Software Artisan

Out of only three hours of photography, I got four pictures with my large format and a roll of small format pictures. The trip was primarily to support my son’s basketball team, but I was able to get some time aside. Even in the winter you can find some truly wonderful pictures. You just need to be able to look properly.

This particular subject was a bit challenging. If I went to the beach my view was obstructed by dense dead trees. However, here I had the sun coming through gray clouds, almost backlighting my subject. The bright spot in the upper right corner is where the sunlight was coming from. My Rodenstock 26cm super-aplanat lens was made in 1935, so it doesn’t have all the improvements in lens manufacturing made since then. It still resolves an incredible amount of detail.

This particular picture is not a scan of a print, but of the negative. In order to overcome some of the problem areas of the picture I had to do some digital dodging and burning. I have to say that I don’t enjoy doing these things digitally because I think in terms of stops, not percentages. Nevertheless the light refractions in the lens obscured the top of the lighthouse so I had to do something. I dodged it about 30% which was enough to make it more substantial without making it look fake. I dodged the edges of the picture slightly differently for each edge due to the way the tones lay. The right side with the tree didn’t need as much burning as the left side. Additionally the sky required more dodging than the ground. Lastly, the sky where the sun was peaking through required some more control so I burned that top corner in an additional 40%. The tree in the middle had a bit too much weight, so I had to dodge it. Unfortunately, the scan didn’t have any more detail to give me. An optical print will help me out there.

I played around with different toning options and I found that selenium just didn’t suit it very well. I wanted a cooler look to it, so I went for a simulated gold tone. I did try a sepia tone as an alternative, and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice that would look—but went with a straight gold tone.

Sometimes playing with a scan of a negative digitally will help with visualizing what you can do with the optical print. Looking at this picture, I can see how I should have changed my angle a little bit. I wanted the large tree on the right to help frame the picture, but the tree in front of the light house is not at a good angle. I probably should have set up in the brush on the right side of the large tree. Sometimes you have to choose between personal safety and the perfect shot. Traversing snow and ice while carrying several pounds of equipment isn’t the best idea.

When I print this optically, I will definitely have to put it on 11×14 or larger paper. It needs the breathing room of the larger area so you can get up close and see the detail. The 11×14 also might cut off the little bit of the sign on the right.

One of my favorite combos is Efke 25 and WD2D+, a pyrogallol based developer. Pyro (what we darkroom nuts call pyrogallol) based developers stain the film, and the staining action increases with the density of the silver. What this means in layman’s terms is that you get nice, clean sharp edges and your open spaces are smoothed out. You’ll notice that there is almost no grain.

Let me give a little more technical information before I dive into the fun stuff. Efke is a traditional emulsion film that has orthochromatic characteristics, although I’m not sure if it is classified as an ortho film. Basically, it’s not that sensitive to red light. At ISO 25, you may think it’s pretty slow but my 4×5 Calumet has to be mounted on a tripod anyway. You’d be surprised how easy it is to find a good exposure setting even when the ISO is so slow. Wimberly’s Developer #2, Version D+ (WD2D+) is a staining developer with a hardener built in. Unlike other pyro based developers, WD2D+ provides an orange stain. All pyro developers are more toxic than regular developers, but if you take reasonable care you’ll be fine. If you have good darkroom habits you’ll be just fine.

Not every scene lends itself to pyro, and sometimes you actually want more of that good, honest grit. Typically, I reach for the pyro when I want delicate highlights and clean edges. I commonly use it for snow scenes, or if I have smooth curves like silk sheets or something of that nature. I find that a negative can have a tremendous amount of detail that the enlarger picks up but your eyes don’t. Again, it’s not a magic bullet. After using it yourself, you’ll get a better feel for how it develops your pictures. WD2D+ tends to make things “cleaner”, and perhaps a little more sterile—but not in a bad way. Contrast this with Rodinal which also has great acutance (sharpness) but gives a grittier, more honest feel.

This particular scene, Ice Dunes , was shot at Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania. I took meter readings on the darkest spot and the brightest spots and found that there really wasn’t a whole lot of contrast. I placed the shadow reading on Zone III and the highlights fell on Zone VII. Yes, I use the zone system—but I’ve tailored it to the way I think. It’s a tool to help get what you visualize to reality. I could have done N+2 development, but pyro really isn’t made for pushing film. I figured that there might be some detail that would have more shadow and more highlight than my meter would pick up.

The picture was scanned in using my Microtek i800 flatbed scanner, scanned at 16 bits. Once I got in the computer I played with it in the Gimp giving it some levels adjustments, burning the sky a lot, and the ledge a little bit. I dodged the open area in ice to make things stand out a bit. Finally, I gave it some digital toning of my own. I consider this a practice round for the darkroom which I have yet to use in a long time.