Enlarging and Processinga Photo

Yr 11 Photography

Enlarging and Processing

Overview

• Choose negative• Setup– Place negative in film holder– Select photo paper grain & size

• Use enlarger to expose• Develop photo• Clean up and rinse trays

Enlarging and Processing

setup

• Can be done in full light

• Place selected negative in film holder – use canned air to remove lint

• Place film holder in enlarger carrier slot

• Set aperture – turn to full light and then turn back 2 or 3 clicks

• Focus enlarger – look for grain of film – can use a focus tool on photo paper

• Set enlarger easel to give white border

• Turn off enlarger (or use filter over light)

Enlarging and Processing

Enlarge photo

• Under safe light

• Select paper size and grain

• Make sure all other photo paper is in the box away from light

• Place paper on paper easel emulsion side up

• Press timer to expose film for time determined by test strip.

Enlarging and Processing

Developing photo – same as for test strip

• Chemicals– Developer (120 mls rodinal : 1080 mls water @ 20°)

– Stop bath (water @ 20°)

– Fixing agent (120 mls fixer : 1080 mls water @ 20°)

– Hypo clearing agent (wash – water @ 20°)

• Follow the same process as for developing negatives– Developer – 2 mins – gently agitate

– Stop bath – 1 min – gently agitate

– Fixer – 2 mins – gently agitate

– Wash – as long as you possibly can under running water

Enlarging and Processing

Safety precautions

• Avoid contact with skin and eyes• Wash hands after using chemicals• Use tongs to transfer photos between trays• Use red safe light• Light indicator outside darkroom• Don’t eat or drink in darkroom

Enlarging and Processing

Advanced techniques

• Cropping - Enlarge only part of the negative – use more exposure time than for whole negative

• The Zone System (developed by Ansel Adams) – “Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights”

• Push processing – increase film ISO for low light – reduces detail in shadows

• Dodging and Burning – using rapidly moving tools to block or increase light exposure to small areas of a print during enlargement

Enlarging and Processing

The Zone System

• Image has grey-scales – Zone 0 is blackest, Zone 10 is lightest

• No film can show detail in all 10 zones in a single image

• Bring high contrast scenes into manageable range or increase contrast of low-contrast scenes to add life

• Shadow areas primarily affected by film exposure

• Contrast – increased by lengthening development time, reduced by shortening development time

• Changes in development affect highlight areas of photo (not shadows)