CAWP: A Work in Progress. Some changes

Well, you will probably notice a few changes I have made over the weekend.  Kind of fast and furious, I know.  But things should remain as they are for a while.  Some things to make note of...

CHEMISTRY RECIPES (right sidebar)
I have decided that, as they occur to me, I will be adding some darkroom chemical recipes for reference here on the site.  I have started with everyone's favorite, Rodinal (pronounced rod-in-all).  After reading up on it, I may get the required ingredients and use that one myself.  We shall see.  However, as I said, when I decided other recipes are appropriate to be added there, it will be done.

PHOTOGRAPHIC PUBLICATIONS (right sidebar)
I will be adding photographic publications.  These will primarily be dealing with traditional film photography.  There will be exceptions, however.  Some work just needs to be shared.  And deserves to be shared.  I started with a couple of oldies but goodies.  First are the back issues for Creative Image Maker Magazine, founded by David Vickers of the UK and produced by yours truly for over a year.  It was put on as primarily a technical journal.  Portfolios were generally submitted to coincide with applicable technical content in the same issue.  Sadly defunct, it had a good run and some quality stuff was shown.  Second is Fraction Magazine, founded by Arizona photographer and fellow APUGer, David Bram, showcases beautiful work produced by photographers the world over and is always a joy to view.

SEARCH, TRANSLATE and FOLLOW (lower right sidebar)
More ways to keep up with and sift through CAWP here on Blogspot.

SUBSCRIBE (footer)
You can now subscribe to CAWP and receive alerts whenever new content is added to the blog.

Thank you for viewing CAWP.  I hope to have more photographic content up shortly.

Brand New Canadian Podcast, eh? - Classic Camera Revival

Listening to the very first episode right now.  I have high hopes for it.  And it will be fun to hear them make fun of us southerners.  No, seriously, any program that has film photography as a subject cannot be bad.  Really looking forward to listening in.

CLASSIC CAMERA REVIVAL PODCAST

Printing with Purpose

I have been reading old magazine issues during my downtime.  Which is all the time as I am waiting on the arrival of some fixer and toner tomorrow.  This particular read was in the Jan-Feb 2007 issue of Lenswork.  The editor, Brooks Jensen, was writing about a new direction in his darkroom printing that really struck home with me.  And here is why.

I have admittedly not done a huge truckload of printing.  I can probably count the number of prints I have done by using both hands and adding mot much more than that in the last six years, postcards withstanding.  I have mulled over theory and have made some decent prints.  Well, some OK prints.  Well, some really flat and poorly dodged and amateurish and hack-like prints that are of poor quality and are probably poorly enough processed tha they may, with any hope, fade away to nothing inside of ten years to remove any proof that i had anything to do with them.

Don't get me wrong.  I have a wonderful vision when it comes to how I want my prints to turn out.  And I really do know how to acheive this in my prints.  But I have yet to accomplish it.  I am close on Stones and once  get my fix and toner tomorrow I will tackle this in the darkroom this weekend.

But my printing to date can be referred to as Random Printing, much like Brooks described eight years ago.  I use different techniques, different papers and chemicals, different apertures, different exposure times, different formats, different orientations.  And my efforts have been met with completely random results.  My mother asked, the other day, where I wanted my photography to go.  I said I would like to put on a show at the public library in a year or two.  I look back at my work to date.

No way, Jose.  Nuh uh!  Forget it.

But I plan to print with a purpose.  I have Stones nearly figured out.  I have an aperture I like.  I have a general exposure time I like to use and stay near.  I have my chemistry down pat and am adding the toner for deeper blacks and permanence in my prints.  I plan to finalize Stones and make four final prints.  I will then try one print in one of four toners options, two different dilutions at two different bath durations.  I will choose the effect I like best and that will be added to the process.

I then will select negatives that look like they would benefit from such a process.  And then I will print them.  It is my goal to have 20 such prints by the end of the year.  It will probably be much more than that, but 20 is not an insurmountable amount.  By doing this I will accomplish two things.  First, I will have fine prints.  Not just prints that I have worked on that I can refer to as 'Working Prints' for the sake of avoiding much due criticism.  Also, I will have prints that will look like they belong together instead of a conglomeration of discumbobulated visual noise, randomness.  I want to have a body of work, not just a bunch of prints I threw together because I had put in some time.

