WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.766 Well now, it’s time to turn this negative image  into a positive one. 00:00:04.766 --> 00:00:06.368 It’s not not easy - 00:00:06.368 --> 00:00:08.607 whoops, double negative, sorry. 00:00:08.607 --> 00:00:10.834 It’s easy, but a little weird. 00:00:10.834 --> 00:00:12.911 If you’re just joining us, welcome. 00:00:12.911 --> 00:00:16.986 We’re talking about photography.  And this is the third video in a series. 00:00:16.986 --> 00:00:22.230 We first looked at the earliest days and this  lovely Daguerreotype as well as an Ambrotype, 00:00:22.230 --> 00:00:23.831 then we took a look at the 00:00:23.831 --> 00:00:24.614 “modern” 00:00:24.614 --> 00:00:26.737 black and white film development process. 00:00:26.737 --> 00:00:31.158 That second video has about 2/3rds as many  views as the first one so if you missed it, 00:00:31.158 --> 00:00:32.757 you might want to check it out first. 00:00:32.757 --> 00:00:34.935 This one is  building upon it for sure. 00:00:34.935 --> 00:00:37.450 For your convenience I’ve summoned a clicky thingy. 00:00:37.450 --> 00:00:39.760 There’s also a link to the whole playlist in the description. 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.565 This video is about photographic printing. 00:00:43.565 --> 00:00:47.936 What’s exciting about this process is that we actually get to see it occur. 00:00:47.936 --> 00:00:52.900 Unlike photographic film which is generally sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light 00:00:52.900 --> 00:00:55.231 (we call that being panchromatic, by the way, 00:00:55.231 --> 00:00:59.104 which is why so many black and white  film stocks have "pan" somewhere in their name) 00:00:59.771 --> 00:01:00.777 ... 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:05.040 That parenthetical went on too long for this  sentence to make sense without restarting it.   00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:06.790 So... 00:01:06.790 --> 00:01:12.081 Unlike photographic film which is generally  sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, 00:01:12.081 --> 00:01:15.080 black and white photographic paper is not. 00:01:15.080 --> 00:01:20.212 And by photographic paper, I don’t mean that glossy paper you might buy for your printer. 00:01:20.212 --> 00:01:22.639 I mean this stuff. 00:01:22.639 --> 00:01:25.272 Actually photographic paper. 00:01:25.272 --> 00:01:26.835 Notice this warning; 00:01:26.835 --> 00:01:29.997 "Open only in photographic darkroom." 00:01:29.997 --> 00:01:34.626 Opening this box right now would quickly ruin all the paper inside. 00:01:34.626 --> 00:01:36.315 Here’s a little secret, though. 00:01:36.315 --> 00:01:41.660 The best part of a photographic darkroom is how not dark it is thanks to one of these: 00:01:41.660 --> 00:01:42.976 It’s a ♪ safelight ♪ 00:01:42.976 --> 00:01:45.430 And quite the ♪ safelight ♪, too. 00:01:45.986 --> 00:01:48.734 I promise that’s the last time I’ll do that. 00:01:48.734 --> 00:01:52.544 This Thomas Duplex Super Safelight is not only super, 00:01:52.544 --> 00:01:53.672 it’s Thomas! 00:01:53.672 --> 00:01:56.880 And it contains a very special kind of light bulb. 00:01:57.440 --> 00:02:00.000 Those of you who have been following the channel for...  00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:05.040 a while may remember when I did a couple  of videos on high pressure sodium lighting.   00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:10.000 I mentioned that in the not-too-distant future  we’d be looking at a low pressure sodium lamp.   00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:14.579 Well, three-and-a-half years later, this is it. 00:02:14.579 --> 00:02:16.850 Well, it’s inside of here. 00:02:17.602 --> 00:02:18.716 This is it. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:25.600 I won’t spend too much time on this tangent but  this is a now very-obsolete lighting technology   00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:29.772 that previously found somewhat widespread use  in roadway lighting. 00:02:29.772 --> 00:02:33.340 It’s technically a kind of high-intensity-discharge lamp 00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:38.846 but in actuality it’s much closer to a fluorescent lamp in terms of how it operates. 00:02:38.846 --> 00:02:44.651 It just happens to use metallic sodium  and not mercury vapor to create its discharge. 00:02:44.651 --> 00:02:49.080 And that’s why it’s in this special borosilicate glass  tube inside another tube. 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:56.632 Metallic sodium really hates being itself and would gladly  tear other molecules apart with gusto if it had the chance. 00:02:56.632 --> 00:03:00.699 It requires… special containment considerations. 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:06.191 For a very long time this was the most energy-efficient light source we knew of, 00:03:06.191 --> 00:03:08.698 hitting 200 lumens per watt, 00:03:08.698 --> 00:03:11.947 so it made great sense to use for public lighting. 00:03:11.947 --> 00:03:14.239 There’s just one small problem with it. 00:03:14.239 --> 00:03:16.640 It looks like this. [60 Hz humming is heard from the fixture] 00:03:16.640 --> 00:03:21.254 Low pressure sodium lamps are essentially  monochromatic light sources. 00:03:21.254 --> 00:03:24.186 They’re not quite because of the starting gas - 00:03:24.186 --> 00:03:29.600 the pink glow you see when the lamp is cold is a result of the so-called Penning mixture, 00:03:29.600 --> 00:03:36.014 a mix of usually neon and argon which allows the lamp to strike and maintain an arc as the sodium vaporizes. 00:03:36.014 --> 00:03:38.906 But once the sodium gets all boily and glowy, 00:03:38.906 --> 00:03:46.929 it very much overpowers the starting gas and all  you see is a sea of very yellow 589 nanometers. 00:03:46.929 --> 00:03:50.579 You cannot tell colors apart under this light source 00:03:50.579 --> 00:03:56.234 because everything it hits reflects the exact same wavelength back to you, just in different proportions. 00:03:56.234 --> 00:03:59.533 This makes everything you see under  it look as if it’s black and white 00:03:59.533 --> 00:04:00.966 (or, I guess, black and yellow) 00:04:00.966 --> 00:04:05.872 which is pretty trippy but also inconvenient for a lot of reasons. 00:04:05.872 --> 00:04:11.527 So we pretty much don’t use this technology  anymore except in very particular applications. 00:04:11.920 --> 00:04:13.325 Like this one! 00:04:13.325 --> 00:04:19.280 The photographic papers that we’re about to be playing around with are not sensitive to this wavelength of light. 00:04:19.934 --> 00:04:24.697 OK, they’re a little sensitive - with enough exposure they will be affected 00:04:24.697 --> 00:04:27.037 but let’s not split hairs. 00:04:27.037 --> 00:04:30.994 Now, you might be familiar with safelights that appear red. 00:04:30.994 --> 00:04:35.044 That’s an option as well, but it’s sort of old school at this point. 00:04:35.044 --> 00:04:39.317 Early photographic plates and films weren’t really  sensitive to red light. 00:04:39.317 --> 00:04:40.980 Some weren’t at all. 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:47.922 As a tangent to a tangent, this means that in old  black and white photos the colors of objects could seem wildly off 00:04:47.922 --> 00:04:49.972 if red was a major component. 00:04:49.972 --> 00:04:52.937 For example, a red dress may appear black, 00:04:52.937 --> 00:04:58.048 and a yellow flower would seem way too dark as to  the film it might as well be green. 