[pure-silver] Re: Ansco 115 Contrast Boost
- From: Lloyd Erlick <lloyd@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 11:10:09 -0500
January 25, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,
At 10:04 PM 1/24/2006 , Richard Knoppow wrote:
> Not hydroxide, carbonate! Switching to Potassium sulfite
>and Potassium Carbonate may make a little difference,
>particularly the carbonate. The two are supposed to be
>slightly different in photoactivity but I would not count on
>getting much change.
There is certainly not much change. I've made a lot of prints this way, and
'much change' is not in the cards. But that is the way I want it --
photography and subtlety go hand in hand, as far as I'm concerned. My work
is about skin tones and the illumination of faces. So a subtle alteration
of the warmth factor for a print is what I want, and the play between
sodium and potassium ions in the developer is a very handy tool. My taste
runs to the exchange of all sodium for potassium, and the application of
selenium that is relatively concentrated and quite warm. I'm a liberal...
> You can add some additional Bromide to the developer.
>This will slow it down a little and warm up the tones a
>little.
In practical terms, under the enlarger, this means the paper will take a
lot more exposure to begin to darken the whites. Of course, the blacks will
also need more exposure, but it always seems to me the blacks are improved
by the extended time they get when potassium is in the developer. Potassium
bromide in the developer seems to promote a somewhat more pronounced
response to selenium toner. I can't defend this scientifically and I
haven't measured it, but it seems that way to me after a lot of use.
...
> Kodak Selectol Soft was apparently very similar to
>Ansco/Agfa 120.
I'd certainly agree with that. I didn't use all that much of the packaged
Kodak developer, but my recollection has always been that it's a lot like
120. But 120 is so cheap to prepare, and so easy to dissolve, it's hard to
buy commercial developer. The simple step of using distilled water to make
up developers eliminates the need for a lot of the complex chemistry a
manufacturer must put into a bag of developer powder to accommodate water
in diverse locales. Distilled water and a very short list of pretty cheap
chemicals is all that is needed to develop film and make really beautiful
FB prints.
regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email: portrait@xxxxxxxxxxxx
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
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