And it is not wasted time either.  It has been educational.  I have learned how certain things react when I do them.  But now is the time to apply some direction to my printing.  Time to apply some purpose.  It is time to go all out with my photography.  and printing is not the same as exposure of film.  That gives me the basic visual information with which I can work.  But it is not printing.  They are two completely separate steps in the process of achieving the end result, a fine print.

I think the thing in which I have noticed the greatest change in my outlook on my photography is the attitude of my approach.  No, I do not have the absolute best gear that I can have.  But I do not need it.  I know how to make what I have work splendidly.  It is now time for it to be done.  Just done.

D-minus 2 and counting

Well, this is the first opportunity I have had to order some chemistry.  I have been dying to do some film and make some fine prints but this no fixing agent situation has had me on the ropes.  Here's why.

You need to wash the unexposed silver halides from the film and/or paper after it has been run through the developer.  If you do not then there is still unexposed silver halides that cannot be exposed to any light whatsoever.  Otherwise, the film or paper will continue to become exposed and darken.  Without fixer there is no permanence in the film and/or paper.

So, I have ordered enough to get by until I am able to buy more, enough to get me through the year.  I have ordered some Ilford Rapid Fixer.  I have also ordered some Ilford Selenium Toner so that the prints I make will be hardened and will last much longer.  I have not used Selenium Toner before.  It is not all that involved.  Just needs to be done.

See, I have not done a whole lot of printing over the years.  A mess of postcards for APUG postcard exchanges.  A few prints here or there, maybe ten negatives have been printed.  About 30 Contact proof sheets for 35mm and 120 negatives.

But I have never been so motivated until now to dive into darkroom work, and not so much on a grand scale, rather, with such a fervor.  This is something I have wanted to do for over ten years.  And I finally have the place, and the skill, and the desire to do what makes me happy.


So, when the fix arrives on Wednesday, I will get past an appointment after work and either process some film on Wednesday night or on Thursday.  And then this weekend I will finally bury the work on 'Stones'.  And then I will go from there.  I will be able to do some 4x5 photography because I can finally process the film after I shoot it and make the prints once the film is dry.

It's about time.  I can hardly wait.

The FILM PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT

I love listening to these guys.  The FILM PHOTOGRAPHY PODCAST came into being in 2009.  The hosts, Michael Raso, Leslie Lazenby and Mat Marrash, have being going at it for 118 episodes now, the latest which was released on the 27th earlier this week.  They have guest on and a few regulars over the years and they discuss the news of the day regarding film photography.

(And, yes, there is still news of the day regarding film photography.)

This week they are discussing a couple Nikons, the McCuens Price Guide to Antique Cameras, the old 1930 Kodak Box Brownie, a Large Format segment and more.  They hold workshops, they hold photo walks, they donate cameras to students, they have a storefront where you can purchase photographic supplies and much, much more.

You really ought to follow the link right down there on the right side of this page and dial up an episode and listen in.  They cover all sorts of topics and in a rather humorous way at times.  Very informative.  You can like them on Facebook.  You can find their group on Flickr.  These guys get everywhere.  Kinda like sand.  Everywhere.

Check them out.  The FILM PHOTOGRAPHY PODCAST.  Brought to you by the Film Photography Project.

Tangling with a $5 eBay find ... Franken-sr-T

IT'S ALIVE!!!!  ALIVE!!!!!

Well, I decided to find a cheap broke (not really broke) camera on eBay.  I found an old Minolta 35mm SLR.  Minolta sr-T101.  I bought it for $5.00 and it cost $9.50 to ship it.  Hey, if nothing else it is parts and that would total much higher were I to purchase only a dozen of the hundreds that make this beauty work.  Well worth it.

So, I get it.  It needs some TLC.  And when I begin to trip the shutter at longer exposures (1/8th or longer) the shutter curtains are moving slow enough and separated from each other enough so that the curtains cannot engage the mirror return spring and, randomly, the curtain even stays open, not travelling all the way to the left side of the back of the mirror box to end exposure.  So, not only some TLC but a CLA.

The seller also stated the light meter did not work.  Now, sometimes a little foam can flake off inside the top of the camera or, as in this case, a little grease can accumulate inside the edges of a small hole in the side of the exposure meter moving coil set.  So I disassembled the camera.  I removed the top cover by removing the winding lever, the S/S-ISO dial and the rewind crank and four micro screws.  I then was able to remove to screws holding in the prism retainer and lift the prism from above the ground glass.  There was, indeed, a little grime built up in the travel area of the meter needles.  So I removed that, cleaned all surfaces that I had access to, including the viewfinder lens once I removed the assembly.  Put it all together, et viola!