00:04:58.048 --> 00:05:01.282 These films were very sensitive to blue, however, 00:05:01.282 --> 00:05:04.854 so a bright blue blouse of hues might appear close to white. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:11.124 Anyway, those early plates and films could be  handled under a red safelight without affecting them, 00:05:11.124 --> 00:05:16.307 but since our eyes are much more sensitive  to this yellow wavelength than they are red, 00:05:16.307 --> 00:05:21.618 and since modern panchromatic films need  to be handled in complete darkness anyway, 00:05:21.618 --> 00:05:25.336 this is generally a better option for black and  white printing work. 00:05:25.336 --> 00:05:29.284 By the way, a couple of filters in the safelight are placed over the lamp 00:05:29.284 --> 00:05:32.059 to remove the purply-pink light from the penning mixture 00:05:32.059 --> 00:05:37.199 as well as dramatically reduce the overall  intensity to safer-for-the-paper levels. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:42.129 Oh and, by the by the way, a safelight like this is  by no means necessary - 00:05:42.129 --> 00:05:48.048 LEDs or even simple filtered fixtures like these are a much more readily-available option. 00:05:48.048 --> 00:05:52.785 I just bought one of these on eBay because it was an excuse to have an LPS lamp in my life. 00:05:52.785 --> 00:05:56.957 Oh, and by the by the by the way, the reason this thing is designed like this 00:05:56.957 --> 00:06:03.165 is that it’s meant to be hung from the ceiling and bounce its light off of both it and these moveable shutters, 00:06:03.165 --> 00:06:06.705 which not only serve as a light output control mechanism 00:06:06.705 --> 00:06:11.549 but are also fitted with filters  of their own for other darkroom applications. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:14.149 So now let’s talk about the paper. 00:06:14.149 --> 00:06:16.679 First, though, let’s make it safe in here. 00:06:17.072 --> 00:06:18.713 How very yellow! 00:06:19.440 --> 00:06:25.120 Just as a note, I have the camera’s exposure  cranked up just about as far as it goes   00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.666 so you can see what’s going on. 00:06:27.666 --> 00:06:31.289 But the safelight isn’t actually very bright at all - 00:06:31.289 --> 00:06:36.880 it’s just to allow you to see what you’re doing, not to  light up the room so well that you could read a book. 00:06:37.440 --> 00:06:40.885 To me, the room looks about like this. 00:06:40.885 --> 00:06:47.726 And as a warning, this video is going to be going back and forth between very dark scenes like this 00:06:47.726 --> 00:06:50.960 and ordinarily lit ones… a lot. 00:06:50.960 --> 00:06:57.760 So, I’m gonna do my best to tame that with slow fades but be  warned brightness is all over the place today. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:03.238 Anyway, with no other sources of light in this  room except for the safelight, 00:07:03.238 --> 00:07:08.216 it is now safe to open these boxes of paper in this room under this light. 00:07:08.216 --> 00:07:14.347 The paper is kept inside a black plastic bag to protect it from ordinary danger light. 00:07:14.347 --> 00:07:20.449 I will unfold the bag, grab exactly one sheet of paper, 00:07:20.449 --> 00:07:24.851 then fold it back up and put it back inside the box. 00:07:25.669 --> 00:07:26.706 Why? 00:07:26.706 --> 00:07:32.825 Well because that’s good darkroom practice and allows you to turn the lights on at any point without worrying about it 00:07:32.825 --> 00:07:39.254 but more importantly I want you to see what happens to the  paper when you accidentally bump the light switch. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:47.906 Turning the room lights back on reveals that the  paper isn’t white - it’s a kinda gross yellow, actually. 00:07:47.906 --> 00:07:52.560 And leaving the lights on causes it  to become increasingly discolored with time. 00:07:53.280 --> 00:07:56.381 Take a look at this sheet that’s been out all day. 00:07:56.381 --> 00:07:57.884 Why does this happen? 00:07:57.884 --> 00:08:04.414 Well, because these pieces of paper are coated with a gelatin emulsion of silver halide crystals, 00:08:04.414 --> 00:08:06.647 just like what’s on the film. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:11.676 That’s right, this here paper is actually a large  piece of film that, 00:08:11.676 --> 00:08:14.271 rather than be transparent and made of plastic, 00:08:14.271 --> 00:08:17.604 is white and made of (mostly) paper. 00:08:17.604 --> 00:08:23.132 Exposing it to light like we’ve done causes the silver halide crystals to begin reducing into silver, 00:08:23.132 --> 00:08:27.693 and the longer we leave it out like this the grosser a color it will become. 00:08:27.693 --> 00:08:31.040 Also, it’s thoroughly ruined at this point. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:33.403 I’m sure a lot of you can see where this is  going, 00:08:33.403 --> 00:08:36.228 but there’s a critical piece of equipment I haven’t talked about yet. 00:08:36.882 --> 00:08:42.699 Let’s ignore it for now and take a look at how this paper interacts with light and photography chemicals. 00:08:42.699 --> 00:08:44.907 All we need is uno dos trays, 00:08:44.907 --> 00:08:46.529 some tongs, the paper, 00:08:46.529 --> 00:08:49.694 and the same three chemicals we were talking about last time. 00:08:49.694 --> 00:08:51.920 Developer, stop bath, and fixer. 00:08:52.560 --> 00:08:55.154 We’ll be using a different developer than before. 00:08:55.154 --> 00:08:58.751 Paper developers tend to be formulated differently for various reasons, 00:08:58.751 --> 00:09:03.297 however the stop bath and fixer we’ll be using are also suitable for films 00:09:03.297 --> 00:09:07.059 and indeed are the same ones I showed you in the last video. 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:13.261 When dealing with paper I do use stop bath because we can’t  easily rinse it between developer and fixer. 00:09:13.261 --> 00:09:18.480 The stop bath will neutralize the developer,  both stopping the development action and, importantly, 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:20.406 prolonging the life of the fixer. 00:09:20.406 --> 00:09:23.086 So it’s neat stuff, and the yellow coloring 00:09:23.086 --> 00:09:25.313 (beside that this is really just vinegar) 00:09:25.313 --> 00:09:28.400 is a pH indicator so you know when it’s no longer acidic. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:31.729 Under the safelight the liquid appears clear, 00:09:31.729 --> 00:09:35.403 but the indicator will make it appear black when it’s exhausted. 00:09:35.403 --> 00:09:37.156 Though really it’s more like a purple. 00:09:37.156 --> 00:09:39.040 But you wouldn't know that under this light bulb… 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.223 With the chemicals placed in these developing  trays, 00:09:42.223 --> 00:09:44.178 and the room lights turned off again, 00:09:44.178 --> 00:09:48.665 let’s watch what happens when we put a piece of paper fresh from the box into the developer. 00:09:49.745 --> 00:09:50.920 It gets wet. 00:09:51.443 --> 00:09:52.658 That’s all that happens. 00:09:52.658 --> 00:09:55.881 This paper hasn’t been exposed to light other than the safelight 00:09:55.881 --> 00:09:58.977 so there’s nothing for the developer to act upon. 00:09:58.977 --> 00:10:01.223 But now, let’s turn on the room lights. 