital negative, scaled for whatever printing medium desired.
Until I can begin shooting again, I will be printing with digital negatives. Very soon I will begin printing in palladium, and when I do, I will be using 5x7 negatives. First, I know the densities of the negatives I have, along with a full portfolio of salted silver prints from those negatives, so will be able to compare what the same density range looks like in palladium, compared to those silver prints.
Until then, I continue to print with silver, tone in palladium, for this portfolio anyway. I will be using a gold toner for the next portfolio to achieve the deep black and crisp white images as expected from silver prints.
First print out;
Palladium toned Salted Silver Print
"Horse Head" ~ 8x10 ~ 2.5
Tombstone, Arizona
Not all the chemistry has arrived, and what is missing is needed for mixing fixer for negatives. The film did arrive, and my choice to begin was Arista EDU 200ISO 5x7 sheet film. One of the things I liked about that film was the ISO rating. I have used FP-4 and found it to be a very good film. But then again most modern films are high quality, with most having certain characteristics that make it someone's choice. I will be developing using compensating developers, thereby shooting a stop over the rating. That puts my metering at 100 ISO. The only two avenues I'll either be using the original negative for contact printing a portfolio in palladium, or scanning it for enlargement to an 8x10 digital negative, scaled for whatever printing medium desired.
Until I can begin shooting again, I will be printing with digital negatives. Very soon I will begin printing in palladium, and when I do, I will be using 5x7 negatives. First, I know the densities of the negatives I have, along with a full portfolio of salted silver prints from those negatives, so will be able to compare what the same density range looks like in palladium, compared to those silver prints.
Until then, I continue to print with silver, tone in palladium, for this portfolio anyway. I will be using a gold toner for the next portfolio to achieve the deep black and crisp white images as expected from silver prints.
First print out;
Palladium toned Salted Silver Print
"Horse Head" ~ 8x10 ~ 2.5
Tombstone, Arizona
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