Light meter, check.  Timer, check.  Aside from the curtains not closing for long exposures (so I shoot it at short exposures) is that the DOF preview button is completely missing from the lower right side of the front face of the camera.  The only concern there is that something might inadvertently work its way inside the camera and gum up the hole works.  So I need to find something suitable to plug that up with until I get a true parts camera and can rob the part from it.

I love buying these old cameras that not many know about and getting them up and running again.  Feels good.  And for $5.00 plus post I have another camera.  Win-win in my book.

Admittedly, there is one little thing.  I have four extra screws and do not know where they should have went.  But everything is sandwiched together and operating properly and I am not adventurous for a second breakdown tonight.

Thanks, Dad.  I get it honest.

Another Page Turns

Well, today is my 45th birthday.  45 years ago I sprang forth unto the scene, full of cries and waughs.  I was such a cute baby.  What went wrong.

I have had a camera in my hands and making photographs seriously and otherwise, on and off again, since 1982 with an old box camera for a Christmas gift from my grandmother, Mary Walrath.  It was not an earth shattering gift, I did not see any direction at that early stage.  But I, to this day, fondly remember using that camera and a couple photographs used with it.

I was given a Kodak Disc Camera for Christmas in 1984.  I did not use it much.  however, I documented my own 15th birthday party.  Wow, 30 years ago.  I have a lot of photographs of good childhood friends to this day as a result.  Dean, Mark, GT and others.  No great shakes this camera, but it more than served it purpose.

I then took a point and shoot with me on a mission trip to Ensenada in 1986.  I exposed a few rolls down there.  A lot of landscapes of the desert and coastal mountains which have not survived to this day.  I recall them, though and one might think that given the skill I have today there might have been something going.  As they were, they were documents of what I was experiencing so that I could show all once I returned.

I used my mother's X-370 for yearbook senior year.  I don't recall shooting much that made the yearbook, if anything.  But I made some pretty decent photographs with the camera and black and white film at my youth group in Dover, Delaware in 1989.  I still have a few of those.  Some good poses and a couple of fantastic candids.

I then bounced around a few cameras until I was given my first camera in 1997.  A Minolta XG-M.  And my own photography began in earnest.  I learned the basics of control by using that little yellow booklet that Kodak published on making better 35mm photographs.  The name escapes me but that was probably it.

I used this camera off and on for a few years.  My mother, Kathryn, had learned the ins and outs well enough to get me started down the road of learning how to manipulate a camera through the exposure settings and depth of field and such.  I poured over the pages of Outdoor Photography and fancied myself a Galen Rowell wannabe.

Then in October 2001, Dad and I escaped one weekend to the Outer Banks and I accidentally made the photograph that pushed me over the edge.  We visited old haunts and ended up at Bodie Island Lighthouse. The light was flat, a front had rolled through the night before.  I had made a couple of lackluster exposures.  We pile in the Jeep and I begin to back out of the space when I look up and the lighthouse is brightly lit by the sun.  I scramble out, stalling the Jeep and almost backing over my own foot in the process.  I snap a horizontal and vertical shot of the lighthouse and the turbulent clouds beyond and get back in and we go our way.  Imagine my surprise when getting the photographs back from Cutler Camera in the Dover Mall and finding that someone had stuck a photograph in with all the pictures.  And to this day, I have seen one or two photographs of the Light that rival mine.

In 2002 my photography took off.  I was burning film.  About 40 rolls that year.  On my salary, that was a good bit.  In 2003 I joined my mother in her wedding and portrait business, A Moment In Time Photography.  In 2005 I joined APUG (www.apug.org), the Analog Photography Users Group and have enjoyed a lot of conversations there over the last few years.  Made a few friends as well.  In 2006 I purchased a Mamiya M645j medium format camera.  Also in 2006 I discovered Ansel Adams, his work and his technical series of books.  It is here where I am forced forward in photography.  And I have NEVER looked back.  In 2007 I began to process my own film.  In 2008 I began to make my own prints.  That year I also purchased my first large format camera and made a few exposures with expired Polaroid P/N 55 film.  And on and on.

Yes, a lot has happened in my life.  But, seeing as this is a photography blog after all, I thought it would be good to share my progression through photography through the years.  A lot of people have been influencial to me.  Mary Walrath (grandmother), Kathryn Walrath (mommy), Dot Tarbuck, Damon Clauss (grandfather), Galen Rowell, Ansel Adams, many others, and of course my late wife Faith Elisabeth Walrath.  How I miss her.  She was just really getting into photography. And she encouraged my own photography.  I really appreciated her in my life.