00:10:01.223 --> 00:10:04.320 Almost immediately, the paper starts getting darker. 00:10:04.880 --> 00:10:11.284 Just like in film, the photons coming from the  lights cause reduction reactions in parts of the halide crystals, 00:10:11.284 --> 00:10:14.963 creating nucleation sites of pure silver within them. 00:10:14.963 --> 00:10:16.838 Since it’s sitting in developer, 00:10:16.838 --> 00:10:23.962 those seeds are immediately embiggened and the entire crystal becomes solid silver which darkens the paper. 00:10:23.962 --> 00:10:30.101 In this case every single crystal’s gettin’ turned to silver so this paper’s gonna be solid black. 00:10:30.101 --> 00:10:32.128 Why isn’t it shiny, you ask? 00:10:32.128 --> 00:10:33.723 Isn’t silver, like... 00:10:33.723 --> 00:10:35.088 silvery? 00:10:35.088 --> 00:10:41.196 Well, these are tiny tiny crystals of silver which  scatter and absorb incoming light. 00:10:41.196 --> 00:10:46.088 Essentially they keep light from hitting the bright paper base  and then reflecting back to your eyes - 00:10:46.088 --> 00:10:48.871 just like how it blocks light from going through film. 00:10:48.871 --> 00:10:50.800 So they reduce the apparent brightness. 00:10:51.680 --> 00:10:54.900 OK, so let’s see how we can play around with this. 00:10:54.900 --> 00:10:58.633 What if I took a flashlight and turned it on against the paper? 00:10:58.633 --> 00:11:01.468 Could we see shapes after developing it? 00:11:01.468 --> 00:11:03.498 Indeed we can. 00:11:03.498 --> 00:11:08.960 What if I put a bunch of objects on top of the paper and  then shined a flashlight at it from a distance? 00:11:09.680 --> 00:11:14.080 We get a sort of wacky collage where items  which shielded the paper from the light   00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:19.403 kept it white - or, in the case of the marbles,  focused that light into intense points.   00:11:20.160 --> 00:11:24.115 I wonder… what if I put my phone screen on the  paper like this? 00:11:24.115 --> 00:11:26.401 Could we see the image that was on the screen? 00:11:27.153 --> 00:11:29.227 Huh, look at that. 00:11:29.227 --> 00:11:30.901 We sorta can. 00:11:30.901 --> 00:11:32.798 Though, it’s inverted. 00:11:32.798 --> 00:11:34.313 The cat shouldn’t be white. 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:37.161 Say, this gives me an idea. 00:11:37.161 --> 00:11:40.716 What if we took this piece of film and put it over the paper? 00:11:40.716 --> 00:11:43.411 Maybe use a piece of glass to hold it flat. 00:11:43.411 --> 00:11:44.326 Let’s see here. 00:11:44.326 --> 00:11:45.224 Flashlight. 00:11:45.224 --> 00:11:46.182 Developer. 00:11:47.040 --> 00:11:48.187 Look at that! 00:11:48.187 --> 00:11:52.607 The dark areas of the film blocked  light from reaching the paper which kept it white, 00:11:52.607 --> 00:11:56.604 but the light areas let light through and so made the paper dark. 00:11:56.604 --> 00:12:01.120 We got a negative image of a negative  image so now we have… a positive! 00:12:01.920 --> 00:12:04.999 Now, before we can turn the lights on to take a  close look, 00:12:04.999 --> 00:12:08.005 remember that we still need to fix this paper. 00:12:08.005 --> 00:12:11.589 Right now the undeveloped silver halides are still there 00:12:11.589 --> 00:12:17.214 and without fixing the paper it will look yellow and gross - and continue to get grosser over time. 00:12:17.214 --> 00:12:22.871 Fixing is a critical step both for making a pleasant image, but also for long-term image stability. 00:12:22.871 --> 00:12:27.449 So, after spending a brief time in the stop bath to neutralize the developer, 00:12:27.449 --> 00:12:30.877 we’ll put the paper in the fixer for at least a couple of minutes. 00:12:30.877 --> 00:12:34.404 Once it’s been in there for as long as the fixer you’re using calls for 00:12:34.404 --> 00:12:36.734 (and assuming it’s reasonably fresh) 00:12:36.734 --> 00:12:39.600 we can turn on the lights and evaluate what we just made. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:44.327 What we have created is a very sloppy contact print. 00:12:44.327 --> 00:12:50.211 It’s very sloppy because, well, for one thing I put the negative in upside-down so the image is backwards, 00:12:50.211 --> 00:12:56.414 but also the light source was a flashlight and I wasn’t keeping track of exposure time all that well. 00:12:56.414 --> 00:12:58.723 This would be tricky to reproduce. 00:12:58.723 --> 00:12:59.886 That’s no matter, though. 00:12:59.886 --> 00:13:06.455 We can use a light source which makes an even spread of light, and then we can use a timer to help make this reproducible. 00:13:06.455 --> 00:13:09.597 For a while, contact prints were quite common. 00:13:09.597 --> 00:13:14.005 Take a look at the box for this Spartus Full-Vue Twin Lens Reflex camera. 00:13:14.005 --> 00:13:20.028 (this isn’t really a TLR, by the way, it’s a fancy-looking box camera meant to mimic them in appearance only). 00:13:20.028 --> 00:13:24.188 It says the picture size is 2 ¼ by 2 ¼ inches. 00:13:24.188 --> 00:13:27.754 That’s the size of the negative it makes with 120 film, 00:13:27.754 --> 00:13:32.597 and back in its day you would get prints made pretty much exactly how we made this one. 00:13:32.597 --> 00:13:37.120 The finished print ends up  the same size as the negative taken in-camera. 00:13:37.920 --> 00:13:41.360 But what if we want to make a  larger print from this negative?   00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.187 Let’s consider how this negative was created  in the first place. 00:13:45.187 --> 00:13:53.200 A camera used a lens to collect light from a large area and concentrate it onto the film which recorded a latent image.   00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:57.555 Then after development we ended up with a negative like this. 00:13:57.555 --> 00:14:00.621 If we had a sort of backwards camera, 00:14:00.621 --> 00:14:04.190 we could take the film and send light through it, 00:14:04.190 --> 00:14:09.460 then use a lens to spread the image the film contains over a large area. 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:13.598 We could then point that backwards camera at a large sheet of paper 00:14:13.598 --> 00:14:17.498 and end up with a bigger print from a small negative. 00:14:17.498 --> 00:14:18.483 Enter... 00:14:18.483 --> 00:14:19.643 this thing. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.510 This Beseler Printmaker 35 is a photographic enlarger. 00:14:24.510 --> 00:14:26.602 It’s a pretty basic condenser enlarger - 00:14:26.602 --> 00:14:30.041 don’t worry about that it just has to do with how the light source behaves - 00:14:30.041 --> 00:14:33.222 but the fundamentals between all enlargers are the same. 00:14:33.222 --> 00:14:37.112 In here is a light source - a 75 watt incandescent lamp - 00:14:37.112 --> 00:14:43.148 and a condensing lens spreads that light in an even column down through a film carrier. 00:14:43.148 --> 00:14:47.760 A second lens below the carrier  projects an image onto the baseboard below. 00:14:48.560 --> 00:14:52.071 The key thing is if you put a piece  of film into that carrier, 00:14:52.071 --> 00:14:56.317 you project an enlarged image of that very piece of film. 00:14:56.317 --> 00:14:59.840 And now you can make big prints from small negatives. 00:15:00.640 --> 00:15:02.676 Let’s do that, shall we? 00:15:02.676 --> 00:15:08.675 Unfortunately I don’t have the appropriate carrier or lenses to hold 120 film in this enlarger 00:15:08.675 --> 00:15:15.010 so we’re gonna go with some 35mm film I shot when I took a train trip over the summer. 