RA-4 Printing, pt 3: Print Ring-A-Round and Contrast Control

[@lonniepaulson7031]

In school we had to do a color ring-a-round for an assignment. I never knew adding chemicals could control contrast. I used a method back in the late 70s of contrast masking where we used I believe it was a black-and-white specialty copy film that was blue sensitive and I think it might have been a reversal film. I put the color negative in the enlarger and the focus was softened to prevent the grain on the finished mask to be sharp. The film was processed in a special developer and when the mask was dry it was sandwiched in pin register with the color negative and a higher contrast print was made. Kodak wrote about this masking method for contrast control in one of their books on printing color negatives. Printing color in the darkroom is like going back to the stone-age since now we have modern digital cameras and Photoshop and Lightroom.

[@dominiciacopino4604]

I just wanted to share more appreciation for this video. Still one of the best RA-4 intro videos available on here. I recommend his RA-4 reversal next in the lineup for anybody looking for more RA-4 info. Then I also recommend liking, subscribing and giving all of the love on "the socials" because his channel is full of amazing, well-made, knowledge-dense, clear and concise content. Thank you again for experience you share with the photography community.

[@YSoreil]

I got referred to this series by Nico. This was extremely clear, nothing like this existed on KZbin before unlike for black and white. Other people who had done RA-4 always scared me off on the colour balancing but it seems less bad than I thought from your excellent results. The effectiveness and ease of contrast control blew my mind. Loved the series!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Hey thanks!

[@odukar2315]

The best learnings about RA-4 process and printing I have ever seen! Thx for the excellent overlook and the detailed information. Since two years I'm struggling to start with RA-4 printing. Now I feel much more confident that I will make it ;-)

[@edward_grabczewski]

Wow, what a great video! You make it look so easy but we all know there's years of fast disappearing experience in these gems. Future generations will be able to watch these and keep up the good work. Thanks again!

[@Noah-gd1zf]

I just recently found out there is a community darkrrom near my home so i watched this series to get into color printing. The videos are simply great! Easy to understand and detailed enough. I'm really hyped for my first print soon :) thank you so much!

[@PHONYJOSEPH]

Thank your for these great RA-4 printing videos! Your videos have made setting up my color darkroom much less intimidating, and likely saved me a ton of paper and chemicals :) You rule.

[@Fnzzy]

This is such an awesome video series! Thank you for doing this. I am at the very beginning of RA-4 printing and this is incredibly helpful.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Glad to help!

[@romanspataro1688]

very thankful for all of the work you've put into this series of videos

[@RodGSilva]

thank you very much for the series

[@jjruns123]

oh my god you are helping me so much as a university student. i am forever indebted haha

[@AnaloguePT]

these 2 parts video are very helpful to RA4 newbies like me. Thank you for sharing.

[@HenryAni]

I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for the resources you continually pour into this channel. I just looked at how much paper you went through just to paint a better picture. I appreciate it.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Thank you!

[@johannes6178]

Good stuff, exactly what I was looking for!

[@randallstewart175]

After 55 years of B&W and color printing, I thought I knew it all, but these chemical alterations to color developer to control color contrast are new to me. I commonly use masking to control contrast, but this technique is a welcome option which makes the process much faster. Cannot wait to try it out, As I understand the video, these develop alterations do not effect color balance - even better.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I’m glad you saw something new! There is no change in color as you use these methods, but it is easy to overdo the contrast change. Use very small amounts and learn how it affects your prints. I learned about this from one of the Kodak engineers that created the RA4 process. I suppose you could think of these as “unofficial” Kodak instructions.

[@IainHC1]

This is deeeeeep!!!........ Thank you for making this series :-)

[@wcoyote2276]

A long time ago I did RA-4 developing. One thing I ran into was the fact that I had 'Photo-gray' glasses. These glasses change tint depending on the the light. That will throw off your color balance when viewing the prints making it harder to get the correct color. Also, I used a Bessler color analyzer once I had made a good print. This made it much easier to go to the next print.

[@rodrigoquirante]

Thank you! Awesome video!

[@gerardodalchielelueiro6818]

Thanks for your video is very very usefull for me Best regards from ARGENTINA

[@andytymon9795]

Great video series! Thanks.

[@flam3srock]

Loved this series! I do RA-4, and learned some new things. It is possible now to print with a condenser head and an RGB LED bulb called LIFX. I do it with great results. Please continue to make videos about colour film and printing. There is a lot of information on B&W but not so much on RA-4.

[@WillemVerb]

Thank you for this :)

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

You’re welcome. Anytime you want to do a collaboration just give a shout

[@jinxinjing4823]

Great video👍

[@marekmaje1426]

Awesome, big thanks for this massive amount of informations !