So, what lies ahead?  No one knows.  But I can hardly wait for it to get here.  It will be so grand.

Happy Birthday to me, I guess.

Stones - Mispillion River - Milford, Delaware - 2009 (work print)

Stones - Mispillion River - Milford, Delaware - 2008 (work print)

Technical Gobbledygook:

Neopan 400
HC110b for 6'00" at 20C

Nikon N75 w/ 35-80 zoom
No exposure recorded

Printed on Orient Seagull RC-VC II 8x10 glossy
Enlarger used: Fujimoto Lucky 60M (Little Boy)
Enlarger Height 20"
Aperture f/11
Exposure time 22 seconds
Controls: Dodging for the last six seconds of exposure.
I used a 4x5 film holder and slid in from the right to reach the left side at exposure stop time.

This is admittedly a work print.  I have the shadows exactly where I want them.  I want to bring the highlights up a zone or two.  I plan on adjusting development time.  The shadows come in after 15 seconds.  The print is fully developed after 60.  This is an exposure factor of four.  Since the highlights take longer to develop I plan on reducing the exposure factor to, at first, 3.5 (53 seconds?).  By pulling the print early the highlights do not have the opportunity to become as dense as they are at 60 seconds developing time.  If I am still not happy with that I will pull it at EF3, 45 seconds.  We will see where we are at that point but I am hopeful that this will succeed.

Felt good to be back in the dark after all this time.  And here is what I done.  I hope you all like it.

Fat Man and Little Boy Ride Again

It has been almost three and a half years.  Three and a half years since I have had the darkroom set up.  Three and a half years since coming to the realization that having the camera gear and not using it was making me feel guilty right in the middle of getting through Faith's death.  Three and a half years since I sold all of my camera gear.  Fortunately, no one bought the darkroom gear and I knew I would eventually set things up again so I stored it away.

For right now.  Wednesday I rearranged the old bedroom to provide an empty wall against which I placed the entire contents of my walk-in closet.  I then set the darkroom up.  Thursday I got it up and running, test gear and such.  Today, I discovered a very fortunate and unforeseen choice.  I covered the window on the front of the house with an old dark red bed sheet.  It is folded three times and stapled to the sill.

When I went in today to make sure the room was light tight I noticed two things.  First, the curtain with the bright and direct afternoon sun on it made a red safelight for the whole room.  Secondly, It was REALLY bright in there.  So I ran a test strip to test for fogging.  With the lights out and only the red from the window, I exposed a cut strip of photographic paper a section at a time.  5 minutes, 2 minutes, and three more sections for one minute.  This way I had a test strip that had been exposed for 10-5-3-2-1 minutes and depending on where the paper showed it was getting darker would be the time limit that the paper could be out in the room before the light in the room, what there was, would fog the paper.

Don't you know, there was nothing on the paper at all?  Safe for at least 10 minutes out in the open.

Tomorrow is Sunday and tomorrow I get back into the pool.  I have selected the first negative I am going to print.  It is a copy of an old print of a friend's mother on her motorcycle.  I did not know if it would work when I took the photographs five years ago.  But I found them in the inside over of my negative book and put the best looking one into the enlarger.  When I focused it the negative image looked really good.  Good enough to try.  My initial fear had been that the negative would not be sharp enough to do any meaningful work with.  But looking at it, it has great tonal range and it looked very sharp in focus.  Definitely worth a go.  Hope it turns out well.

My intent is to finally get back into photography wholesale.  I was rereading an old Black and White Photography magazine from the UK.  A favorite columnist, Mike Johnston, was writing about his own version at the time of the Photography Blues.  He said something that I may never now forget.  "Photography is not something you think about.  It is something you do."  Well, for at least seven and a half years I have done MUCH MORE thinking about photography than doing.  Time to live up to a favorite movie quote.  "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'."

Time to live.

Beauty Behind The Storm

So, I have ten rolls of film I never got around to developing before. So a couple hours ago I go upstairs to load a couple rolls onto spools so I won't have to when I decide to process them.  Well, I went this far...

