Thursday, February 26, 2004
There's a stack of envelopes sitting next to me, just waiting for the post office to open. Inside each is a small (5x7) cyanotype and gum bichromate print as my contribution to the PS4 - Pinhole swap 2004 organized by the pinhole mailing list.
One of my initial attempts at using Maco IR film in a pinhole, it's also one of my favorite images of one of the few models who is patient enough for pinhole photography.
btw.. only 58 days until Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day
Posted by coldmarble @ 09:03 AM ET [Link] [blab]
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
I'm still delving through various resources and techniques for the optimum method to produce enlarged negatives for alt-process work. The contact print on lith film to get an interpositive isn't working too well when going from 35mm to 8x10 or larger. The lith emulsion is so delicate that scratches are a big problem, especially when working in a communal/school darkroom. Everyone's careful and tries to treat the film with great tenderness but when there are a dozen or so negs swirling in the wash tray, scratches are too likely to occur.
Last night I tried printing 35mm on Arista Pro 125 b/w film. Results were mixed and not too promising. I don't think the school darkroom is entirely dark, at least not enough to allow working with film. There's enough light seeping through the ceiling tile grid to make tray development almost worthless. I attempted a test strip and one experimental enlargement to make a guesstimate at exposure. Too much fog to really work with, but I did try a few test exposures for later development at home. My exposure times seem to have been a bit long, and some increased development wouldn't hurt if I try this method again.
I hope to be able to spend some time in class Saturday making a few lith negs from these tests. I'll also try enlarging 35mm to a 4x5 interpositive and then enlarge that to get my final big negative. A few small scratches on a 4x5 should be much less troublesome than the same size scratch on a tiny 35mm frame.
Posted by coldmarble @ 09:29 AM ET [Link] [blab]
Interesting thread at the Large Format Photography Forum for any alt-process printers using Kodak 100 TMax. Some recent changes to the emulsion seem to have increased the UV blocking of the film's base+fog by about a stop or two. No change noticeable for those printing with gelatin silver and not at all apparent to the naked eye but could be troublesome for those using processes relying on UV light.
Not much concern here, as I've pretty much switched over to Ilford and Arista, but I do have a few rolls of Tmax in 120 floating around for use in a couple of pinhole cameras.
Posted by coldmarble @ 09:14 AM ET [Link] [blab]
