timothynugent619

I am trying to find 8 x 10in Multigrade IV RC Deluxe B&W Paper, Pearl. I go to a college in the Atlantic City Area and have been unsuccessful finding this specific paper. It would mean a lot if I could get an answer today if anyone knows.

Thanks!

Rather then just refering you to some video, I'll try and expalin it to you (based on actual experience using this technique during many years of making my own prints)

 

I assume you are familiar with how an enlarger works, to make a 'standard' print

If you do the latter, so without dodging and burning, you'll often find that certain parts of the print end up washed out (over exposed on the negative, too light on the print) or too black (under exposed on the negative, and too black/dark on the print)

 

Burning and dodging is the classic darkroom technique used with which to make a print in which the above effects are countered

 

'Burning in' boils down to gving a certain part of the photo paper which is being exposed to the light of the enlarger, some extra exposure compared to the rest of the print

The selection of the part is by the printer based on his interpretation of the negative, and on trial strips (partial prints on small pieces of photographic paper of certain parts of the image)

 

Example:

You take a picture of a subject against a sunny, not necessarily bright sky.

If you take the exposure on the subject and make the initial print with a 'correctly exposed (details in the highlights and shadows) subject, most likely the sky will end up overexposed (= loss of detail)

 

The negative will give a main subject with details (blank parts and greyish areas for the shadows, black parts for the light areas like skin - with a causasian subject - and eg white clothing, and a much denser area for the background/sky

 

In order to get a overall correct print (with details in both subject and background), you first begin to find the correct exposure time for the main subject

by chosing a certain aperture on the lens of the enlarger, and by trial and error finding the correct exposure time (= amount of light) to end up with a corectly exposed image on the paper

In order to avoid wasting paper all the time, you can simply do so by using a trial strip pf photopper which you place on the area of the main subject, expose and develop

 

You now with a 2nd trial strip similarly find out how long you have to expose the photographic paper to get a correctly exposed (+ with details) background

 

Best/easiest way to do so it keep the aperture of the lens in the enlarger unchanged, and extending the exposure time (more light on photographic paper means darker image) so much that that the background now gets a correct exposure (= details in that part of the image) too

 

For the final print (keep in mind though that you'll probably will have to make several attemps before you end up with a 'good' one, so don't depair too soon) you first expose a full sheet of paper with the settings for a correct exposure of the main subject

 

Then, without moving the paper, you make a second exposure with the settings found for getting a correct back ground

This is burning in, i.e, giving part/the rest of the photographic paper extra light, to get a darker tone in the eventual print

 

However, if you do so for the complete image, your main subject will end up getting too much light, which with a print means getting too dark, which obviously is not what you're after)

 

To avoid that you now have to keep light away during the exposure of the photographic paper. in other words you dodge away the light from that area (= dodging)

 

To do so, you block the light which otherwise during the 2nd exposure would reach that part of the image (and make it too dark), either with your hand(s) or a small piece of eg cardboard, black paper or whatever you might have at hand (back in the days eg Paterson - from the film development tanks - sold pre cut shapes).

 

To have a more natural effect/border of the area you burn in or dodge, you will have to slightly move/shake that piece of cardboard during the 2nd exposure, so the borders get somewhat blurred.

 

If the area is more in the middle of the area, you could tape the piece of cardboard on a stick, to avoid accidently covering up too much of the image other then the area intended

 

It really is as simple as it sounds, but demands effort and experience to do well

(that is something the youtube videos don't tell you, they make it seem easy, the usual ' just do what I did' nonsense )

thank you for explaining Paul !

A stop bath is not absolutely necessary for film. You can pour out the developer and immediately pour in the fixer BUT you will be hard pressed to get the number of rolls of per volume of fixer stated by the fixer manufacturer. This will not be a problem if you use your fixer 1 shot.

I use a water rinse between developer and fixer. I fill and dump the tank 2 times between developing and fixer. I have been doing this since 1977 and have never had a problem with fixer exhausting prematurely.

I use HC110 currently, Xtol, Microdol X, Ronidal, FG7 previously over the years.

I use Kodak rapid fixer currently, Ilford rapid fix and Kodak powdered fixer in the past.

The last batch of Kodak Rapid fixer I mixed was anout 16 months ago, have processed about 20 rolls of film in it and it still works as well as the day it was mixed.

 

Your results may vary depending on how much film you process and your water supply. I filter the tap water through a Pur filter for mixing stock chemicals and anything important.

 

A stop bath for prints is necessary as you want the development to stop immediately.

Thank you 13thumbs

Your developer is alcalic. Your film or paper are basically sponges soaked with that soup. Your fixer has to remain a weak acid to be functional. You could use water but it would only wash the developer out / dilute it further. if you have lots of water and feel able to exchange your fixer frequently or even have a Ph meter at hand to check it, go for rinsing instead of stopping.

I don't mind the chemical nature of 2% citric acid or vinegar.

Thank you Jochen !

Hello everyone I have an important question!

Why cant I use water for my stop bath ? Why do I have to use chemicals?

Please let me know ! Thanks

Timothy, you are expecting photo.net members to spend time explaining something covered by practically every photography textbook ever written. And there is loads of information on the internet, for example:

 

f-number - Wikipedia

Thank you John

How do F STOPS WORK ?

If anyone can give me some feed back that would be great !

You can use water, but it reduces fixer life from developer contamination. Indicator stop bath is a useful step and stops the chemical reaction of the developer, though not essential for films, beneficial, and IMO, necessary for traditional papers.

Thank you so much Sandy !

Hello everyone I have an important question!

Why cant I use water for my stop bath? Why do I have to use chemicals?

Please let me know ! Thanks

Because it makes the real world artificial.

I like that take on the subject Fred ! Thanks for sharing.

I like the intervention of the camera in the creative process. Depending on how you look at it, it can be seen as a challenge, or as an evasion, or perhaps both at the same time. Anyway, I am also an unabashed gearhead, so I suppose I gravitate toward something that has at least the potential for art and also just happens to require machinery.

Thank you for that take on the subject Matthew!

The medium allows me an avenue for creative expression and partially answers my desire for social interaction. In short, it helps me feel alive.

Thank you Jon for sharing that with us! Cool Dog by the way.

It's simply something I want to do all the time. I'm pretty good at it or at least parts of it and it's the way I like to spend time.

 

Rick H.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us Rick !!

I enjoy photography, the process of shooting film,and of course the photos. It's usually a secondary activity as I go about doing different things. I enjoy other things more then photography actually.

Thanks for sharing Rossb

Getting it wrong 95% of the time and still being able to call it a good day.

Thank you for sharing that with us Sanford !

I the same. ))

Thank you Hansibsen !

Three reasons come to mind for me:

1 - I love being able to capture a moment in time that I find interesting and that will never occur again.

2 - I love being able to visually document significant events in my life.

3 - I can't paint, so photography provides an outlet for creating pictures that are aesthetically appealing to me.

Hey thanks for sharing that with me Jordan !

The only answer I have is that it's the most important thing in my life, vocationally. It gives life meaning - I subscribe to the notion that life does not have innate meaning, and that it must be created. So you have meaning in life, not meaning of life. But that doesn't really answer your question, does it?

 

It's like asking me why I like this girl or that girl. Sure, I could say that I like the way she talks, or the way she holds a cigarette, or her imperfect front teeth, or something like that. But really, when you think about it, you love something because you just do.

Thank you for sharing Karim!