So I says to myself, let's just do it.  Now, mind you, I have never successfully loaded a roll of 135 in my life. Tonight I nailed it. Glad I did. A roll of 120 as well.  TMY-2, T-Max 400, both rolls.  I mix up some chems, the dev was HC110, dil B.  I decide to give N+1 due to the age of the film.  I soup the 120 first. A couple frames of my brother burning stuff at Mom and Dad's and some landscape from Prime Hook, typical stuff for me.

Then I soup the 35mm. I inspect the negs. Only about ten frames. I see it is, again landscapes. But I can't place it. I see the last frame. Bright and blurry in the center. Hmm, that almost has to be running water...

Faith died April 2011. In October that year, I almost talk myself out of going to meet fellow APUGer Lee from Dayton for a photo hike. My brother invites himself along. Now I gotta go. I was having a very bad few days and shortly thereafter is when I decide to put the cameras down.

Yeah, I just processed the Rickett's Glen negs. I can hardly wait to see the beauty that came from a very bad day for me.  I would pull an all nighter right now to print and see the images. That's what the 12 year old in me is screaming for.

Well, sometimes the 44 year old wins.  I'll post some pics when I get them.

Project: Dachau

A customer of mine and I spoke a couple of years ago about printing some enlargements from some negatives made by his wife's uncle in Europe in the 40's. He was attached to the forces who first entered the Dachau camp in Poland, IIRC. He warned me that some of the subject matter is on the graphic side, documentary in nature, but bald, no sugar coating.

Today he was in and I broached the subject of photography. He asked if I could work with old negatives. I asked if he meant the Dachau negs. Then he remembered we had talked. He will be bringing in the negs and I will make some contact prints so he can see what there is and how, if at all, he might wish to proceed, you know, what to do with them.

I remember when we had first spoken that the scope of what I had agreed to hit me. The enormity of what could be and the respect with which I needed to approach the subject matter were and still are foremost in my mind.  I do not doubt I can do the negatives justice. I look forward to the work.  And I will definitely keep updates here as they come to me.

Squaring Shadow Up and Film Holder Notching System

Well, the Calumet showed up at the store in the post this past Monday.  It's beautiful. I know the camera's name was going to be Ellie. That changed. I'll touch on that below. At any rate, I'm going to have the shutter CLA'd in a mo. That's how the magic happens.h or two. Works fine, just has some serious lag at 1/2 and one full second. The camera moves smoothly. The Schneider Kreuznach Symmar  f/5.6 180mm lens has some minor dust. So, I have me some cleaning to do.

I got the camera from Barry Dial of Bennington, NH. He is a fellow APUGer (WWW.apug.com) and really hooked me up with this deal.  About $700.00 of camera and glass for $300.00.

So, I have spent today watching my son's gift to me, Duck Dynasty Season 1, and taking care of some loose ends. I have been making my exposure log sheets, more on that later. Also, I have been notching my film holders. Here's how I do it. On the bottom of the holder is an edge the folds out when you remove the darkslide so you can put the film in.

Here's what I do. The film notches go on the bottom left. On the bottom right I measure over a quarter inch and cut in a notch where light will pass through it and expose the film further up from the edge so you can see these notches on the negative. Then I put a series of notches inside of that marker notch that is on each holder. Each notch, depending on its location in relation to the marker, indicates a numeric value to 'number' the holder. A notch 1/4" left of the marker denotes '1'. 1/2" to the left is a '2'. 3/4" is a '4'. 1" is an '8' and so on.  Holder number 1 has the first notch cut out. Holder number 6 has the second and third notch cut out, leaving the first one blank. The second notch is '2' and the third one is a '4'. 2+4=6. Holder number 13 will have the first, third and fourth notches cut leaving number two blank. 1+4+8=13.

Mostly, just enjoying quiet day after this holiday season. Today is Dad's birthday. He died last March from dymensia. So, it's just a nice day to bum around and do what I want to for the day. Hope you have had a great holiday. Keep on clickin'.

Oh, and why did i name it Shadow? Brought home the camera Monday night after work and found myself singing 'Me and my shadow...'  

Camera Kit Shaping Up

Well, my 4x5 kit is beginning to take shape.  Fellow APUGer, Barry (bdial), has been kind enough to offer a camera and lens to get me going.  Not without recompense, mind you.

Meet Ellie.

Ellie is a Calumet 4x5 with a rotating back so that both horizontally and vertically negatives can be exposed without needing to rotate the entire camera 90 degrees in either direction.  It will be accompanied by...

