Just finished a session and, not crazy about the Sepia Toning effect I'm getting. It's too strong. What methods do y'all use to "tone" it down a few notches. <100% bleach, diluted toning sauce?
Paper is Ilford Art.
I tried a couple of different commercial Sepia Toners: Berg and Kodak. I believe they're both basically Sodium Sulfide toners.
Thanx in advance.
Chad
A direct toner would be better (that's no bleach), there's a Polysulphide toner in the Kodak Reference books that should be better. It's in the US versions but not the UK ones.
Warm tone papers react more strongly and go very much further in indirect toners.
Ian
Dilute the part A of the Kodak and back off on the time of bleaching until you get the final look you desire.
the Kodak part A is very potent and you are probably bleaching too much therefore getting too brown. Specifically with Art 300 which is very warm to begin with and moves very fast.
I dilute the bleach to about 36:1 and still only leave the Art Paper print in for about 2:00. BTW, the Polysulphide toners not only smell, but they can fog any emulsions they come in contact.
Mark Woods
Large Format B&W
Cinematography Mentor at the American Film Institute
Past President of the Pasadena Society of Artists
Director of Photography
Pasadena, CA
www.markwoods.com
Mix the toner with developer and it won't be so harsh.
If you dilute the bleach and don't bleach as long the highlights will be toned but the shadows won't. Mixing developer with the sulphide will give you a more even tone with a fully bleached print instead of a split tone with a partially bleached print. It is all personal choice of course. The tone tends to be more subtle with the developer/sulphide mix since you are toning only part of the silver.
You could also try a pre sulphide bath to see if you like the effect. In other words, put the print in the sulphide for a soak then wash it before it goes into the bleach then back into the sulphide.
Good luck.
Seriously??? Never heard of that.
What proportions?
Originally Posted by patrickjames
The one thing about the internet is people assume that if it isn't on the internet it doesn't exist. There is a lot of knowledge out there that doesn't get shared for whatever reason, usually because of the a$$hats that like to argue about everything and know nothing. The net effect of their behavior is that knowledge is stifled. The people out there that already have the knowledge have no motivation to share it when the aforementioned population decide to act like themselves which seems to be all the time these days. I'll give it a 50/50 shot that someone will come along and argue about mixing the sulphide and developer.
There is no answer to that since everyone is looking for a different thing and your dilutions and developers will be different than mine. Try 50/50 to start. I haven't used that paper so I can't really give you any advice about toning it.
Statistically you will be right either way, but I am going to give it a shot at my next session.
How about a thiorea toner? Check out Tim Rudman's book on toning. It is outstanding, as are his other books.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
I thought I'd heard it all, but sepia+developer is a new one. Makes sense that it could work. I imagine it takes some practice getting the ratios right for any given paper.
My favorite warm toner is Nelson Gold, but I only have experience using it on warm chlorobromide papers. If it goes too warm, a brief pre-toning in dilute selenium can pull it toward neutral.
The DuPont thiorea toners are interesting. They turned Fortezo orange, so I only tried them once. Beware that thiorea is powerful fogging agent and a suspected carcinogen.
Polysulfide doesn't let you vary the strength or color very easily. I remember it turning Ilford papers a deep purple-brown. Not so useful.
I've heard reverential things about mercuric chloride toners, but you probably don't want that stuff anywhere near your house.
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