00:15:15.010 --> 00:15:19.735 As a matter of fact I’m missing  several things from this second-hand enlarger. 00:15:19.735 --> 00:15:24.070 You may have noticed that the lens carrier is glued on. 00:15:24.070 --> 00:15:26.624 Yeah - I don’t think this is the right one for this enlarger 00:15:26.624 --> 00:15:31.876 because I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how this was supposed to attach to the enlarger head. 00:15:31.876 --> 00:15:35.070 So high-school me just used hot glue, 00:15:35.070 --> 00:15:37.928 and while it looks pretty cruddy, it’s held up all this time 00:15:37.928 --> 00:15:39.383 so who’s laughing now? 00:15:39.841 --> 00:15:43.337 Anyway, first let’s make a contact sheet! 00:15:43.337 --> 00:15:45.526 Just like we made that contact print, 00:15:45.526 --> 00:15:51.099 we can take this whole sheet of negatives and place it over a sheet of paper to make a quick reference sheet 00:15:51.099 --> 00:15:53.601 with positive prints of all these images. 00:15:53.601 --> 00:15:56.240 Then we can determine if there are any we might want to print. 00:15:56.800 --> 00:15:59.440 First, though, we need to  figure out an exposure time. 00:16:00.160 --> 00:16:03.551 To start, I’ll lift the enlarger head up nice and high 00:16:03.551 --> 00:16:06.700 to make a big spread of light on the baseboard. 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:12.571 To figure out the exposure I should use, I’m going to take a strip of paper that I’ve cut for testing purposes 00:16:12.571 --> 00:16:18.469 and place it under the film - any part will do - and then both of them under a piece of glass. 00:16:18.469 --> 00:16:21.229 Because the film has a slight tint to it, 00:16:21.229 --> 00:16:25.095 it’s going to lighten the paper slightly and skew the black level. 00:16:25.095 --> 00:16:27.760 This test strip will allow me to compensate for that. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:33.760 To test for exposure I’m going to cover up most  of the film and paper with something opaque,   00:16:33.760 --> 00:16:36.399 then expose the paper for two seconds. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.668 I’ll then move the cover over and do it several times more. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:43.101 This creates a strip of paper that will show  banding, 00:16:43.101 --> 00:16:47.126 and each band has been exposed for 2 seconds longer than the next. 00:16:47.126 --> 00:16:50.811 Now I’ll develop it, stop, fix, and take a look. 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:53.245 This section was exposed for 2 seconds, 00:16:53.245 --> 00:16:54.119 this one 4, 00:16:54.119 --> 00:16:56.577 this one 6, and so on. 00:16:56.577 --> 00:17:02.517 The first section where the film base stops getting darker  is the time I want for the contact sheet. 00:17:02.517 --> 00:17:09.046 So now, let’s make a contact sheet with this  film and expose it for however many seconds we just determined we should do it for. 00:17:09.046 --> 00:17:13.176 You’ll notice that I can’t fit the entire thing over the paper. 00:17:13.176 --> 00:17:17.449 That’s because I don’t have paper  large enough to use with these negative holders, 00:17:17.449 --> 00:17:23.830 and I use these negative holders because my film  scanner - yes sometimes I scan film like a digital heathen - 00:17:23.830 --> 00:17:26.147 can handle strips with 6 frames, 00:17:26.147 --> 00:17:30.703 plus these actually hold 36 images unlike these holders that, 00:17:30.703 --> 00:17:33.246 while they DO fit an 8 x 10 sheet of paper, 00:17:33.246 --> 00:17:35.760 force you to sacrifice a frame on each roll. 00:17:36.320 --> 00:17:38.598 Frankly I’m just making this contact sheet for you 00:17:38.598 --> 00:17:41.774 because I already have a digital copy of all of these sitting on my computer. 00:17:41.774 --> 00:17:43.442 Ordinarily I don’t bother. 00:17:43.442 --> 00:17:45.160 Anyway, get on with it! 00:17:45.520 --> 00:17:49.520 Now, to be clear the timing here isn’t really critical.   00:17:49.520 --> 00:17:52.455 Contact sheets certainly don’t need perfect  exposure 00:17:52.455 --> 00:17:57.253 but getting it close to ideal will help identify shots that might  be troublesome to print 00:17:57.253 --> 00:18:02.400 because they weren’t exposed correctly in the camera or  are really contrasty or something like that.   00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:06.027 If all you want is a sheet of positive images  for reference 00:18:06.027 --> 00:18:09.958 you can easily just guess a time and if you can see the film against the paper, 00:18:09.958 --> 00:18:11.815 oh well no big deal. 00:18:11.815 --> 00:18:15.482 But with correct exposure, we know that clear film - 00:18:15.482 --> 00:18:18.433 that which wasn’t affected by the light in the camera - 00:18:18.433 --> 00:18:21.360 will make the paper at least close to completely black, 00:18:21.360 --> 00:18:24.651 and any part of the image on the film will lighten it. 00:18:24.651 --> 00:18:30.080 That makes the images more-or-less representative  of how they will actually print without adjustments. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:35.391 Anyway, with our contact sheet made we can pick a  frame to print all big like. 00:18:35.391 --> 00:18:36.654 How ‘bout this one? 00:18:36.654 --> 00:18:37.973 I like it. 00:18:37.973 --> 00:18:40.126 So now let’s print it! 00:18:40.126 --> 00:18:43.803 I’ll take the film strip containing that image out of the holder, 00:18:43.803 --> 00:18:47.465 and now we need to take the negative  carrier out of the enlarger like so. 00:18:47.760 --> 00:18:51.440 We’re gonna put the negative  in with the emulsion side down.   00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:56.429 Because we’re using a lens, it’s going to flip  the image horizontally and vertically, 00:18:56.429 --> 00:19:02.138 so we need to take care that we put the negative in  correctly so that it’s projected normally. 00:19:02.138 --> 00:19:06.653 I mean, you don’t have to, if you want a mirror image I’m  not gonna stop you. 00:19:06.653 --> 00:19:13.680 And also, because perspective is flipped between looking down at the film from above and the baseboard looking up at it,   00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:18.807 confusingly you want the image to not be  reversed when you’re loading the carrier. 00:19:18.807 --> 00:19:21.094 It’s easy to mess this up at first but with practice 00:19:21.094 --> 00:19:23.190 you’ll eventually only mess up occasionally. 00:19:23.190 --> 00:19:25.837 Now here’s a very important step: 00:19:25.837 --> 00:19:27.567 dusting for prints. 00:19:27.567 --> 00:19:30.409 Particularly when using a condenser enlarger, 00:19:30.409 --> 00:19:34.004 dust on the negative will be very  visible in the final print 00:19:34.004 --> 00:19:36.744 so you want to do your best to get it off. 00:19:36.744 --> 00:19:41.260 I’ll give it a little dusting with one of these blower brushes. I tend to have decent luck with these. 00:19:41.260 --> 00:19:43.334 but you could also maybe use compressed air, 00:19:43.334 --> 00:19:45.065 or one of these things, 00:19:45.065 --> 00:19:46.521 do what you like best. 00:19:46.521 --> 00:19:51.058 Then we’ll put the carrier  into the enlarger and now we’ll switch the light on. 00:19:51.058 --> 00:19:57.883 One thing I haven’t talked about yet is the  fact that the enlarging lens has an aperture ring just like a camera lens. 00:19:57.883 --> 00:20:03.368 This thing really is a backwards camera that barfs light through the film down onto the baseboard 00:20:03.368 --> 00:20:05.124 to duplicate the image. 