For our Class Tomorrow, March 27th!

Diane Arbus, Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City, USA (1962)


“The magic of the image emerging from a blank piece of paper exposed to light and placed in a chemical has never left me." Bruce Davidson 

Robert Frank Contact Sheet
We will continue working in the darkroom on your prints from Monday. Our goal is to learn the use of Contrast Filters, Dodging and Burning.

Here are a few descriptions of the processes:

Print contrast is the difference between shadow and highlight areas of your print.  While good print contrast is somewhat subjective, you generally want to control print contrast to maintain good detail in both the dark shadows and bright highlights.  Print contrast is in large part determined by the contrast in your negative, which was determined by lighting, film and
exposure when taking the photo as well as by film development.   However, we can adjust contrast in the darkroom by using variable-contrast paper and variable-contrast filters. You do this by placing a variable-contrast filter between your enlarger light and the photo paper.

Filters use a rating system that generally offers a range from #0 to #5 with half step increments in between.  The higher the number, the greater the resulting contrast.

That is, #0 represents the lowest possible contrast and #5 represents the highest.  A #2 filter represents average contrast.                                                        

                                                                                                                                                   Sally Mann

Here is how to use the filters:

1.  Make a test strip and based on the results, make a well-exposed print.

2.  Examine the print for contrast.  Look closely at the range of tones.  Prints with normal contrast have both light and dark areas with grays in between.  High contrast prints have mostly dark shadows and light highlights while low contrast prints are mostly gray and lack deep blacks and/or bright whites.

3.  Determine what affect you want to achieve and whether you want to increase or decrease the contrast.  This is where the subjective part comes in- high contrast produces a hard edge; low contrast produces a softer look.  To increase the contrast, select a #2 1/2 filter or higher.  To decrease the contrast, select a filter lower than a #2.

Edward Weston 

4. Depending on the type of filter you use, you will either place the filter in the filter drawer located just below the light in the enlarger or you will hand-hold the filter just beneath the enlarger lens. The Ilford filter sheets go into the filter drawer. The smaller Kodak or Ilford filters that are in the black frames are held beneath the lens.

5.  Adding a filter affects the amount of light that hits the photo paper.  The higher the number the less light that comes through and the more likely you will need to increase the exposure time. You should make another test strip to determine whether you will need to adjust the exposure time.  The test strip will also help you determine whether you have selected the appropriate filter given the results you want.

6.  Once you have determined the proper exposure time, make a new print and examine it for both density and contrast. 

7.  Adjust the exposure time if the print is too light (more time) or too dark (less time). Replace the filter is the print is too low in contrast (switch to a higher filter#) or too high in contrast (switch to a lower filter#).

8.  Conserve paper—make another test strip before a new print if you changed filters.

From: http://loh.loswego.k12.or.us/brownn/photoII/Using%20Filters%20to%20Adjust%20Contrast.htm

Dodging and Burning: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F92D8zqN2B0 - In depth description of darkroom enlarging, dodging and burning.

Please also read and be prepared to discuss John Szarkowski's The Photographer's Eye.