[@moosilagutthila-it2ho]

Thank you for the tutorial! It’s really interesting to watch. I thought adjusting the exposure we can change the contrast. Am I wrong?

[@cameronwilson8561]

Awesome video and well explained, I didn’t even think there was a way to control contrast with colour, now I know, thanks so much 👍🏻

[@cameronwilson8561]

.... also, where can I get one of those Kodak aprons?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

That's my secret!

[@cedrinescheidig4986]

Great video and channel ! Very clear and informative. I'm very interested about preflashing in RA4, I hope you'll find the time to make that video

[@oludareohi396]

youre a legend! thank you so much for this.

[@bebox7]

Loving these videos and would love to see more just showing printing different types images eg portraits, streetscapes and just seeing your process in detail. There is almost nothing on YT about colour printing so this will be such a great resource. Thanks again for doing these. You should sell a more in depth colour series I’d definitely buy it 😀

[@davidbrinkmann7850]

This is awesome thank you. Also...lol "ask for a syringe for dosing kids...."

[@jesperbent3685]

Makes sense ...about moods. Thanks

[@lorimoscova]

Thank you so much for the series. I just have a question about the 5 and 10 steps towards the 6 directions: 5 points red (for instance) means > 5 yellow + 5 magenta or half way?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

You are correct, 5 magenta and 5 yellow make 5 red

[@YesjamPark]

Nice tip. Can I still get a Kodak ra4 paper? I don’t see anything but Fuji..

[@fidelzuniga6908]

Hi, this is the best RA-4 video tutorial series I have ever seen. A quick question about the Ring-A-Round red +5 +10 scenario. Does this mean to add + 5 of the adjacent colors for red, i.e., +5 Magenta and +5 Yellow?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Yes, to adjust red/cyan you have to adjust the magenta and yellow filters equally

[@fidelzuniga6908]

@@TheNakedPhotographer Thank you for confirming. I wanted to make sure I was understanding the color wheel correctly.

[@pedronunes6401]

loved this whole series! these videos are helping a lot now that i am starting to print in color! i just have a question, when you add hidrogen peroxide to the developer, can you mix it into reusable chemistry, or do you have to do it one shot? Thank you!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

One shot, don’t try to reuse it

[@ibuki7832]

Hi, the naked photographer. Would you give me some recommendation of color print enlargers that can print maximum film size 6x9? I've been researching enlargers but hard to find what's good. I've searched for DE VERE 5108 and Durst cls501, but they are pretty expensive now days.. I was wondering if you know any other color enlargers that would work nice. Thank you!

[@cmedley]

Have you ever experienced yellow streaking in the white borders of the prints? Do you have to thoroughly mix in the H2O2 with the developer? I may have overdone it, I added 30ml to 120ml of developer for an 11x14 print. I use drums and I don't use a stop bath.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I did not get streaking. Try the stop bath and rinse before the blix and see if it helps.

[@peaceandgreaze]

I've been doing my own RA4 printing for a year and a half or so at a darkroom I just built, and this is blowing my mind! I learned so much. THANK YOU! I have a question, if I make a print on an 8x10, and I want to scale up to say 16x20, is there a formula for calculating what my new color settings should be? I know there is a formula for adjusting the exposure time, and I've used that to good effect, but the color cast does seem to change a bit. Thanks again!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Unfortunately there isn’t. If you are lucky you will have a consistent color shift every time you would be able to dial in the same correction every time. But only if you’re lucky.

[@richl6995]

Can I write on the back of prints and process batches in a drum? Pencil or pen? Amazing series! You convinced me to start a darkroom. Thanks

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I use a sharpie marker on rc and color paper. Pencil won’t work. You can run batches if you have the proper dividers for your drum.

[@chenzhijie1986]

感谢您的分享

[@iironic]

Do you ever do in person lessons for darkroom printing?! Or open to the idea?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I have been considering a workshop, but I need to find a facility to host it

[@iironic]

@@TheNakedPhotographer that would be amazing!!! If you do and find a space, would love to know when

[@SD_Alias]

thanks for showing that adding chemicals to the developer for contrast changing. I just did not know. I think we did it not in the past because EP2 later RA4 chemicals had been in developing machines with about 20L content per bath and that should not be spoiled. So we did it most with the help of masking. Do you know any solution to increase/decrease the saturation of color and touching not the contrast? I remember that there was a workaround, but i simply can not remember how, because i have not done it for 30 years…

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Just like the old days, you have to choose a different paper to affect saturation.

[@edmundholmes7559]

Great video, really well explained. I've been RA-4 printing for around four years now, and always wished I could adjust the contrast. Unfortunately this method wouldn't work with my setup. as I use a Nova heated tank which holds around 2 litres of developer on a replenishment basis. `it lasts many weeks between refills, so I'd be stuck with high or low contrast.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

You will have to resort to masks for reducing contrast.

