Barbershop Series 8x10" Contact Prints - Large Format Friday

The Winter months are a good time to reflect, regroup, and even reprint past work. Today I'm taking you into the darkroom with me to make 8x10" B&W contact prints of my first large format project: Barbershops
Along with sharing the process, a limited run of RC prints is also available for purchase here: www.marrash.co...
Barbershops Gallery: marrash.com/ga...
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Support the Channel here: www.paypal.com...
Questions? Send me an email: [e-mail]
Content by Mat Marrash: www.matmarrash...
Background Music by the fabulous Mike Gutterman: mikegutterman....
#largeformat #blackandwhite #darkroom

[@barselino9877]

best channel about large format photography

[@MatMarrash]

Thank you very much! There are lots of great channels that feature LF, I'm very appreciative you said that about this small channel. :)

[@AlexLuyckxPhoto]

Great to see the Barbershop Project again!

[@MatMarrash]

Thanks Alex, it was really fun to relive some of this project again by making prints. :)

[@lrrowley]

Man these are such great shots! The one with the barber in the chair reading the paper looks like it's from the 40's until you see the modern Jeep parked out front

[@MatMarrash]

Thanks Lance! When I was waiting and composing this picture, I noticed the barber was working on a crossword book. I asked if he's like me to photograph him like that and he insisted on reading the paper. Well, there wasn't a daily newspaper, so he picked up that copy of Maxim you see him with, lol!

[@RichardSilvius]

So exciting! I'm supposed to be working right now but I can't look away!

[@MatMarrash]

If it's any consolation, this is about three hours of printing condensed about as far down as it can get! ;)

[@brineb58]

Thanks for sharing this, the first time i did an 8x10 contact print it blew my mind!!! I also never knew that you could turn the lights on one in the stop!!! i always waited until the fix was done ... shows you are never too old to learn!!!

[@MatMarrash]

Hey Brian, no lights were turned on during the stop, all prints were fixed for at least 45 sec. before the lights. Not recommended to hit the lights until prints have adequately fixed. Thanks!

[@brineb58]

@@MatMarrash Thanks for that ... I really thought I was doing it wrong for 45+ years!!!

[@GRAYnomad]

With that last image you could try preflashing the paper, that should help the highlights.

[@MatMarrash]

You bet! With contact printing, especially, it's easy to perform a pre-flash. Were this enlarging, the split grade method would be preferred.

[@gemista]

This video is so timely! I have dabbled in large format (with two Speed Graphics and a Zeiss Trona), but never had a large format camera in the truest sense of the word. Your work on LFF has inspired me to get a Tele-Photo Cycle Poco 5x7 camera from 1900, and I can’t wait to take it out and use all the advice you have presented. Cheers!

[@RichardSilvius]

Super timely for me too - I was just searching about contact printing last night.

[@MatMarrash]

Glad this video found you at the right time. Printing is so much fun, and 5x7 contact prints are gorgeous!

[@MatMarrash]

Contact printing is so easy compared to enlarging. Less gear and space intensive, be sure to check out the new darkroom playlist for more contact printing action: kzbin.info/aero/PLiVKO2nQMmxQNUQS0QwGz27lSkXnMfvWE

[@gemista]

@@MatMarrash thank you!

[@markfohl2167]

Great show, Mat! It is indeed fun to print old negatives. Brings back many memories. Thanks for the tip on split grade printing; I'm going to have to try that some day. Normally I don't like RC glossy paper, but it is very good for contact prints. And I did note the Gutterman music!

[@MatMarrash]

Thanks Mark! Was just back in the darkroom today making more prints. Used a bit of split grade and some dodge and burn.

[@lonniepaulson7031]

Do you ever enlarge your negatives?

[@MatMarrash]

A long time ago I had access to an 8x10 enlarger, but currently only have the setup for contact prints. Enlarging is great but does pose a unique set of challenges.

