Enlarging a split-grade silver gelatin print from a 4x5 negative - darkroom - landscape photography

[@brianhigginsphoto]

when you first said it took 2 yrs to complete your dark room I couldn't fathom why so long, but it soon became abundantly clear. your attention to detail and quality is inspiring... which of course leads to the beautiful images you create,

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! But really a lot of the wait was finding the equipment. I was on a budget so had to be on the lookout for the right equipment at the right price. I’m honestly extremely lucky I was able to find the equipment I have, I’m not sure I could replace it!

[@drb9705]

I admire your 100% dedication to the art and to the craft. Thank you very much for sharing your expertise! 🙏

[@MrNegative]

Always learning and improving. That's my goal for this channel is to share what I've learned/mistakes I've made and learn from others in the community.

[@rbrowning8088]

Love your darkroom ...... great video !!!!!

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! I’m doing a little bit of construction in there (final touches) but will do a tour and of course more printing once it’s done

[@x53LL33]

Loved seeing your darkroom and your process!!

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to watch. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Studiorafael]

Great photography,! Success!

[@MrNegative]

Thanks so much! Always learning and trying to improve. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@jimpix8019]

Hi Mr Neg🌀 Just some tips on speeding up your neg cleaning process and efficiency. It’s worth getting a 5x4 insert for your negs that replace the Newtons glass. This saves a lot of time cleaning an extra 4 sides of glass. Also blocks out any extraneous light from the sides causing flare on your print. If you’re concerned about film bowing, try using one plate only, then using 1/2”tape to carefully tape both long sides (5” sides) of the 5x4 clear rebate area to ensure the film is tightly held in place. Always used in Pro-Labs. (30 years experience) Next,use a light box to help you see where the dust is as you clean the Neg. With the film taped to the 5x4 holder in the carrier. Place the far end of the carrier on the Light box, Tilt the neg carrier around 45*angle so the light easily bounces off the film from the rear of the carrier thus picking up any specks of dust on the film for you to gently brush away. Both sides of the film. This should be the last thing you do before loading the carrier straight into the enlarger head. Also, note. The higher your light box ideally around your solar plexus height, the more Ergonomic it is for your back. Not good to be bending over from mid back. Also, place the light box next to your enlarger. As this means minimal travel. Which has many benefits. I also put a dimmer switch for the overhead light, on the underside of my baseboard for times it was hard to see the edges of the film on the baseboard when masking out. Big time saver. Also, I wasn’t sure if you did, but just in case, when you use the focus finder, be sure to use a scrap bit of paper (old test strip) to put on the baseboard first. This optimises focus on the surface emulsion. Hope this helps. I’ve subscribed, it made me feel nostalgic. May the Force be with you.🌀 Jim🌀 (-: :-)

[@MrNegative]

Wow! Those are super helpful tips, thank you! I will absolutely give that a shot and really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge with me! I need to get back in the darkroom ASAP. Dust had always been one of my bigger struggles so I can’t wait to give these ideas a try

[@jimpix8019]

@@MrNegative You’re welcome. Btw, I forgot to say, when using 1/2” tape: when delicately placing tape to one side of film, you then offer it up to the 5x4 carrier to tape it along the frame edge. With the film now in place, you can easily attach the next tape to The other 5” rebate side delicately but firmly without fixing it down yet. As you can then use the tape to gently Stretch the film tightly across the neg carrier. Then finish sticking it down. Thus ensuring the film doesn’t have any bowing of emulsion for optimal focus. Also, as you’re using B/W, it’s better to use Red, litho 1/2” tape which will mask out any light leak if the carrier is slightly larger than the exposed film area. This may sound pedantic, but sometimes the smallest detail can make a big difference. As you don’t know what you don’t know? Or to quote Clint Eastwood in ‘A Fistful of Dollars’… “A man’s life can often depend on a mere Scrap of information”. Keep up the good work. Jim🌀 (-: :-)

[@MrNegative]

@@jimpix8019 ah, that’s brilliant! I would have never thought to use the red tape! I just ordered some right now. Thank you so much!!!

[@normankellogg6624]

nice setup ya got there...and I concur with DrB

[@MrNegative]

Thank you!!

[@17xyz]

Very impressive darkroom. My own feels more like a shack compared to your's. I understand that the enlarger is a Durst 139g - but what about the film holder? Very different from the Nega 138 I have on my Durst 138s. Nice picture by the way.

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! The film holder is actually made by a company called condit mfg. it’s a registration pin system. It came with the enlarger when I bought it.

[@naturelvr123]

I know the darkroom process, I also have my own & after several yrs NOT working in it I'm getting all the bugs worked out. I didn't take my 4x5 to White Sands as I did it with a digital but did take a shot of the grasses too. OK, your sink looks a lot like a sink used to perform an autopsy. It didn't look very deep. I'm just wondering. :) . They would make a nice working sink. Thanks, Paul (Greeley).

[@MrNegative]

Haha an autopsy sink! I hadn’t thought of that but now I won’t be able to get it out of my mind!

[@baudad]

With experience you will be able to choose a single filter, or if using a colour head, the right combination of magenta and yellow. The end result is the same but you use less paper and time in test prints.

[@MrNegative]

Definitely always trying to reduce paper and test prints. I’ve actually moved to the RH designs meter that helps greatly with that. I’m not sure I agree with using a single filter and getting the same results though. I think with some negatives that’s probably the case but I like being able to split the exposure for different grades, especially with dodging and burning. That’s where I see the biggest benefit. I would eventually like to try the heiland split grade module and see if that improves results with this method. Either way, I look at it like another tool in the belt. Not necessary on every print but good to know when you need it. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@johncorney2506]

Love the darkroom, I am o ly just starting and my darkroom is very make shift. I take it there were thermometers you were hanging on the side of the trays. Could you possibly send me a link for them please.

