Wye Forest no2 Print

The Wye forest series is from a short trip to the Wye valley on a foggy day. Since the primary purpose was a walk I was shooting my Mamiya 645 handheld and HP5+ pushed to 800. The result was some very soft images due to the wide aperture, the fog, and film grain.

The prints are a challenge as a result. This was another exploration of the range of possible prints that lead me eventually to a different image than I would have settled on if I had proceeded in my usual fashion.

I started out with test strips and my first test print of a #00 filter at 8 seconds and #5 filter 8 to 64 seconds in half stops.

This lead me to the first print at #00 at 11 seconds and #5 22 seconds. This is more or less what I was after. The darker tree trunks are a little too dark and so another print (4) I reduce the #00 filter to 8 seconds and have a better version.

Print 1 #00 11 seconds and #5 22 seconds

Print 4

Exploring by 'Going Too Far'

So much for the conventional direction. I ‘go too far’ next and print both exclusively the hard and soft filter at 32 seconds in each. The high contrast versions is not great but the low contrast version has much more detail in the distance and surprises me as I tend to like more contrast in an image.

Print 2 30 seconds #5 filter (High contrast)

Print 3 30 seconds #00 filter

This low contrast version has much more detail in the deep background. The next thing I want is to brighten that background a bit more. First I try a balance between hard and soft filters.

Print 5 #00 16 seconds #5 16 seconds

This is pretty good, a balance between detail and contrast. Let’s what else can be done...

The next trick is to alter the development time. The developer I use (Moersch Eco 4812) can increase contrast by reducing development time from the standard 3 minutes. You can develop by inspection with the safelight. Keeping the comparison print nearby makes it easier to judge. I looked for the dimmest detail to begin to appear then place the print in a water bath and agitate. This allows me to examine the print at more leisure and I can put it back in the developer if it has not progressed enough.

I make the low contrast filter-only exposure again but pull the print from the developer after about 1 1/2 minutes.

Print 6 #00 30 seconds 1 1/2 minutes development

This makes for a lighter print. The next iteration is to add some hard filter and pull the print at 1 minute development.

Print 7 #5 11 seconds #00 32 seconds develop about 1 minutes

Here is a comparison of the three low contrast alternatives. They differ primarily in how much brightness is present in the middle fog. I feel that the bottom one which is the lightest is the best as I was trying to achieve some idea of a glow.

Low contrast version 3, 6, and 7

Conclusions

There are different interpretations of this image. The first higher contrast version has that bright glow of a foggy morning. Much is obscured in the depth of the fog in this version and so is left to the imagination. The eye is eventually drawn to the foreground.

In the lower contrast version the eye stays in the background.

I am also interested now in a lower key version of the low contrast image.

Selenium and Sepia Toning

Just to see I tried Selenium toning (1+3) 3 minutes and Sepia (1+100) at 5 minutes. Both give different magenta casts.

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