Printing the Foggy Oak
Yes another printing post. Sorry but I keep my lab notes here which makes for dreadfully boring reading.
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| Blog post cover photo |
This image I took during my two days of photography in Holme Fen when there was persistent fog for a few days. I printed this image as part of a contact print series and decided to make an 8x10 print. This involves moving upstairs to 'The Beast' my 4x5 enlarger. I am also nearing the end of my pack of 8x10 Adox MCC 110 paper a glossy FB paper so I thought this would be a good use for it.
Looking at my notes from the last time I printed on this paper I setup for an Ev of close to 6 with the negative removed which got me to f22. My first test strip was too dark so I switched to f32. Given my contact print experience and experience with fog in the past I opted for a #5 hard filter only print.
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| Test Strip (#5 hard filter) (8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64 seconds right to left.) |
The test print caused some confusion as I could not decide between 22, 32, or 45 seconds. I liked the luminous feel at 22 seconds but worried the tree trunk is too ill-defined. So I opted for one of each. Having to go downstairs to develop each sheet makes me think in terms of batches. It also helps to explore the range of the print. I made an extra copy of the 32 second exposure to try a shorter development time to try and boost contrast. I also burned the upper left corner for 1/2 stop for all but the 22 second exposure which I burned at one stop. I made the same burn on the contact print at one stop but convinced myself to cut this in half.
The four prints are shown below…
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| #5 22 sec #5 22 sec (1 stop) burn upper left corner 3 min development |
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| #5 32 sec #5 16 sec (1/2 stop) burn upper left corner 2 min development |
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| #5 32 sec #5 16 sec (1/2 stop) burn upper left corner 3 min development |
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| #5 45 sec #5 32 sec (1/2 stop) burn upper left corner 3 min development |
I finally decided on the darkest print as best. Perhaps because it gives a better range of tones. I am never satisfied with these fog prints. Getting white fog and dark enough trees is too much a stretch. I should probably be experimenting with extended development times for some expansion of the range. In any case I adjusted the burn to one stop and got my final print.
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| #5 45 sec #5 45 sec (1 stop) burn upper left corner 3 min development |
I want to try and lith print this next. I made what I think were nice prints of foggy scenes earlier this year. This will have to wait until after the holiday festivities however.
Merry Christmas everyone.
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