00:20:05.124 --> 00:20:11.723 When you’re composing your print, you’ll probably want the lens wide open to make the image as bright as it can be. 00:20:12.080 --> 00:20:14.848 Composing your print? 00:20:14.848 --> 00:20:20.756 Yeah, there’s a lot you can do here besides just make a big positive from a little negative. 00:20:20.756 --> 00:20:27.317 For one, most standard paper sizes are not the same aspect ratio as a 35mm film frame, 00:20:27.317 --> 00:20:30.402 so you’re likely gonna be cropping in somewhat. 00:20:30.402 --> 00:20:32.564 But you can also crop in more - 00:20:32.564 --> 00:20:40.584 put the enlarger head way up here and  you’re projecting a large image which your paper will only occupy a part of. 00:20:40.584 --> 00:20:43.833 To help with this process (and with keeping the paper steady) 00:20:43.833 --> 00:20:45.925 we use an easel like this. 00:20:45.925 --> 00:20:53.126 This particular model has a space to hold 8 x 10 paper on one side, and various smaller sizes on the other. 00:20:53.126 --> 00:20:58.017 When the paper is aligned with these indexing tabs and the top closed, 00:20:58.017 --> 00:21:05.740 the overlap of the top blocks the edges of the paper from the exposure and creates a small white border around your print which looks nice. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:10.480 But you could also expose the paper with the top open  to make a borderless print if that’s your jam. 00:21:11.360 --> 00:21:14.436 In fact in that case you don’t even really need  an easel, 00:21:14.436 --> 00:21:16.356 but have fun with alignment! 00:21:16.356 --> 00:21:22.080 The top of the tower is barely captured on this negative  so I’m definitely using the easel and the border. 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:26.720 You’ve probably guessed that you need  to adjust the focus of the enlarger.   00:21:27.360 --> 00:21:31.023 As you move the head up and down the focal point  changes, 00:21:31.023 --> 00:21:33.567 so you’ll need to adjust it as you do so. 00:21:33.567 --> 00:21:38.880 This knob here changes the distance between  the lens and the negative to accomplish focusing. 00:21:39.840 --> 00:21:45.520 That also means that the image size changes as you  focus so there is a bit of finagling to be done here.   00:21:46.080 --> 00:21:49.061 But when you’re happy with how your print is  composed, 00:21:49.061 --> 00:21:54.013 you can use one of these thingies to help ensure focus is spot-on. 00:21:54.013 --> 00:21:57.158 This looks like a microscope and kind of is 00:21:57.158 --> 00:22:02.323 but what it really does is bounce the projected image  off this mirror and into the eyepiece 00:22:02.323 --> 00:22:04.240 so it's magnified a lot. 00:22:04.800 --> 00:22:09.092 This allows you to actually see the film grain when  it’s focused correctly. 00:22:09.092 --> 00:22:15.254 I sometimes put a piece of paper under it to ensure that the focal distance is as spot-on as possible - 00:22:15.254 --> 00:22:17.635 but honestly I doubt that helps much. 00:22:17.635 --> 00:22:22.960 Anyway once we have our print  composed and focused we are almost ready to print. 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:25.212 Almost? 00:22:25.212 --> 00:22:27.914 Yeah, now we need to do another test. 00:22:27.914 --> 00:22:34.084 Because each negative is unique and the distance we have the enlarger from the easel changes the image brightness, 00:22:34.084 --> 00:22:37.747 we need to figure out an exposure time just  like we did before. 00:22:37.747 --> 00:22:43.280 So we’ll use some test strips and an opaque object to block it while we do that repeated exposure trick again. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:47.920 This time, though, we need to decide  what part of the image we want to test.   00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:53.880 Remember this is a negative, so the lightest  areas of the image will be the darkest on the paper. 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:56.640 We could test somewhere that should be black in the print, 00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:59.315 or you could also test on something that will be grey, 00:22:59.315 --> 00:23:02.081 really it’s up to you and you’ll get better with practice. 00:23:02.081 --> 00:23:07.979 You may want to use the contact sheet to help determine  where you want to test and what to shoot for. 00:23:07.979 --> 00:23:10.757 Don’t forget that we have the lens’s aperture ring. 00:23:10.757 --> 00:23:16.542 When printing, it’s usually a good idea to close it down so that the exposure takes longer. 00:23:16.542 --> 00:23:18.751 This gives you more granular control. 00:23:18.751 --> 00:23:23.448 The paper is really quite slow - nowhere near as sensitive as typical films. 00:23:23.448 --> 00:23:30.254 So with the lens closed down to f11 or f16 the exposure  could easily take upwards of 30 seconds. 00:23:30.254 --> 00:23:33.849 This allows you to fine-tune the exposure  much more easily, 00:23:33.849 --> 00:23:39.445 and we’ll see shortly how a long exposure can be really helpful for difficult prints. 00:23:39.445 --> 00:23:40.880 Speaking of exposure times… 00:23:41.520 --> 00:23:43.816 I haven’t yet talked about this timer. 00:23:43.816 --> 00:23:47.610 Because for me, it’s only useful at the very end. 00:23:47.610 --> 00:23:51.312 This is a timer made specifically for photographic enlargers. 00:23:51.312 --> 00:23:57.367 You simply plug your enlarger into its power  outlet and now it is in control of the light bulb. 00:23:57.367 --> 00:24:01.038 It has a dial that points from 1 to 60 - that’s seconds. 00:24:01.038 --> 00:24:02.776 A button to start it. 00:24:02.776 --> 00:24:06.053 And a toggle switch for bypassing the timer. 00:24:06.053 --> 00:24:09.366 The idea is you point the outer dial to the time you want, 00:24:09.366 --> 00:24:12.112 and when you hit the button the timer starts. 00:24:12.112 --> 00:24:15.470 It moves this pointer to the time you have selected, 00:24:15.470 --> 00:24:18.376 and a motor slowly moves it back to the start. 00:24:18.376 --> 00:24:20.811 Once it’s there, it shuts off. 00:24:20.811 --> 00:24:24.230 Now, the reason it’s only coming into the picture now is because 00:24:24.230 --> 00:24:25.800 it’s not very accurate. 00:24:26.080 --> 00:24:31.040 While I could set this for 2 seconds  or even just 1 for making test strips,   00:24:31.040 --> 00:24:34.873 it’s just not precise enough to be reliably  consistent. 00:24:34.873 --> 00:24:41.440 I have a pretty good internal brain clock for counting seconds so I just use the toggle switch manually. 00:24:42.560 --> 00:24:48.821 But even if I didn't, stores sell these clock  thingies which are pretty handy to have in a darkroom. 00:24:48.821 --> 00:24:53.787 However, for longer exposures the timer’s little bit of inconsistency doesn’t really matter 00:24:53.787 --> 00:24:58.176 so once I’ve worked out the  exposure time I want, I use the timer. 00:24:58.176 --> 00:25:02.497 Now, you can get more modern digital versions of these  darkroom timers, 00:25:02.497 --> 00:25:04.153 but where’s the fun in that? 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:06.698 Anyway, looking at the test strip we made, 00:25:06.698 --> 00:25:10.080 this was exposed for 2 seconds, this for 4, this for 6, 00:25:10.080 --> 00:25:11.437 and so on. 00:25:11.437 --> 00:25:16.190 This was a clear blue sky so we want  it to be light in the print but not white. 