...a Symmar 180mm f/5.6 lens mounted on a Compur shutter.  180mm in 4x5 roughly translates to a normal 45mm lens in 35mm format photography.  In the coming weeks I will sink some more into some good glass for the front of this beauty.  I will be looking for something in the 90-120mm range.  I do not believe I am going to concern myself with a longer lens immediately unless a deal to good to pass up crosses my path.  In LF photography, as long as the bellows are light tight and the movements are smooth, the camera is just a camera.  You get your image with great film, spot on exposure and killer glass.  And the glass is where my investment will go.

I have five old film holders that need some work.  I will need to get some leatherette to breathe new life into them.  But this is certainly doable.  I have my Soligor 1 degree spot meter.  I would not be caught dead without a spot meter in large format photography, or any photography for that matter.  Sometimes you simply need to know and a spot meter if used properly will not let you down.

I have my tripod, given to me by my sister-in-law, Lyn, for Christmas three years ago (Hi, Beautiful Sister).  It should be more than enough to provide good stability for Ellie.  I will be carting everything around in an old army framed backpack.  Huge central storage and bunches of pockets for odds and ends.

I do have a few things I will need to pickup to round out the kit.  Once I have the lenses, I will pick up...

a good Cokin 'P' filter set, focusing primarily on contrast, Pol and ND filters
a good cable release
a few more film sheet holders
some Ilford sheet film
a hard case to carry the lenses, filters and the film holders
a big changing bag
a focusing cloth
a focusing loupe (10x)

I know there is more but this will do for a start.

New Google Community: Delmarva Darkroom

Just a heads up.

Delmarva Darkroom

Hope to build a local network of wet process photographers.

Emily Grace - Third Birthday - Lincoln, DE - July 2006

This negative is a real tough one to work with.  However, it is a photograph of my niece on a swing outside during her 3rd birthday party.  It was hot (mid-July in Delaware) so the sun was glaring in from the side, almost from behind her.  With her face in shadow, the exposure values on her face were not much higher than that of the out of focus background, perhaps a stop, if that.

I first printed this neg (it was my first) in April 2009.  My notes show the following:

Printed on Arista Ultra RC VC 8x10 Glossy
Dev: Arista Paper Dev 1:9 for 2'
SB: Kodak Indicator Stop Bath 1:63 for 30"
Fix: Kodafix 1:7 for 1' 30"
Test print #1: TEST PRINT: Exposed for 32-16-8-4-2-1-1
-----f/8@16" (8+4+2+1+1=16) looked good on the test print.
Print #2: f/8@16" looked dark on the whole.
Print #3: f/8@8" looked a little flat.
Print #4: f/8@12" looked really good.

And that was where I left it.  I made five prints.  They have held up well so I would say the process seems to be archivally a good one.

So, this time around...

Printed on Orient Seagull VC RC II 8x10 Glossy
Dev: Ilford Multigrade Paper Developer 1:9 for 1' 30"
SB: Kodak Indicator Stop Bath 1:63 for 15"
Fix: Kodafix 1:7 for 3'
Water rinse for about 10 minutes
Enlarger height: 17"

 I used my stopping point as my first print of the session.

Print #1: f/8@12"
It was way too dark.  Wouldn't think there would be such a difference between paper/dev combinations.  So I decided to run an exposure test print to determine exposure.
Print #2: TEST PRINT: f/16.  Exposed for 32-16-8-4-2-1-1
The 16" portion looked good.  So I then decided to do one more test print to make certain.

Print #3: TEST PRINT: f/16.  Exposed for 16-8-8
16" definitely looked the best for straight printing and a good starting point for working.

Print #4: f/16@16".
The subject looked very well.  The sunlight sidelight still produced a very distracting highlight in the subject area.  So I really needed to bring that highlight down so as to allow the eye to better see the rest of the face.

Prints #5,6,7: TEST PRINTS:
To bring the highlight down I decided to try pre-exposing the paper and then make the print on each paper.  I flashed three sheets, one sheet for 1", another for 2" and one more for 4".  The 4" pre-exposure brought the highlight down very well but darkened the subject too much to work with.  Not happening.  At f/16@16" the print was too dark.

Print #8: f/16@8" with 2" pre-exposure.  The subject is shown very well.  Still blends into the background too easily.
Print #9: f/16@8" with 2" pre-exposure and 8" dodging of the subject.  This brought the background down very well and not too dramatically.  I may put a burn on the lower left corner of the print area.  I think that I am getting close.

