Looks like coffee not multigrade?

Ilford multigrade paper developer

It has been sometime since I have entered the orange light district. Upon entering recently the darkroom looked a mess, something I don't remember leaving.! It could do with a good clear out and clean up but that will have to wait. I'm in desperate need of print therapy. I do a quick clean of the enlarging easel and lens. Then check the chemicals in the paper processor.

 The developer has gone a very deep brown, the stop and the fix look OK they were all fresh the last time. Even so I change the fix. Now what to do about the dev? In the end I emptied out half so I could refill it with fresh. Your thinking 'it's knackered why bother?' but I prefer the tone you get when fresh and old are mixed together. The slight depletion gives a warmth to images I like.

Contact prints.

I opened a partly used bottle of Ilford multigrade and poured out some of the contents to be met by a liquid the colour of black coffee! That's a new one on me never had that before! Which makes me think - ( expletive ) Mmmm! I'll use it anyway see what happens. I do not have a choice as I do not have a fresh bottle on the shelf.

First test print

It was my intention to get on with some enlargements, but I decide to contact print three sets of freshly developed 35mm negatives as this will test the strength of the developer. It turns out that the dev is more depleted than I had expected ( you were right). The contacts are taking nearly two minutes to reach full development and that is a very long time for resin coated paper, which is usually fully done in a minute.

Before I start work on the enlargements I drain another litre of developer and add some more 'black coffee' (developer) to the mix. Then load the first negative into the enlarger. I find I can be a little apprehensive getting ready to do my first print after a long absence. I'm not sure why, as it always works well.  

Second test print

With the first test strip exposed, into the dev it goes. Ah! I was a little quick off the mark the developer has not reached 20C yet as it takes a little over a minute to fully develop. As it turn out the test strip shows that I was being optimistic with the F8 aperture I had set. The test strip is not showing any exposure in the first four, five second segments. Indicating it will take more than fifty seconds to reach a base exposure time. That's far to long so, I adjust it to F5.6 effectively doubling the light. The next test strip I start at fifteen second and go on from there at five second intervals. Sometimes I can over develop the negatives and this is the first indication of it. Which I don't mind. The trick is not to over do it as it leads to loss of detail. That's better! the test strip was fully developed in less than a minute.

How the areas were dodged showing
how much extra light was added to each
section

With the second test strip in the holding try I take my time looking at the segments. My vision for the image has already formed and with a plan. All I need now is get off the fence and decide what time the first print should be exposed at. I plump for twenty two seconds at F5.6 at grade three on Kentmere RC gloss 9x12. I have already noted that the Ro9s negatives are a little softer than the normal Ro9 and not as grainy.

I need to point out here that I always work from wet test strips and automatically add a dry down factor without thinking. Ansel Adams used to tell a story of how he came to recommend that you should always work from dry test strips and prints. He had produced a particular photograph that was a delight to the eye so much so that he went ahead and printed a large number of them. Only to throw the whole lot out the following day as they did not look as good as when they were wet. I don't very often do long print runs and if I do it is not until I have studied the print dry in day light.

Final print.

As I look at the photograph in the holding tray with the rooms light on I can see it is over exposed, dull and muddy looking. It lacks the luminosity I have come to expert from analogy prints.

I already new that the picture would need dodging to recreate my vision. I inspected the test strip again and cut the overall exposure time to fifteen seconds. I then dodged the foreshore and wooden posts while I added a further seven seconds to the water above them and the sky.

 

Again I studied the second print in the holding try. Although it had improved, It still fell short of my vision. It is a good idea to have a notebook to hand in the darkroom so you can keep track of the adjustments. I have now cut the overall exposure to eleven seconds. I will add a further seventeen seconds in three sections. First of all I will add four sec's from the edge of the water to the rest of the picture. Next, seven sec's from where the wooden posts finish and finally seven more seconds to the upper part of the sky.

These last adjustment have improved the image no end. Bringing it very close to what I had in mind and giving it the luminosity it lacked. There maybe some fine tuning needed when I print it on FB paper but I will only do that once the photograph is fully dry.

With the three prints side by side
You can see how the image has changed.

The coffee coloured developer has worked well even with the heavy oxidation of liquid. A change in colour does not always mean it has lost it's potency. Now that the photograph is dry the image has a very gentle warmth to it. I have found that the tone a photograph takes is more pronounced once it is fully dry.

 

Ilfords new darkroom paper.

The old Multigrade 4 FB.

Ilford have launched an upgrade to its popular Multigrade 4 FB darkroom papers called Multigrade FB classic suggesting that this is the best light sensitive paper they have produced so far. If you judge it on sales alone and the fact it has sold out you maybe right or they could have simply under estimated it's popularity. It comes in gloss and matt surfaces offering greater sharpness, shorter development times and improved Max D – could this mean less time in the wash? Available at all the usual sizes. The classic paper has a white base tint, neutral image colour, good mid tone range and deep blacks. It has also been made more sensitive to traditional toning techniques but then I didn't find the original that difficult, even with toning developers. As part of the changes a cool tone FB paper has been introduced to complement the warm tone FB papers. This has crisp whites and nicely separated midtones. One of the surprising things about this paper is that Ilford has kept the price of the paper at multigrade 4 FB prices so far.