[@MrNegative]

Thank you, John! What you probably saw on the side of the trays were stainless tongs. I don’t use thermometers in the trays. In my developer tray I have a temperature probe that connects to a zone vi compensating developer timer. This way it adjusts for the temperature automatically which is helpful because temps in my darkroom fluctuate a lot. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[@lensman5762]

That is not a darkroom, it is a darkhouse. Good job.

[@MrNegative]

Haha! Thank you. I am very lucky to have that much space, but somehow always feel like I need just a little bit more...

[@xJanca21]

@@MrNegative no you don't. Sincerely, your wife 🙃

[@jimbrink3375]

Could not quite catch the Ilford paper you used, was it just the classic multigrade FB gloss? Nice work.

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! You nailed it, ilford multi grade FB glossy. Thanks for watching.

[@speedbump1961]

If you had any footage of the darkroom construction it might make an interesting video, well I would find it interesting :)

[@MrNegative]

Paul, my original intent was to do exactly that. Unfortunately, it ended up taking me over two years to build (it still isn't finished) and I tried making a few videos that just didn't work out. I was piecing together the equipment as I built it out so everything kept changing. I will do a video where I show the before and after and how I planned it all out with some pictures in between. I appreciate the feedback!

[@Trishlicious]

Thank is one massive sink. I am probably needing to make my own; what are the dimensions of the sink?

[@MrNegative]

The inside dimensions are roughly 32x9x84. I see sinks that size pop up on used markets once in a while, depending where you live you might be able to find one if you're willing to wait a bit. Thanks for watching!

[@keithfox2995]

kickass darkroom, I would love one like that! What kind of Enlarger is that? Once I learned how to split grade print, which takes time, I really like the results.

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! It is a durst g139. It has the top half of the 138 and the bottom of the 184.

[@bertcremers3134]

As I see you cleaning your class carriers I get chivers !!! Take my advice and put a clean soft towwel on your workbench and lay the glass there and spray & clean it and not on the surface of your metal negative carrier, other whise you will scratch it. I know, everyone prints in his own way but don't you think that printing down the corners would give a much more interesting image, it would suck your eyes into the image, now, in my opinion it looks quite flat and is not as interesting... Keek on making video's especially in B&W

[@MrNegative]

Bert, great call on the cleaning the negative carrier. I’ll keep that in mind. For the print, I agree it’s too flat but don’t think I’ll print down the corners. I like this image floatmounted on a white board and think the drop shadow gives me the border. If I darkened down the corners I think it might be too much. I can certainly give it a try though! Hoping to have some more black and white videos coming up once i get through my fall field videos. Thank you for watching!

[@bertcremers3134]

Hi There, See my advise as an idea, everyone has got his own style and that is what makes printing such al lovely thing. I surely hope you surprise us with more B&W video's, needles to say I subscribed to your channel, Cheers. @@MrNegative

[@MrNegative]

Bert, absolutely and I really appreciate you taking the time to share your insight! I’m still learning to print in the darkroom and need all the help I can get. The entire reason I created this channel is to learn from people like you, so please keep the advice coming!

[@ThinkingBiblically]

That kind of "split grade" printing is pure snake oil. Another example of KZbin monkey see monkey do. Why do you think Ilford sells sets of filters instead of just 2?? Could it be that you only have to make one exposure? Some people know why they do things, others just imitate what they see on KZbin.

[@MrNegative]

We’re all just learning here. Please tell me how I should have approached the print and I’d love to try! I’ve only had a short time to learn darkroom printing and have, as you mentioned, had to learn a lot from other folks online. I’m always open to how I can do a better job! Either way, thanks for watching and for the feedback!

[@MrNegative]

In my defense, I would like to refer you to the split grade printing video by ilford… seems to be a similar process… unless I missed something

[@ThinkingBiblically]

@@MrNegative I saw the Ilford video. It's nonsense. Nonsense and marketing seem to go together. Ilford publishes a document about contrast control and their VC paper. I'll refer you to that as more authoritative than KZbin videos. KZbin seems to confirm that Han Christian Anderson's "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a parable of human nature. People see what they want to see. At least 'til reality slaps them in the face. I went back to the Ilford video and found this in the description: "We invited Rachel Brewster-Wright from Little Vintage Photography, a film photographer, educator and host of the Sunny16 podcast, to show you the technique that she uses to produce split grade darkroom prints." So the "split grade" technique does not come from Ilford but a photographer / podcaster named Rachel Brewster-Wright. Of course "split grade" works but so would a blue filter and a green filter. In today's world there are far to many people who can't distinguish between subjective opinion, wishful thinking and reality.

[@ThinkingBiblically]

@@MrNegative Ilord's actual literature might be a start. Do things the standard way with the standard tools and chemistry. And when you have mastered that you can explore and you will be able to tell whether that new technique or developer is actually better or just marketing.

[@MrNegative]

@@ThinkingBiblically I will have to respectfully disagree with you there. I’m just experimenting and learning and having fun. I read a LOT about darkroom techniques from experts who have dedicated their life to the skill. Even still, it’s art and everybody should be free to experiment and learn their own methods. I also disagree that just because there’s an older, more “original” method that may yield the same end result, that’s what should be used. I’ve never used a typewriter and yet, here I sit, firmly capable of typing you a response. Either way, I truly appreciate your responses and engaging with me on the channel. I’m here to learn and love that people like you with all your knowledge on this craft share it so freely. I should of course also mention I DO print with the full range of contrast filters, this was one method for one print on one day.