[@lonniepaulson7031]

@@MatMarrash Yes, 8x10 enlargers are expensive and take up a lot of space. I thought you might want to have an outside photo lab print some negatives for you. But an 8x10 contact print will look good framed. I guess that is how Edward Weston did it. He would mount his contact prints.

[@jeffreyharris2502]

Do you have a video of your water set up for your darkroom sink? Great video as always

[@MatMarrash]

Hey Jeffrey thanks for the question! It's not a particularly great setup, a simple hot and cold filtered supply that goes into a mixing valve where it's kept at 20C split into a faucet and auxiliary line for a tray siphon.

[@nickfanzo]

I have the same Saunders lpl. It’s great

[@ChristopherMay]

This is such a great series. John Henry is my favorite. Great shot.

[@MatMarrash]

Making prints of these made me want to pack up the car and start the project all over again!

[@UncleDansVintageVinyl]

Great work as always--and, as always, great advice! My 8x10" should be arriving soon--and maybe the weather here in Minnesota will finally start warming up!

[@therevdidntdeserveit]

A good friend of mine who owns a barbershop let me turn their spare wetroom in the back into my darkroom, so this video is all sorts of amusing for me 😁

[@MatMarrash]

Now THAT'S a cool setup! :)

[@nickfanzo]

What 8x10 camera and tripod system do you recommend?

[@steveweston5902]

Nice set of images Mat. Have you ever managed to enlarge you your 10x8 images in a darkroom?

[@MatMarrash]

Hey Steve I sure have! My first show from this project was all made on an 8x10 enlarger with prints up to 30x40".

[@JamesMartin-vm2zo]

Looks like a great series Mat! For those that haven't tried 8x10 contact printing, it's a whole other level beyond enlargements from other formats. Obviously, it still helps to have an interesting image and a well-exposed negative, but there's something intangible about the difference in the print. Some say it's better tonality and sharpness, but I'm not sure. If you ever get a chance to see any of Brett Weston's contact prints In person, do it. Easily the most beautiful work I've ever seen, with maybe Salgado's prints a close second. I find that 8x10 is now my preferred format, even for familiar subjects that I've shot before in smaller formats.

[@MatMarrash]

Thank you very much James! I'm another believer in 8x10 being the "perfect" format. It enlarges, it contact prints, it scans, and the transparencies "wow" on the light table. I've seen a few Weston's but never any Salgado's, hopefully one of these days!

[@aeronemcq]

did you not keep printing notes for your old negatives? if there was one trick i took to heart from the Ansel Adams print book was to write the printing notes on the back of prints with a pencil. reprinting negs 10 years later for me just made things faster, though i had to remember how to use my enlarger... one thing ive been curious about is how inkjet b&w prints hold up to wet b&w prints. i have the equipment at home to do wet prints but im a bit concerned about the chemistry disposal and water use. if inkjet gets pretty good results i might be inclined to switch to a hybrid workflow.

[@TheCaptainWalter]

That was thoroughly enjoyable Mat.

[@crocato]

❤️

[@GreggObst]

I've always loved that one from Niagara where the little kid is looking towards his Grandfather/Barber with such trepidation. Brings me back to my own childhood when they would take me to the barbershop right next to my Dad's pizza place in the early to mid-'70s. You should really consider doing an episode where you talk about this project in-depth: Project motivations, location scouting and pre-planning, any tools you used to do your series planning over time, and which ones worked and/or didn't work for that planning. What challenges did you face and were they challenges you anticipated before you started or new ones that revealed themselves during the series? The interactions with the subjects in each photo, was there talk of model releases, a print promised, what percentage of subjects approached turned you down, and were there any that you were able to turn around and they ended up being a willing subject in the end? All these things I find fascinating and I think might help others who might be starting on the path to more project-based work.

[@bronchitemorale]

are the trays 8x10 or larger?

[@fotolookconde]

@Matt Marrash so easy to be "catch" by those barbers mirrors!!!!

[@MatMarrash]

It happened quite a bit throughout the project!

[@fotolookconde]

@@MatMarrash hehe!