[@edmundholmes7559]

@@TheNakedPhotographer I only just found your channel, have you made a video about this yet?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Check the one about unsharp masking. A contrast reduction mask is the same thing, just exposed a little less so only the shadows are affected.

[@samuelmacaluso3367]

Do they make a "Ring-a-round" transparency with the gels in them to place on top of your print? Like the ND transparency for exposure?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I’ve never seen one, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

[@jonnej7521]

The Unicolor Unicube and Duocube used to do something like that. Still available 2nd hand

[@shoegazing_pineapple_6956]

Does the h2o2 work on the silver(i think it dissolves developed silver) or the dyes?Would it work on graded bw paper?Sorry if i missed it in the video

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

It affects dye formation, not silver in this case.

[@shoegazing_pineapple_6956]

@@TheNakedPhotographer thanks, do you think you can manipulate color film with this too?

[@drkmaes]

great, thanks

[@andrelambert_]

Can you do a video about ra4 pre-flashing?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I intend to but I do t have a timetable for it yet

[@markmadderra4834]

Great video. Still would like to learn how to make color prints with gelitan filters. Thank you. Mark

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Right now I have neither a filter set nor an enlarger that can take separate filters. I'm looking at options, but I don't have a big budget so it may take some time.

[@amandabreitbach8753]

Hello! Thank you for these detailed videos. I am a professor using a Kreonite roller transfer processor and Beseler color enlargers with my students. Of course, we are using the Fuji crystal archive paper and Fuji RA chemistry (I don't see any Kodak chemistry available at this time). Do you have any ideas for how to control contrast in the processor? There is now way to add a stop or rinse bath in between developer and blix. Have you heard of anyone adding peroxide directly to the developer tank in this kind of processor?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I wouldn’t do that. Your machine probably has a replenishment pump in place and would be inconsistent and impossible to clean out afterwards without risking contamination. It also pretty much guarantees streaks on the print. You’re pretty limited with a machine when it comes to your nonstandard processes. Kodak paper is higher contrast than Fuji, but only sold in rolls. Masks can be made but are time consuming and have a steep learning curve. I don’t know any other methods without changing your machine setup. Contrast boosting methods are peroxide as I demonstrated, and bleach bypass. The last one requires bleaching (not blix), redevelopment, then fixing. Your machine won’t allow for that either.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

If I may ask, where do you teach?

[@amandabreitbach8753]

@@TheNakedPhotographer Thank you for your quick responses! I teach in southeast Texas at Stephen F. Austin State University. We maintain darkroom and digital facilities. It seems like the color darkroom is a really rare gem in education - I don't know of any other schools with a working color print processor. It is a challenge to maintain, but I hope worthwhile for our students.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Texas, then you won’t be at SPE Midwest this weekend. I know University of Kentucky still runs their Kreonite and maybe SCAD, but I don’t know if anyone else.

[@amandabreitbach8753]

@@TheNakedPhotographer, thank you for the information! I might reach out to the faculty there to see what chemistry they are using and with what success. I went to grad school in Nebraska, so I know a lot of folks in Midwest SPE.

[@cnccontroller]

Thank you, it was very interesting! Sorry for my English, maybe you know the complete recipe "RA-4" for self made home, a mixture of chemicals?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I do not. The ingredients are too difficult to find. Besides, the Kodak RA4-RT is cheap and easy to get where I live.

[@cnccontroller]

@@TheNakedPhotographer Yes I understand. Thanks for the answer!

[@TaylerAleks]

Did you try print from slide by RA-4 reverse?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I have plans to make a video for that, but it won’t be anytime soon.

[@TaylerAleks]

@@TheNakedPhotographer i tried a lot. But can’t win war with contrast. What you can recommend? Internegative mask?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Yes, that should work

[@guillermoperezsantos]

Will this work with film??????

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I wouldn’t try it, personally. You only get to develop the film once. If you screw up a print, just try another print.

[@guillermoperezsantos]

@@TheNakedPhotographer Let me explain more. I make my own color chems. but never guess that rising juts 5% the ammount of sodium silfite would have a really noticeable effect. For example RA4 dev. uses 5g of sulfite, the ammount you are using to lower the contrast is just 0.25g. C41 uses mere 3.5g and ECN2 just 2g!!! I must had made a mistake somewere in time.... and sold it to my clients ... hehehe :S

[@Notimportant1995]

Please do the video on RA4 pre flash, reading is only so informative compared to the videos you make.

[@simonsharp9162]

To anyone thinking of producing a KZbin channel on analogue photography, i have to say i wouldn't bother. Why ? Because the Naked Photographer has it all covered.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

There’s always room for more voices, but I appreciate the sentiment

[@guillermoperezsantos]

:O