Technical sheets from Ilford:

FBClassic PDF

FBCool tone PDF

Split grade printing with High contrast negatives.

Very high contrast grade 0

A recently developed set of negatives have shown themselves to be very contrasty even by my standards. During the summer I was on an early morning shoot, when I came across these scenes. They were not the easiest pictures to meter, there was a six stop difference between the light areas and the shadows in some cases. Two things drew me to them: the  way the shadows of the leaves danced on the walls in the gentle breeze and the other was a brief thought that they would be a challenge to split grade print.  

Soft grade 0

It has been suggested that split grade printing works better when the contrast stakes are raised. In these cases they maybe unprintable. The pictures were made using 120 format FP4+ developed in ID11 for 14 mins I know this is longer than what is recommended but I have found I have a tendency to under expose when using medium format cameras.

I used Ilford multigrade developer and RC paper. I tend to use RC papers in the initial stages or until I'm happy that the picture warrants printing on FB paper.

With grade 5 added

I started the grade zero test print for the Gate but it became clear while I was doing the timed segments that I may not need a grade five test because  the contrast was very high even for zero. I chose sixteen seconds for the gate picture to illustrate the degree of contrast this negative has. The window shutter picture also proved to be overly contrasty as well. I was quite happy with the results until I did a second print with the grade five added which now makes the first print look soft. It just goes to show how things change when you start to explore the subject at different settings. None of the prints have been manipulated by dodging or burning in which could class them as the perfect prints?

Basic split grade printing



Fig 1
Soft test print

A while a go I was on the FADU forum in the articles section reading up on another subject, when I came across an article by Les Mclean on basic split grade printing. I had a quick read and printed a copy off to read again and give it a try. It is suggested that using this method leads to a more finely toned photograph. Is this the case?  And how difficult is it to get right?

 

Before the introduction of Multigrade and varitone papers photographers used to buy individually graded papers. This led to a working method that was tailored to what grade of paper they had on the shelf. To a certain extent I still do this aiming to produce negatives that print well at grade three. Then burning in (more light) or dodging (less light) areas to gain a well balanced final print.

 

After reading the article several more times to get the basics into my head I was ready to give it a try. I chose a negative that  had a very wide range of tones, that would normally require burning in. The negative used was taken  on Agfa APX 100, ISO 100 developed in PMK Pyro. These negs on average print well at about grade two and half.

Fig 2
Hard test print

Split grade printing requires you to produce two test strips. One at grade zero a soft test strip (Fig 1)  and the second at grade five a hard test strip (Fig 2). Quite simple until you put it into practice for the first time! It maybe an idea to produce an idiot list, for a procedure prompter,  to help jog your memory hopefully reducing the mistakes.

 

First of all it is a good idea to start with a fresh print developer as it may take more prints than you expect to arrive at the end result. For this test I used whole sheets of Foma variant 311 gloss RC 10 x 8. Developed in Moersch 6 blue tone. I will also process a print in my usual way as a reference.

 Sequence:

1.           The first test strip should always be the soft one at grade zero which in my case I dialed in to the enlarger head. You can use individual multigrade filters. I have set the enlarging lens to F8 which is what I would normally set.

2.           I have used five second intervals to obtain the right exposure for the soft print (fig 1) If you feel you need to refine the tonal separation then you can do a further test strip of two second intervals. I have kept to the five second test strip to keep things simple.

3.           Once the test strip is processed and preferably dry, under good lighting check the strips. The trick is to look at the bright tones of each segment the one that produces the best bright tones is the one to choose. In this case about 16.9 sec's. The contrast has to be forgotten about it is all about tone. (fig 1) Be careful not to over do it as it can lead to a muddy looking final print.

4.           This is the start of the hard grade test strip (fig 2). Place a new sheet of paper in the easel and expose the whole sheet at grade 0 at your chosen time (16.9 sec). Be careful not to move the easel. I also covered the photographic paper with a piece of black card to protect it from any stray light when I turned on the enlarger, so I can see the dials when adjusting them to grade five. This is where I think using pre set filters has the edge.

5.           Cover a section of the exposed paper as a reference point from which you can see the increase of contrast. Now expose the following sections at  two second increments. (fig 2).

6.           Once the test strip is processed and preferably dry; under good lighting you are looking for the best section of tonality and contrast that will provide you with the image for your taste. In this case I have chosen eleven seconds.

7.           Now you are ready to combine both the times in the one print. Begin with grade 0 the soft settings (the tonal exposure) this should always be done first as it has the most influence on the final out come; then grade 5 the contrast setting. The picture oppsite shows the result. I must admit the outcome is brilliant in more ways than one. It has an unexpected vibrancy that conveys how sunny and warm the day was.