[@c.augustin]

I found this actually much more interesting than I thought I would (come on, a guy standing in the darkroom and doing some contacts - must be boring, right? ;-)). The option of just doing contact prints (no enlarger needed, even though you do use one) - this I find more and more intriguing about 8x10. But I'm not there yet, still struggling with the weight of my Intrepid 4x5 and all the stuff I have to carry around (even when using a rather lightweight carbon fiber travel tripod). Maybe a better backpack might help …

[@MatMarrash]

Thanks for the comment Christian and you'll want to get used to the heft and workflow of 4x5 before evening asking the tough questions about 8x10. Also, a backpack with good support (shoulder, chest, and waist straps) will change how far you're able to travel with the camera and how much you're able to carry. Highly recommended!

[@SilntObsvr]

The last time I had a darkroom set up, I split filtered literally every print I made. Why? I didn't have either actual contrast filters, color head, or a nice grade-filter head like that one. What I did have were sheets of theatrical gelatin filter material, one bright yellow and one deep blue (they were selected based on their spectral cutoff). The yellow (green for low contrast, plus red that doesn't expose the paper) for grade 0 or 00, and blue (because I couldn't find a magenta that cut off enough green) for the grade 5. The claim, by darkroom workers with a lot more experience than I have, is that you can match any split-grade print that doesn't involve dodging or burning with one filter or the other, if you have a sufficiently finely graded filter set (say with a dial-in unit like the one in this video, or a color head). My counter-claim is that it's usually easier and almost always faster and less wasteful of paper to make two test strips, one to find your grade 0 time, and then another on top of that to find your grade 5. Sometimes, you can get away with doing them on the same sheet (and sometimes you can't, it depends on the scene). Bottom line, though: don't be afraid of split filtering. It's the well-trodden path to grade 3.2 or 2.7, and split dodging and burning brings in a whole additional dimension of control.

[@stephanepolteau9723]

I keep my times to 30s so I can dogde or burn, no test strip. I change the aperture of the lens during the exposure.

[@MatMarrash]

30s exposure times might drive me crazy, but the use of the aperture during exposure sounds interesting and hard to control.

[@stephanepolteau9723]

@@MatMarrash well, at least you don't need to do test strips or try out 12 vs 15s. With 30s you have good control on dodging/burning. BTW, thanks for sharing your work flow, most interesting because most of us are self taught and we develop our own techniques and approach.

[@sgroadie6367]

Please leave the pirnts up for longer so we can see them. Thanks. Great video as usual.

[@MatMarrash]

Noted!

[@gottanikoncamera]

Why are you wearing a mask inside your darkroom?

[@708photog]

I knew those negatives looked familiar! Your video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZWbXpxshL2nh5Y) from years ago got me into split-grade printing. Thanks, again, for the great content!

[@MatMarrash]

Haha yes it's been a long time since those videos. Thankfully, the added experience is making these easier to print too. Cheers!

[@bertcremers3134]

Hi Matt, nice video as always, but the "music" in the beginning is verry anoying and distracting, for my part you can skip that next time.

[@MatMarrash]

Thanks for the comment Bert, it was either the music or the giant fan noise from then enlarger fans.

[@NordicLab]

Omg, why you wearing mask alone in the room? oO

[@SD_Alias]

As i know, it is a public lab...

[@MatMarrash]

This is a public darkroom, masks are required.

[@orion7741]

@@MatMarrash if you in there by yourself, mask is not required though........

[@mrenovatio3739]

Bad audio quality. Mufflled. Subs work.

[@MatMarrash]

Good news, there's plenty of more recent contact printing videos films w/o a mask! kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3mtn2SZm7Gkf5o

[@jeffwelker1513]

The mask makes it difficult to easily understand what you are saying. Is the mask really necessary in your darkroom? I would have enjoyed this video much more if I could have clearly understood what you were saying.

[@Thevintagemachinist]

Nice, but Sounds like the adults on peanuts.