00:25:16.190 --> 00:25:19.756 We can look at some of the features of the tower to help  with this too, 00:25:19.756 --> 00:25:23.060 but perhaps of even greater help is the contact sheet. 00:25:23.060 --> 00:25:29.816 If we like how this looks, we can compare the test strip with the image on the contact sheet and work out an exposure time. 00:25:29.816 --> 00:25:33.615 I think I want the exposure to be somewhere between these two values, 00:25:33.615 --> 00:25:38.164 so we’ll split the difference between 6 and 8 seconds and shoot for 7. 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:42.720 Now that we have determined our exposure  time we can set the timer to that time,   00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:45.614 put in a fresh (and whole) sheet of paper, 00:25:45.614 --> 00:25:46.886 hit the button… 00:25:46.886 --> 00:25:48.720 and just like that we’ve taken a picture. 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:52.088 Or I suppose given a picture? 00:25:52.088 --> 00:25:55.200 Now of course we can’t see the image yet, but we will in a moment. 00:25:55.760 --> 00:25:59.431 Now I’ll finally tell you about an important technique. 00:25:59.431 --> 00:26:01.268 When putting paper into the chemicals, 00:26:01.268 --> 00:26:07.391 you want to sort of slip it under the surface  so that it immediately gets covered across the entire emulsion. 00:26:07.391 --> 00:26:10.400 You don’t want to just plop  it in there ‘cause that’ll be weird and bubbly. 00:26:11.120 --> 00:26:15.389 Then you want to gently rock the tray back and  forth to keep moving the solution around 00:26:15.389 --> 00:26:18.588 and, of course, cover whatever might not have been submerged. 00:26:18.588 --> 00:26:21.547 Alright, here it comes. Our im- 00:26:21.547 --> 00:26:23.456 no, that… that’s... 00:26:23.456 --> 00:26:25.388 that's not what we were just printing 00:26:25.388 --> 00:26:27.820 you pulled an editing trick on us you… 00:26:27.820 --> 00:26:28.782 you… 00:26:28.782 --> 00:26:29.785 tuber! 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:31.721 That’s the one we just did. 00:26:31.721 --> 00:26:33.151 Yes that one. 00:26:33.151 --> 00:26:36.459 OK, so after it’s been in there for a sufficient time - 00:26:36.459 --> 00:26:38.789 yet another variable you can play around with - 00:26:38.789 --> 00:26:43.865 we’ll put it into the stop bath for thirty seconds or and finally into the fixer. 00:26:43.865 --> 00:26:48.071 This fixer only takes a couple of minutes to dissolve the undeveloped halides 00:26:48.071 --> 00:26:50.542 and now this print is complete! 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:52.538 Well, aside from rinsing. 00:26:52.538 --> 00:26:57.460 You want to get all the fixer off of it because it can damage the print over time if you don’t. 00:26:57.460 --> 00:27:00.360 There are a number of print-rinsing products out there, 00:27:00.360 --> 00:27:07.704 or you can fill like a two-compartment sink and plug one side of it and just sorta trickle some water over it while you slosh it around in there for a while - 00:27:07.704 --> 00:27:09.895 there aren’t hard and fast rules here, 00:27:09.895 --> 00:27:11.840 don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you otherwise. 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:16.215 Except, maybe if you work in a professional photo finishing lab 00:27:16.215 --> 00:27:18.065 but then you knew about all this already. 00:27:18.065 --> 00:27:19.309 What are you doing here? 00:27:19.309 --> 00:27:22.673 Anyway, after you’ve rinsed it for a while you’ll want to dry it. 00:27:22.673 --> 00:27:27.621 You might put the paper up on some sort of  flat surface and use a squeegee to get most of the water out 00:27:27.621 --> 00:27:30.570 then hang it to dry. Or just put it on some towels. 00:27:30.570 --> 00:27:32.783 Or use a dedicated print dryer. 00:27:32.783 --> 00:27:37.156 There’s ever so much incredibly specific equipment you can buy if you feel the need! 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:40.631 So that’s the basic printing process. 00:27:40.631 --> 00:27:42.476 This print, though…. 00:27:42.476 --> 00:27:44.146 It’s pretty dark. 00:27:44.146 --> 00:27:51.022 One of the struggles with darkroom printing is that it’s really, really hard to judge the print under the safelight. 00:27:51.022 --> 00:27:54.153 Everything looks much darker than it really is, 00:27:54.153 --> 00:27:58.291 and even a light gray looks quite different from the white border. 00:27:58.291 --> 00:28:03.645 So it’s pretty easy to see a really dark image and think it’s probably fine when… 00:28:03.645 --> 00:28:05.011 it isn’t. 00:28:05.011 --> 00:28:08.312 Honestly this just takes a lot of practice to get good at - 00:28:08.312 --> 00:28:10.810 practice that I haven’t had in years. 00:28:10.810 --> 00:28:15.434 So, uh, let’s try again but with less exposure. 00:28:15.434 --> 00:28:21.087 This is a much better print, though it could still probably do with a bit of lightening up. 00:28:21.087 --> 00:28:24.065 It could probably do with some extra contrast, too. 00:28:24.065 --> 00:28:26.800 And wouldn’t ya know it, there’s a way to make that happen. 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:34.076 The majority of black and white paper in  use these days is variable contrast paper, or VC. 00:28:34.076 --> 00:28:38.640 The RC, by the way, isn’t Royal Crown, or radio-controlled,   00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:43.034 it’s resin-coated and describes the construction of the paper. 00:28:43.034 --> 00:28:49.879 I’m not gonna delve into that here because that whole topic is just filled with very, very deep rabbit holes 00:28:49.879 --> 00:28:56.800 but basically resin-coated paper isn’t very absorbent  and is a lot easier to process, handle and dry   00:28:56.800 --> 00:28:59.516 but has its own downsides of course. 00:28:59.516 --> 00:29:02.248 Oh and “pearl” is just the surface finish. 00:29:02.248 --> 00:29:07.406 Anyway, the emulsion on variable-contrast papers is made of multiple parts, 00:29:07.406 --> 00:29:13.600 and these parts are composed of silver halide mixtures that are differently sensitive to particular wavelengths of light. 00:29:14.320 --> 00:29:19.151 Of course none of the silver halides are  sensitive to this yellow safelight or red light. 00:29:19.151 --> 00:29:24.013 However, their sensitivity to the other parts of the spectrum is different between them. 00:29:24.013 --> 00:29:27.836 All of the crystals are equally sensitive to blue wavelengths. 00:29:27.836 --> 00:29:33.840 With blue light they quickly capture a latent image and have a  compressed dynamic range in the final result. 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:39.979 However, some of the halide crystals aren’t very  sensitive to green wavelengths. 00:29:39.979 --> 00:29:43.849 Under green light, those basically don’t form a latent image at all, 00:29:43.849 --> 00:29:50.253 and it takes much more exposure time to turn the paper black since only some of the crystals are affected. 00:29:50.907 --> 00:29:52.640 This may sound trivial, 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:56.863 but with the aid of simple color filters between the enlarger and the paper, 00:29:56.863 --> 00:30:00.634 you can adjust the ratio of sensitivity between these components 00:30:00.634 --> 00:30:03.600 and thus adjust contrast in the final print. 