Printing
All my prints are made by projection!
OK, now and then on a rare occasion I will make a contact print.
Contact prints can look great no argument there.
However they can also be boring, and poorly seen.
What matters to me is to be able to communicate what I feel
when working with a given subject matter.
In various tests using different types of papers (incl. AZO)
my personal preference is Bergger VCCB.
My negatives (from 35mm to 8X10) are all processed
in either Pyro PMK or Pyro Rollo,
either in trays, steel tanks or in a JOBO processor.
I do not process by inspection. Instead I trust my meter readings
when exposing my negatives and process according to test results based
on optimum exposure / tuned to optimum negative processing times.
Why not use AZO and Amidol? It was good enough for the old masters, so?
Well, I do not want to do what was done a long time ago.
Many photographers in the past had a limited choice of materials
and often made contact prints due to monetary constraints.
As the matter of fact I had no use for my old stock
of double weight AZO - and sold it all!
Instead it is my goal to find my own "look" and my personal way of doing things!
I found that in the following way:
Printing setup:
Tray 1 = water
Tray 2 = Ansco 130 - sometimes with a bit of Benzo
Tray 3 = water
Tray 4 = Fixer (TF-4)
Wash for 15 minutes
Dry on fiberglass screens, face down.
Clear highlights (localized) with a weak solution of Potassium Ferricyanide
Tray 5 = Water
Tray 6 = Fix (Sodium Thiosulfate)
Tray 7 = Selenium toner
Tray 8 = Hypo Clear
Final wash for 60 minutes
Dry on fiberglass screens, face down.
A lengthy process that really takes two days.
Print and go through first wash / dry on day one.
Bleach, tone and final wash on day two.
Experience this technique first hand by coming
to one of my Darkroom Workshops.
Click Here for workshop information!
Click here for book offer.
Copyright ©2008 Per Volquartz. All Rights Reserved.
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