kevin_kolosky Posted May 24, 2003 Share Posted May 24, 2003 You just get home from that really fun long trip where you have exposed a considerable amount of 8 x 10 negs and you start developing them. They look absolutely great. But then when you start looking at them closely you notice that even though you went to great pains to get all of the dust out of the holders you have some pretty big spots where dust caused the negative to not be exposed, thereby leaving a blank spot on the neg, and resulting in large black spots on the print. Some may go ahead and scan the neg and fix the spot and burn a new neg. How about the rest of you. what is your favorite method for taking care of this problem after it happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_oneill Posted May 24, 2003 Share Posted May 24, 2003 Hi Kevin, Try spotting the negative with Kodak's "Crocien Scarlet". It's a red powder substance that you mix with water. It comes in 1 ounce bottles. It'll last you years. What's neat about this stuff is if you screw up applying, you can dab it off and try again. If you go this route, you'll end up with a white spot on your print instead of a black spot (that you'll most likely have to scrape off and damage the paper's emulsion) that you simply spot away with spotone dyes or equivalent. You can also use the stuff for dye-dodging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capocheny Posted May 24, 2003 Share Posted May 24, 2003 Hi Kevin,<p>My condolensces...I think we've ALL been there at one time or another. I scan mine into Photoshop and repair it there. <p>In one of my past lives I use to work at a newspaper and had to repair negs and prints in the lab. For whatever reason, with the exception of a few occasions, they never did print up right. The density and/or gradation didn't match up to my satisfaction for the most part. So, I really am glad that Photoshop came along and gave us the tools to do the job right.<p>Good luck...I hope you resolve the issue.<p>Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_poinsett Posted May 25, 2003 Share Posted May 25, 2003 I presume you are talking about B&W photography. Unless you are going the digital scan route, learn to spot the negative. It is not that hard to do once you get used to it. If you are going to do your own wet prints, learning to spot large format negatives is a neccessity. Practice on negatives with no value. Remember that most of the time you will complete the process by spotting the print where the resulting white spot will be. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_killian1 Posted May 25, 2003 Share Posted May 25, 2003 I don't think Crocien Scarlet is available anymore, is it? Does anyone know where to find it today - or of an alternative? (Tired of buying surgical blades and scraping prints!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_killian1 Posted May 25, 2003 Share Posted May 25, 2003 Disregard my last post. "Crocein scarlet" was mispelled above. If spelled correctly, it's available at many fine retailers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick_morris Posted May 25, 2003 Share Posted May 25, 2003 The Creitin, or whatever, Red is still available from Kodak, as is their Retouching Fluid. You need to call their "Professional" services, and be insistent. Some people you talk with don't know how to find it, or will not go the trouble. The problem I encountered was that you need to by multiples, you can't just buy one bottle. The C... Red is about $32.00 a bottle if I remember correctly and you have to buy two. The Retouching fluid is less expensive, but you have to buy three. Try www.veronicacass.com for retouching supplies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_mcblane Posted May 25, 2003 Share Posted May 25, 2003 I agree with Nick. I use Veronia Cass retouching dyes for all my negatives. I am a portrait photographer specializing in B&W and negative retouching is an absolute necessity. Ask for her instructions (www.veronicacass.com) on doing negs and prints and stop fearing this relatively simple procedure. Virtually all negs and prints need a little bit of work and with just a little practice you can be proficient very quickly. With Veronica Cass dyes you don't need any other meduim. Just buy a small bottle of Mauve( believe it or not I use this almost exclusively for all negs and prints), a bottle of Midnight, and a bottle of browntone (for sepia prints). These bottles are $4.00 ea. Then get a #1 Kolinsky and a #00 Kolinsky series 12 brush. Get a small little palette from her and you are set. Learn her dry brush technique. If you are having trouble with her directions feel free to email me at blansky@aol.com and I will help you through it. Michael McBlane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_wehmeier1 Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 B+H sells the Crocein scarlet one at a time for 19.95. But given the way Kodak is embracing digital you may want to buy a few before they discontinue it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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