00:30:04.320 --> 00:30:05.535 Here’s how: 00:30:05.535 --> 00:30:09.285 This is a set of Ilford Multigrade contrast filters. 00:30:09.285 --> 00:30:13.126 They are graded from double zero - that’s very low contrast - 00:30:13.126 --> 00:30:15.935 to five - very high contrast. 00:30:15.935 --> 00:30:22.731 Without a filter in-place, most paper behaves as it does with a grade two filter. 00:30:22.731 --> 00:30:30.201 Now, Ilford includes a grade two filter because all of these filters are calibrated to produce the same exposure, 00:30:30.201 --> 00:30:35.586 so if you want to adjust contrast up or down  you don’t need to figure out a new exposure time 00:30:35.586 --> 00:30:38.993 assuming you printed with a filter in place from the start. 00:30:38.993 --> 00:30:44.602 Grades four, four-and-a-half, and five require a doubling in exposure time from the rest, 00:30:44.602 --> 00:30:45.760 however that’s still pretty easy. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:50.084 If you look at filter 00, you’ll see it’s yellow. 00:30:50.084 --> 00:30:54.106 This filter is blocking the majority of blue light from the enlarger, 00:30:54.106 --> 00:31:00.305 meaning only the slow-to-respond green-sensitive halides will be affected in the exposure. 00:31:00.305 --> 00:31:03.403 Filter 5, on the other hand, is magenta. 00:31:03.403 --> 00:31:07.223 That blocks the majority of green light but allows blue through, 00:31:07.223 --> 00:31:10.000 eliminating the effect of the slow-to-respond crystals. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:13.854 Remember, they’re all equally sensitive to blue. 00:31:13.854 --> 00:31:17.451 This causes the paper to quickly become fully-exposed, 00:31:17.451 --> 00:31:21.120 compressing dynamic range and increasing the apparent contrast. 00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:27.200 All of the grades between five and double-zero  have slightly different ratios of blue-to-green,   00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:31.040 allowing you to dial-in a sweet spot  between these two response curves. 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.337 I don’t know if I’ve explained that all that well, 00:31:34.337 --> 00:31:38.786 but let’s re-print this image with a contrast grade of 3.5. 00:31:38.786 --> 00:31:44.488 I didn’t use filter 2 when making the initial prints so I am going to need a new exposure test. 00:31:44.488 --> 00:31:48.335 I’m also going to test between the wall here and the sky 00:31:48.335 --> 00:31:52.243 because I want this part of the sky fairly close to white. 00:31:52.243 --> 00:31:55.866 That might be a mistake but there’s only one way to find out! 00:31:55.866 --> 00:32:00.683 OK, let’s go for this exposure time, and make one more print. 00:32:01.360 --> 00:32:04.191 Since we’re now biasing the light towards blue, 00:32:04.191 --> 00:32:08.960 what’s essentially happening is the darker parts of the image  are getting exposed more quickly.   00:32:09.600 --> 00:32:16.254 Requiring less light to turn the paper black means  the highlights can stay brighter compared to the shadows, 00:32:16.254 --> 00:32:21.119 and the range of brightness values we  get on the paper is compressed somewhat. 00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:21.979 And... 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:24.938 here’s the resulting print. 00:32:24.938 --> 00:32:27.287 What do you think? I think it’s a big improvement. 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.474 Now let’s talk about when you’d want to go the other way. 00:32:30.474 --> 00:32:32.439 I like this image a lot. 00:32:32.439 --> 00:32:38.913 The bystanders on the platform combined with the  perspective convey a sense of the immense scale of the locomotive, 00:32:38.913 --> 00:32:43.791 and the casual stance and luggage of the people tells the story of train travel. 00:32:43.791 --> 00:32:47.453 We are looking at a digital scan of the negative, though. 00:32:47.453 --> 00:32:51.481 This is a very challenging image to print in a darkroom. 00:32:51.481 --> 00:32:55.667 Film can capture a much wider dynamic range than paper can, 00:32:55.667 --> 00:32:58.525 and since the front of the locomotive is in shadow, 00:32:58.525 --> 00:33:05.930 exposing the paper so that we can see detail in the sky crushes the front of the train into a sea of black. 00:33:05.930 --> 00:33:08.351 But we know there’s detail to be found there - 00:33:08.351 --> 00:33:13.167 looking at the scan we can clearly see the engine number but in this print... 00:33:13.167 --> 00:33:14.963 you just can’t. 00:33:14.963 --> 00:33:19.120 The people are also now in silhouette,  when we can at least see some detail here. 00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:25.507 This is the exact sort of image we’ll want to  use the lower contrast filters for. 00:33:25.507 --> 00:33:28.186 To show the effect of the lower contrast filters, 00:33:28.186 --> 00:33:30.686 I made these three 5 by 7 prints. 00:33:30.686 --> 00:33:37.506 These were exposed for the same length of time with the 2.5 filter, the 1 filter, and the double zero filter. 00:33:37.506 --> 00:33:40.669 Notice that the filter is pulling up the shadows 00:33:40.669 --> 00:33:42.761 but not affecting the highlights. 00:33:42.761 --> 00:33:47.726 We see just about the same darkness in this corner across all three prints. 00:33:47.726 --> 00:33:50.099 But as we go down in contrast grades, 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:52.625 the shadows are revealing more detail. 00:33:52.625 --> 00:33:55.877 With less and less blue light in the exposure, 00:33:55.877 --> 00:33:59.070 it took a lot longer for the paper to darken to black, 00:33:59.070 --> 00:34:02.080 and in fact on this print it didn’t really make it there at all. 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:06.793 To get more detail out of the highlights we need to expose for longer. 00:34:07.153 --> 00:34:10.689 These three prints were all done at 7.5 seconds. 00:34:10.689 --> 00:34:14.320 Now, let’s take the double zero print and add exposure time to it. 00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:17.314 Here’s double zero at 11 seconds. 00:34:17.314 --> 00:34:19.276 And now 18. 00:34:19.276 --> 00:34:24.479 More time finally pulls the highlights down to the point we can begin to see the sky’s detail, 00:34:24.479 --> 00:34:27.731 and indeed more detail in the train cars, too. 00:34:27.731 --> 00:34:30.984 But of course the shadows are also getting darker, now. 00:34:30.984 --> 00:34:35.355 I think the exposure on the 11 second print is pretty close to ideal, 00:34:35.355 --> 00:34:38.683 but I wish we could pull a little more detail out of the sky. 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:43.799 I wish there were a way we could combine these two exposures somehow. 00:34:43.799 --> 00:34:45.040 Oh wait, there is! 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:47.749 Dodging and burning. 00:34:47.749 --> 00:34:54.147 Users of photo editing software who have never spent any time in a darkroom are about to get their minds blown. 00:34:54.147 --> 00:35:00.113 If we stop the lens of the enlarger down so that the exposure will take a good 30 seconds or so, 00:35:00.113 --> 00:35:05.659 we can play around with casting shadows over the paper in regions that we don’t want to get too dark 00:35:05.659 --> 00:35:07.440 while the exposure is happening. 00:35:08.080 --> 00:35:09.757 That is called dodging, 00:35:09.757 --> 00:35:14.897 because you’re blocking light from the enlarger and causing it to miss the paper. 