Answers Hidden

Posted on Posted in da net, meaning, the foraTagged , , , ,

Those who do not show their work have a reason.

Consider the circumstance: you know that ISO 100 film is more sensitive than Ilford Multigrade paper. You may even know by what factors. How you learned to gauge the exposure for paper also applies to film. If your darkroom prints are exposed for 8 to 20 seconds, what would you guess the exposure would be for an ISO 100 film? Certainly not the same time. Film is much more sensitive than paper. You could determine a relationship between the film and the paper used in your darkroom.

The standard light has been a mark of lab experience for more than 70 years.

Direct questions deserve direct answers.

Direct answer: The exposure is 5 seconds at 3 footcandle at the film plane.

Answers which involve much handwaving are smoke screens… cover ups.

As one form of claiming power, of having influence among the Hobby Snobby Forums, you gain points by being obtuse in your answers. The more complicated the answer, the less likely you will have to demonstrate the answer. Hobbyists are filling idle time. They don’t need the answer; if they did, they could test their system, learning the answer specific to their methods and tools.

What would be useful is teaching them how to setup, configure and use their specifics. That can be done using Web2 features. Not interested. The last group I taught has grown onto their own studios… Ask them how.

Key point: learn how to question the answers given. This will free you to find your answers to your questions.

F surface. Ferrotype

Posted on Posted in bead game, labnotes

F means Glossy, because it means Ferrotype. Most commercial labs used heated dryers to get through the days workload. When I began, I used a ferrotype plate. My ‘gloss’ was my mixture of print flattening agent with “white wax.” A tip from a carbro printing handbook, now long lost.

The prompt for this posting was a gallerist making a footnote about a Vintage Print being ferrotyped. That struck me as a marker — a word falling into the past. Googling the word gets the wrong, at least from my world, meaning.

The prints came off the dryer with a curl. It was essential to get the temperature, and speed of the dryer correct to avoid many possible defects. Another balancing act was spotting the print after it had been ferrotyped. Oh, Spotone was a later development; we made our own dyes before then, or used Kodak provided sets for their papers. I considered spots a defect — a marker of my lacking craft. Much as some consider lumps in mash. Now, I am less concerned, even putting lumps of potato into the mash, along with fried scraps of potato skin.

As I grew in looking, I dropped the need to draw with a sharp pencil.

ferrotype webionaireDownload

Kodak Paper Surfaces

ASmooth, lustre, lightweight stock. Use for folding, paper negatives, ad layouts
EFine-grained, lustre. Preserves details, used for mechanical reproduction
GFine-grain lustre, use for portraits, oil coloring.
FSmooth, glossy == Ferrotype
NSmooth, semi-matte ==Natural. designed for retouching on print. Accepts pensiling, preserve fine detail
MMatte
SUltra-smooth, high-lustre
RTweed surface, minimizes need for fine retouching. Popular in photomural work
XLustre, tapestry surface. Extemely coarse-textured. Frequently colored with opaque ols, which gives effect of an oil painting on canvas
YSimulates silk. Popular for wedding photography. Attractive brightness in snow scenes, seascapes..

1958 darkroom guide, from my early days.