Monophoto

<p>One of the best places to photograph sunsets is Cape Cod - which is definitely on the East Coast.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Jose's recollection is correct. In the distant past, it was customary for portrait photographers to retouch negatives using standard graphite pencils. Most 'portrait' films of those days were manufactured to provide the 'tooth' on the backing necessary to accept markings by pencils, but it was possible for pencil retouching to be applied directly to the image-bearing emulsion.</p> <p>There is a significant difference between dye and pencil retouching - pencil is very precise while dye tends to be affect larger areas of the negative. Back in the day when these practices were routine, the precision of pencil retouching was sometimes seen as a problem because sharp pencil lines could transfer to the print. One manufacturer made a retouching table that used a motor to introduce vibration into the retouching process to cause pencil lines to blur and be less distinct!</p> <p> </p>

<p>There is an old technique that can be useful in situations where there are small areas with insufficient negative density - dye dodging. Obviously, the larger the negative, the easier this is to apply. It's very effective with 4x5 and larger, but there's no reason you couldn't use it with 35mm or roll film if you are prepared to work very precisely using a magnifier.</p> <p>The basic premise is to use a small brush to add some dye to the negative in the weak areas. Beyond that basic concept, there are a number of options in implementation.</p> <p>You can add the dye directly to the negative. In that instance, putting the dye on the non-emulsion side of the negative means that it will be separated from the image layer by the thickness of the negative backing - so that the dye cloud will be very slightly out of focus when you make the print. An even better approach is to sandwich a piece of unexposed but fully processed and washed film on the back of the negative, and then apply the dye to the clear film. That separates the dye from the negative image by two layers of film backing so that it is even more out of focus, and also means that if you change your mind, you can either throw away the dye layer, or else wash the dye off the clear film for reuse.</p> <p><br />The color of the dye also is important. If you use a black or gray dye, then you will get some additional density in the thin areas, but using a colored dye means that you can simultaneously adjust the local contrast in the dyed areas when printing on variable contrast paper. In most instances, the best choice is a magenta color since that emulates the color of higher-contrast printing filters and causes an increase in contrast in the areas you 'adjusted' - so that in addition to adding overall background density, the extra contrast boosts the ability to print the detail in those weak area. Yellow dye causes a reduction in contrast - which has roughly the same effect as selectively flashing blown out highlights in the print using white light to add density without detail. Dr. Martin's Transparent Water Color Dyes are excellent for this purpose, however you should be aware that they aren't permanent and tend to fade over time (weeks to months) so if you choose to come back to a treated negative to make additional prints, you may have to renew the dye.</p>

<p>Hewes have always been the most expensive stainless steel film reels. But that not the issue here.</p> <p>The issue here is that photography has made a dramatic shift away from film and toward digital. Sale of film processing equipment has declined significantly. Because of that, the used equipment market is flooded with processing equipment, so the relatively few people who are migrating back to film are opting to purchase used. </p> <p>Marketing 101: lower volume inexorably means higher prices.</p>