So, I take a break at this point, get some food and let the prints dry for better viewing.  I ask my son to look at the print as I have it.  A second set of eyes can always get one through a bout with indecision.  The subject looks really flat with the 2" pre-exposure.  So I decide to give the 1" flash a shot.  So, I take a intuitive leap and arrive at the following print.

Print#10: f/16@1" pre-exposure and then f/16@24" including a 12" dodge of the subject with an oval tool, moving it up and down vertically a couple of inches.

As a matter of fact, I was so certain I had done what I wanted, I flashed ten sheets on the spot.  Then I exposed those ten sheets.  Then I souped them all.  And when I put the first print in the developer I realized I wanted the shadows to really be strong so I upped the time in the developer to 1' 45".

It's all broke down and the prints are hanging to dry.  8 hours of work.  What a way to spend the day.

Thanks for reading.

Final print notes
TMY-2 Kodak T-Max 400
Minolta sr-T101 w/ Vivitar 28-80mm
Developed in HC110 Dil 'B' for 5' 30"
Printed on Orient Seagull VC RC II 8x10 Glossy
Dev: Ilford Multigrade Paper Developer 1:9 for 1' 45"
SB: Kodak Indicator Stop Bath 1:63 for 15"
Fix: Kodafix 1:7 for 3'
Water rinse for about 10 minutes
Enlarger height: 17"
Paper pre-exposure: f/16 @1"
Exposure: f/16 @24" including 12" dodging.

Used: Oval dodging tool, 22 sheets of paper
Prints made: 10

Post printing thoughts.  With the dodging I employed, the decreased exposure of the subject is a little too pronounced for my taste.  I might just have to re-visit this at some point.  Definitely not finished with this one yet.

Thoughts on Printing Tomorrow

Well, at work I was digging through a box of things under the counter to show a friend a joke that was played on me a few years ago.

I found the prints I had made of my niece four years ago.  Actually, the first prints I had ever made.  And I see a problem.  Well, maybe not a problem.  The sun was so bright on my niece's hair I began to think of a way to bring that down so that the rest of the print zones would not be so low.

Then the light came on.  No really, I am going to print a general print to see where things are this time around.  Then I believe I might employ a little paper flashing.  Try and bring that highlight right down.  I do not foresee this being a problem.  However, if it flattens the lower zones I might then try to increase developing and see how that turns out.  But I think the pre-exposure should be more than enough.  A little local dodging/burning as required.  Should turn out just nicely.

Kids are gone tomorrow afternoon, evening, night.  Should be the perfect time for a printing marathon.  Everything is ready to go.  Just need to close the door and turn out the lights.

Fostering Interest...

Well, my 17 year old daughter has expressed interest in photography over the years.  She has had a couple cameras.  She uses them occasionally, as I did before I was bitten by the viewfinder bug.  Well, I have an idea to give her really great exposure (pun, well, perhaps partly intended) to the magic of the darkroom.

A little history.  My wife, Faith, died two and one half years ago.  We made it through.  And I would like to think that we are a strong family now.  We all think of Faith and Emily does a great deal, as do, well, all of us.  But I think I can incorporate the two.

I can set up the printing and select a negative.  I will find one that has the two of them in it.  And I believe that the negative I will put in the carrier has just occurred to me.  A photograph I made of the two of them.  Faith in the foreground very close to me and out of focus and Emily across the room in sharp focus.  I mention it so I will not forget.

I will get it all set up and tell her to come in.  I will let her do the printing and the processing and the rinsing and the dodging and burning.  And she will make the print like she wants it to look.  And I think she will like that a lot.  I may even make a different variation myself to show her how the same image can be made to look completely different.  Then she can take the photograph and frame it and hang it in her room if she wishes.

Now, I will not expect an instant addiction to fixer.  I just want to give her access to something different to do with her time.  Who knows, it might just take.  I will post about this once the deal is done.

FYI: This Man's Darkroom: What I Use

I thought I might make mention of the materials I use.

For paper, I have used Arista's Glossy RC/VC papers in the past.  I still have some and use it primarily for contact prints for negatives for easy viewing.  Very easy paper to use and well recommended for the beginner.  Perhaps not the best for archival work, but not half bad.

Currently I am printing on Orient Seagull RC VC II glossy 8x10.  It is a very good paper to work with.  Granted, I have not used all there is to use, but I foresee staying with the Bird in the near future.


For Paper Developer, I began with Arista's B&W developer.  Shelf life sealed is less than three years.  I will now be using Ilford's Multigrade developer, mixed 1:9 and at 68F (20C).  Shelf life sealed is three years and counting, as indicated in the test strip article.

