Reversal Paper for RA4 Processing?

[bujor_b]

Ok! This went way too far! Ron, are you serious? Are you really interested in my humble experiment? (of course you are... you are the actual maker of the process for reversing paper image... I know the USPTO #... I was only crazy enough to go further than copying slides in the darkroom, which was anyway so obvious I almost think you naturally pushed me outside in the daylight!)

 

I have to clear up some things: the last attachment from Helsingor, Danmark is made exclusively using your process on a Provia slide... So is the one in Alaska, from another post, using a 400 APS Kodak crossprocessed as pseudo-slide. I wanted to touch Alec's subject as well.

 

When I took the picture of my cat directly on paper, I guess I was extremely lucky. I manually fired the strongest flashgun I could get, and you can almost see his pupils coming from wide opened to closed (one second exposure). I even forgot to use the IR glass, but I think I've gotten the filtration almost right (just a bit of stray magenta there), exactly as I described in one of my other posts about "contact copies using a flash" or something similar (another source of mumbling in the forum)

 

Piece of cake compared to the outside tweeking. The lizzard in AU was a special case. I think it stared like this for a whole hour, so in the end we had to kick it to be sure he was alive. This was actually the first decent direct paper photo I got. Quite frankly, I had to get rid of just a bit of orange in Photoshop to get the posted image. Well, there is a reason for that: I wanted to cheat and find out quicker how much more Y and M did I have to subtract to get the ideal filter package. Guess what... Photoshop sucks! If you are to apply their computations in broad air, you'll be better off color blind!

 

At any rate, I am very near some decent and stable results and all who showed interest will get my "actual exposure conditions" via e-mail probably this weekend or soon after.

 

Two more things Ron: as I mentioned in my message to Tadje, the explanatory process described is an E6-like one, which includes some extra washes, for him to understand it completely. In practice I APPLIED YOUR SUGGESTED STEPS EXACTLY.

 

Portraits... ... I don't think it is an easy task at all. I think the color temperature of the face skin has a large variety, depending upon illumination, zonal reflectivity, emotional state, sex (or lack of it)... therefore they use generally a ton of mascara for both men and women when they shoot film. And there is another aspect: the paper low working speed makes it almost impossible to get a decent memento facial expression (where I came from, we say, they will all have that "full carrot deep in their arses" look upon their faces, half dead, half alive, like the sepia photos at the begining of the last century)

 

the rookie

[nz]

Rowland could you give some info on the scratch mixing?

[rowland_mowrey]

Nick;

 

Mix Dektol from scratch, but omit the bromide. Instead, use Sodium Chloride at about 100 - 500 mg/l in the working solution which is the concentrate you mix diluted 1:3 with water. You may also want to add extra Sodium Carbonate. I have doubled the amount of carbonate in this developer and get better whites.

 

This developer will give about 1 - 2 stops more speed than regular Dektol with better whites and less crossover. It give higher contrast as well.

 

Develop from 2 - 2.5 minutes in this MQ developer.

 

Expect high contrast, and some degree of mottle in clear areas such as sky. The process will vary from batch to batch of paper and with the age of the developer. I suggest that you mix and store the developer for about 2 days before using it.

 

This is why I don't suggest this cross process unless one is a very serious advanced color lab rat.

[nz]

I'd make up the D-72 at working strength fresh for each session. That would get around any developer aging issues I guess. Thanks.

[nz]

Or wait. Are you suggesting I should age the developer?

[rowland_mowrey]

Nick;

 

Mix the developer from scratch and hold for 1 - 2 days, then dilute and use. The HQ is decomposing into HQ sulfonate which changes activity with time. I'm working on a better developer that is more stable.

 

Ron Mowrey

[nz]

Thanks for the info. I'll hopefully have a chance to try it out soon.

[ray_civera]

<p> hi bujor b! I read this:<br>

"Seriously, if you are genuinely interested in experimenting with paper (or any other sensitive materials, in any normal electromagnetic radiation range), please let me know and I'll be more than glad to give you details."<br>

... Do you use RA4 as negative film? I am using with pinhole cameras and get positive with strong bluish, I place one AV filter and improved enough now I'm tuning in chemistry. Any suggestions for shooting RA4 paper? Thanks for your help.</p>