Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/01/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It;s actually the only reason for the Leica experience. Lots of prints tonight My bell bottom cuffs are wet Fixer stains for life Dante Vick Ko wrote: > Welcome to the dark side. > > It absolutely rounds out the Leica experience. > Don't worry about the smell - it will grow on you > like a comfortable fragance. > > Martin Howard wrote: > > > I finally, no FINALLY, got my bathroom darkroom working last night. > > Squeezed around a Valoy II enlarger I found for $30 (minus negative carrier) > > I dug out some negatives from this summer's trip along the West Coast, mixed > > up the developer, stop, and fixer (ahh -- I wonder if the smell will ever > > get out of my shower curtain ;) and set to work. > > > > First off, this is the first darkroom I've owned. I've worked in darkrooms > > before, but not much. I used to belong to a university photo club in > > Sweden, but for various reasons (mostly to do with lack of photography) I > > never really made much use of their Focomat V35-equipped darkroom. > > > > Until two days ago, I never understood the basics of how to make a print -- > > which is odd, because I must have read a dozen books on the subject. Sure, > > I know all about masking, dodging, burning, etc., but the basics of how to > > get a good straight print eluded me. That is, until I reaffirmed my > > subscription to Darkroom Techniques and they sent me a little complementary > > issue entitled "Mastering the Fine Art Print", or something to that effect. > > In it, Howard Bond, whose esoteric articles I usually can't follow, wrote > > something that made everything absolutely perfectly clear. Expose the paper > > for a textured highlight. Control the placement of shadows by contrast > > (paper grade). He then went on to divulge a quick and easy technique for > > making a first test strip -- to zero in on that textured highlight. > > > > I owe Tom A a lot -- more than I'll ever be able to pay back -- in terms of > > time and knowledge he has so graciously shared, but also in terms of > > equipment which he has been so generous to lend or give to me. I'm > > borrowing my enlarger lens, a 50mm Ross, from him, and judging by the > > results, I don't think he's going to be getting it back any time soon! ;) > > > > Another piece is an Ilford darkroom exposure meter. On one of my trips to > > Vancouver, I spent an afternoon trying to figure out how you'd use it. > > Ilford's instructions (find a mid-level grey tone) seemed pretty silly, but > > together we figured out that using it to meter for a textured highlight at a > > known time would be much better. And it sure is. Having got a good first > > print, I measured the textured highlight and recorded the setting on the > > EM-10 at the exposure time of 10s. Now, I just pop another negative under > > the enlarger on a textured highlight, set the EM-10 under it at the > > calibrated setting, twiddle the aperture until the little green light comes > > on, and I know that if I expose at that setting with that filter for 10s, > > I'll get my highlights placed exactly where I want them. It's increadible. > > > > Anyway, the hours flew past, and at about 1am, delirious and exhausted from > > running back and forth between closet (expose), bathroom (dev, stop, fix, > > pre-wash) and kicthen (final wash) I went to bed with a smile on my face. > > > > I know that many of you on this list have been so very generous with your > > knowledge over the years. As a small token, I offer you a scan of my first > > print. In many ways, you're all its fathers and mothers. I was but the > > midwife ;) > > > > http://www.ida.liu.se/~marho/photo/other/sfchess.html > > > > Technical data: Leica M2, 35mm f/2 Summicron (pre-asph), Fuji Neopan 100 > > developed for 15min @ 72F in Rodinal 1:100, nameless variable contrast RC > > paper with perl surface (I suspect it's MG III), 2 min in Multigrade paper > > dev. > > > > M. > > > > -- > > Martin Howard | > > Visiting Scholar, CSEL, OSU | 53 kB/s and nothing on. > > email: howard.390@osu.edu | > > www: http://mvhoward.i.am/ +----------------------------------------