For Stop I use Kodak Indicator Stop Bath at 1:63, same temp.

For Fixer I use Kodafix mixed at 1:7, same temp.

For a rinse, just water in a large tray for now, 10-15 minutes.  In a couple months I will be investing in a vertical archival print washer.  The prints I have done show no ill effects to the tray rinse.  But I would rather err on the side of caution and do it right.


I have two enlargers.  I have an old Fujimoto Lucky 60M named "Little Boy".  I have 35mm and 6x6 glassless carriers for this enlarger and two lenses, one 50mm for 35mm negatives and one 75mm for the medium format printing.  Both f/3.5.

The other is a Beseler 57MB known as "Fat Man".  I have a 4x5 carrier for this enlarger and a couple lenses.  One Rodenstock, 150mm or so and an ancient Bausch and Lomb 180mm.


I use a Gralab 300 timer.  The face marks glow in the dark, easily visible.  I also use a single Arista Red safelight, more than sufficient in the limited space of my temporary darkroom.  I also use an old two blade easel and an 8x10 contact frame.  The easel is old and needs replacing.  Will do so with a good four blade.

Is Your Paper Developer Up To Snuff?

Got everything up and running yesterday for the first time in over two years.  But to no avail.

Unbeknownst to me, the paper developer I had opened a couple years ago and all of that batch (an economy developer) had discolored and exhausted itself.

So I ran a couple of test strips to make sure that I had developer that was good.  I did this tonight.  And here is how I did it.  Simple, really.

You need your photographic paper, your developer, a graduated cylinder (11 fl oz / 300mL is perfect), scissors, thermometer, safelight and a book.

If you are in your darkroom, you have all of these materials at hand.  If you have a temporary darkroom such as your bathroom, the setup is minimal and should be done on a more or less regular basis so as not to unduly surprise yourself.

First, mix your developer in the graduated cylinder as per mixing instructions for a proper dilution.  The two I checked, both the bad and the good, mixed at 1:9.  Why a small cylinder and not a whole tray?  Then, with the lights off and the safelight illuminated, take out a sheet of paper and cut off a strip about 1" x 8".  PUT THE PAPER BACK IN THE BOX AND MAKE SURE IT IS SECURED.  Place this strip on top of the paper box and cover half of the strip with the book.  And now for the tough part.

Turn on the lights for ten seconds.  Turn the lights off.

Now, you take the paper strip by the end that was protected under the book and put it into the developer.  Begin to agitate by lifting the strip up and lowering it again, only slightly.  No more than a half inch (1.5 cm) up and down.  If your developer is exhausted, like my first test, you will see a very light grayish tint to the portion of the strip that was exposed.  If your developer is fine then that portion will be black within 15 seconds.

And just how do I know that the paper is not the culprit?  The portion that was not exposed stayed perfectly white.  No fogging whatsoever.

Just a quick, no frills, do-it-yourself test you can run to make sure that all of your tools and resources will be operating properly.  And, as I mentioned, as little an amount of time as it takes, you really should perform this test at the outset of each session.  It is worth knowing before you get started.

Back into the Darkroom: well, sort of...

Well, today as the day crept along I could no longer resist the urge.

I got out that duster and took it to Little Boy and all the other gear and set things up in the upstairs bath.  I have this neg of my niece that I had been promising to my sister and others for a long time.  Figured with Christmas coming up it would be a good time to make some gifts with a good printing session.

I get the chems in the trays and get out the paper.  I load some into the paper safe.  I had printed this before and my starting point was 12" at f/8 so that's what I did.  After two minutes in the developer I had a very week print, it was washed out.

Well, I had printed on Arista RC paper the last time.  I had Orient Seagull on the easel.  And I was using old developer that I had opened a couple years ago.  It looked more like Old Brown than fresh soup.  So I rebatched the developer and printed a test sheet.

Two minutes in the developer, same thing, even the 64" portion of the print.

When I closed up shops a couple years ago I put everything into my bedroom closet.  It has a window to the front of the house and gets afternoon sun.  With the door closed, no controlled air got in, aside from humidity control.  So as the temp went up and down over the last thirty months, so did the paper.

Yup, the paper is trash.  Ditched it and that bottle of developer.  So it looks like I'll just have to try another time.  But the smell of the chems, the setup and seeing that neg projected on the paper under a red light.

It is certainly good to be back.