00:35:14.897 --> 00:35:18.149 This image is a perfect candidate for dodging - 00:35:18.149 --> 00:35:25.332 I want the front of the locomotive to be brighter but still want the paper exposed long enough to see detail in the sky. 00:35:25.332 --> 00:35:28.407 So, with a bit of shadow-puppetry skills, 00:35:28.407 --> 00:35:31.280 I’ll just block the locomotive for part of the exposure. 00:35:32.080 --> 00:35:36.720 You are witnessing the first time I’ve  ever attempted dodging and you know what?   00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:39.090 Here’s the print. 00:35:39.090 --> 00:35:40.511 It’s not bad, is it? 00:35:40.511 --> 00:35:43.006 I mean, I’m pretty pleased. 00:35:43.006 --> 00:35:48.041 If you’re doing as sloppy of a method as shadow puppets you want to make sure you’re moving a little bit 00:35:48.041 --> 00:35:50.312 so you don’t create hard edges. 00:35:50.312 --> 00:35:52.691 And there aren’t any hard edges here, 00:35:52.691 --> 00:35:56.207 though you do notice some blooming around the locomotive. 00:35:56.207 --> 00:36:00.963 The other flaw with the method as I’ve done it is that my fingers are attached to my hand 00:36:00.963 --> 00:36:04.480 so I ended up dodging this area of the platform as well. 00:36:05.120 --> 00:36:09.920 It’s not too bad here but I did a second  print with more aggressive dodging   00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:13.608 and honestly this looks like a light-leak in the camera or something. 00:36:13.608 --> 00:36:15.593 This one was a little overdone. 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:20.880 If I wanted to do a better job, here, I would  have obtained or even fashioned a dodging tool   00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:24.270 on a stick so I could cover just the locomotive. 00:36:24.270 --> 00:36:29.785 Then I would just rotate the tool to make sure the shadow casted by the stick didn’t stay in one place. 00:36:29.785 --> 00:36:33.517 If there were an area that I wanted to be darker than the rest of the image, 00:36:33.517 --> 00:36:35.178 I could use burning. 00:36:35.178 --> 00:36:40.253 Here you block all of the image except what you want darker and expose that further. 00:36:40.253 --> 00:36:43.200 A simple yet effective photo manipulation technique. 00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:48.063 If you want, you can get really precise and create masks. 00:36:48.063 --> 00:36:52.060 Ilford gives you this red filter with the set of contrast filters 00:36:52.060 --> 00:36:57.943 which you can use to project your  image onto photo paper without actually exposing it. 00:36:57.943 --> 00:36:59.569 If I were really committed, 00:36:59.569 --> 00:37:05.401 I could compose my print on the easel, then put a piece of ordinary construction paper or similar below the enlarger 00:37:05.401 --> 00:37:08.939 and trace out the shape of the locomotive. 00:37:08.939 --> 00:37:12.609 Then I could cut that shape out and make whatever trimmings  I might need to 00:37:12.609 --> 00:37:18.230 to get as close to the shape as possible and create a very precise mask. 00:37:18.230 --> 00:37:26.139 What I’d then do is put some photo paper in the easel, then use the red filter to project the image onto it without exposing it. 00:37:26.139 --> 00:37:34.354 While it’s projected, I’d place the mask as precisely as I could, turn off the enlarger and remove the red filter after I’ve done so. 00:37:34.354 --> 00:37:36.983 Then put whatever contrast filter I might want in there, 00:37:36.983 --> 00:37:40.812 and then finally expose the paper for 20 seconds or so. 00:37:40.812 --> 00:37:45.918 If I developed the paper as is there’d be a big hole where the front of the train was 00:37:45.918 --> 00:37:47.983 because the mask blocked the light. 00:37:47.983 --> 00:37:54.671 However if I expose for another 20 seconds after removing the mask (and being careful not to nudge the paper), 00:37:54.671 --> 00:38:02.096 now that hole gets filled in with the front of the train but exposed for half as much time as the rest of the image. 00:38:02.619 --> 00:38:03.840 Simple, huh? 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:07.070 Anyway, I think we should stop now. 00:38:07.070 --> 00:38:10.757 We have only just scratched the surface of this topic. 00:38:10.757 --> 00:38:13.186 Ooh that’s gonna show up in the print. 00:38:13.186 --> 00:38:18.791 Uh, anyway, I’m just giving you an overview of the process and that’s about as deep as I’ll go. 00:38:18.791 --> 00:38:26.233 There are lots and lots and lots of YouTube channels out there dedicated to film photography and darkroom printing, 00:38:26.233 --> 00:38:29.782 and if this interests you I'd encourage you  to check them out. 00:38:29.782 --> 00:38:35.608 It’s hard for me to pick out one of these film-based channels because their scopes are so different between them, 00:38:35.608 --> 00:38:42.626 but I have recently found The Naked Photographer who has not only got a much better (and proper) darkroom setup 00:38:42.626 --> 00:38:46.400 but has been doing a lot of great experiments and comparisons. 00:38:47.040 --> 00:38:51.524 If you’d like to check out that channel there’s a  card and I’ll probably pin it in a comment, too. 00:38:52.160 --> 00:38:58.640 I said in the outro of the last video that we’d  look at why 35mm film became the dominant format   00:38:58.640 --> 00:39:01.896 and pretty much remains so to this day. 00:39:01.896 --> 00:39:04.722 Well, uh, we’re out of time. 00:39:04.722 --> 00:39:09.070 But the mere existence of this thing should give you a decent clue. 00:39:09.070 --> 00:39:16.636 Enlarging this tiny film frame to an 8 x 10 inch print is about a 6000% increase in size, 00:39:16.636 --> 00:39:19.162 and yet it still looks pretty sharp. 00:39:19.162 --> 00:39:21.901 Film is pretty amazing stuff. 00:39:22.841 --> 00:39:25.345 ♫ contrastingly smooth jazz ♫ 00:39:26.261 --> 00:39:32.435 Resin-coated paper isn’t very absorbent  and it’s a lot easier to process, handle, and dry but… 00:39:32.435 --> 00:39:34.106 oh you sharnt… you aren’t supposed to see this image yet. 00:39:35.120 --> 00:39:35.752 Right. 00:39:35.752 --> 00:39:39.846 Then I will fold it back up, put it back in the box… 00:39:39.846 --> 00:39:41.167 which is upside down. 00:39:41.167 --> 00:39:44.640 For a very long time, this was the most efficient energy… 00:39:45.680 --> 00:39:46.546 dangit! 00:39:46.546 --> 00:39:50.593 For a very long time, this was the most efficient energy lights… 00:39:50.593 --> 00:39:52.799 I did it again! I said efficient energy! 00:39:52.799 --> 00:39:55.172 The paper is kept inside of a plack… 00:39:55.172 --> 00:39:57.211 plack blastic plag! 00:39:57.440 --> 00:40:02.072 But even if I didn’t, stores sell these clock thingies which are pretty han… 00:40:02.072 --> 00:40:02.905 pleurgh 00:40:02.905 --> 00:40:03.405 dangit! 00:40:03.600 --> 00:40:06.175 I don’t mean that glossy paper you might buy for your print… 00:40:06.175 --> 00:40:08.606 yeah I need to have it in my hands! 00:40:08.606 --> 00:40:11.359 We’d be looking at a deuhhh!! 00:40:12.602 --> 00:40:15.633 So, how many of you had no idea how this process works? 00:40:15.633 --> 00:40:19.065 I sorta get the sense that it's a lot, but also I'm not sure. 00:40:19.065 --> 00:40:22.758 Like, I imagine even a lot of the older folks out there who used film cameras for decades didn't know this, 00:40:22.758 --> 00:40:25.432 but maybe I'm completely off base there. 00:40:25.432 --> 00:40:27.760 Anywho, toodles!