Advanced Photography at Cardonald College - Glasgow 2002/2003
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Printing
Black and white printing in the darkroom is the most basic form of photography.
It is still very popular with many professionals and amateurs. Taking,
developing and printing black & white photos teaches photography from
the ground up.
The basic equipment needed for a small darkroom are an enlarger, a red
safelight, three developing trays, print tongs, chemicals, printing paper,
running water and of course a darkened room.
Procedures
- The first step is to choose the negative you want to print, put it in the
enlarger frame, turn the light to the brightest setting and turn the focussing
knob to create a sharp image on the base of the enlarger.
- Turn the light down a few stops, switch of the light, take a small strip
of printing paper and expose in four stages of five seconds to create a
test strip.
- Take the test strip and put it in the tray with developer for 90 seconds
while continuously moving. After 90 seconds put it in the stop bath for
20 seconds and finally in the fixer bath. Rinse in running water for 20
seconds and judge it in daylight or under a simulated daylight bulb. Finally
return to the fixer bath for 20 minutes.
- Choose the correct exposure time from the test strip and expose a full
sheet of printing paper for the required time.
- Follow the same procedure as above to print the final image.
- Results can be enhanced by using filters to change contrast, by burning
in areas of the print, by using different paper or by several other means.
Chapters