 

The picture below, is my reference print as you can see it requires more work to produce the tones for the wall in the background and sky. I get the sense that this image is lacking in something. A subjective notion that is a very individual interpretation.

 

Conclusion

Les Mclean's article sets the process out in a way that is easy to understand. I have followed it to the letter and the result speaks for itself. When embarking on new processes there is a certain amount of settling in. Once you are past these initial stages you are only two steps away from a finely toned image, that anybody, novices included would be more than pleased with. I think it is a more efficient method of producing prints and in some cases possibly more cost effective. This is only a basic introduction to the use of split grade printing but I can already see that it has advantages over the standard grade print, achieving a better toned image more easily.

 

 

Choosing an enlarger.

This is the most important tool in the darkroom after the enlarging lens. With this in mind you need to consider the following: 

1.   The number of negative sizes you may wish to print. It is a good idea to get a multi format enlarger even if you are only going to use 35mm.

2.   The most appropriate lens size and quality.

3.   What type of negative illumination. Diffuser or Condenser.

4.   The maximum size of print you are likely to make.

5.   Whether you may want to do colour at a later date. Colour headed enlargers can be used with multigrade papers. 

As mentioned in “3” the type of negative illumination you choose is worth  a lot of consideration -  there are positive and negative points to both. Here are some of the pros and cons: 

Diffuser enlarger: 

Diffuser light box

This type of enlarger design is used with colour and multigrade heads. The light travels through a mixing box and semitransparent screen above the negative. To counteract the drop off in light, these enlargers use a powerful quartz-iodide bulb.  This multi directional light passes through the negative and down to the paper. The affect of this will produce a gentler, softer quality to the  light, producing a less contrasty grade for grade photograph. As a result damaged and flawed negatives lose or soften some of their faults. 

There are tonal differences between diffuser and condenser produced photographs because of the way light passes around the silver particle's. This is negated when using Chromogenic monochrome and colour films as they rely on dyes to capture the light. 

Condenser enlarger: 

Condenser light box

Uses a plano-convex lens which spreads a bright hard illumination  evenly across the negative. Supplied from a opal tungsten lamp. The harshness of this light produces a contrast enhancement that appears to make  fine detail more exaggerated. This crisp appearance to the photograph has the negative affect of bringing into sharp focus the grain, any scratches, flaws and dust from the negative, meaning more time spent on retouching. These enlargers are subject to the Callier affect this is where the highlights in the negative scatter the light more than the shadow areas creating the increase  in contrast.

Enlarging a section of the negative.

Picture from a 120 FP4+ ISO125 6x6 negative
 developed in ID11 and printed on Ilford MG paper
 Processed with Ilford MG Developer.
Landscape format

There are no rules when it comes to enlarging your negatives. Cropping, re-formatting and partial enlargement are all part of the creative process. Changing horizontals to verticals and diagonal is also part of this rich tapestry of creativity. The only time I feel this looks odd is with waterscapes and their horizons.

Portrait format

As one of those people that works with 6x6 negatives, cropping and reframing is all part of making the picture fit the paper. I'm not complaining but the fact is all paper sizes are oblong. I think this has helped me in getting the best from my pictures. I do not waste time in trying to make the whole negative fit the page; this is heresy to some who believe that having carefully framed the view that you should print as you saw it! This is not always possible, especially when you have a certain size of print in mind. Sometimes this careful framing once projected on the enlargers baseboard may look better with horizontal or vertical framing. Do not be afraid to play.

Square Format

Which do you prefer?

Enlarger

An enlarger consists of:

Enlarger for 35mmm negs
only. with out multigrade
head. Condenser type.

A baseboard on which enlargements are made; a column, which serves as a slide for the support arm, that holds the enlarging head, which consists of the lamp housing that contains the bulb; a single or double condenser; negative carrier, a place to fix the lens; a means of focusing and lastly a red filter that swings in front of the lens.

The lamp contained in the light housing is of the opal type and has a power output of 75, 100 or 150 watts. The pearlescents of the bulb with the help of a condenser distributes the light evenly across the negative. The lens focuses and projects the negative image on to the baseboard or rather an easel with paper on it. The higher the enlarging head is from the baseboard the closer the lens is to the negative the greater the magnification. The closer the head is to the baseboard the greater the distance the negative is from the lens the smaller the magnification of the picture. The typical focal length of lens for 35mm negative is 50mm and for a medium format (6x6) is about 75mm.

A multi format Enlarger with multi grade head.
Diffuser type.

The negative is clamped in the carrier which incorporates a mask that is the same size or format as the film and then placed in the light box. It is not a good idea to cut the negatives into single frames, it is better to leave them in strips to make it easier to line the frame up with the mask in the carrier, this also means you are less likely to scratched them.

Focusing is usually done manually, although there are enlargers available with automatic focus, these are usually more expensive.