Contact printing with enlarger as light source, contrast control?

[Larry Kellogg]

If you use an enlarger as a light source for contact prints, does the contrast control work on VC paper? I'm sorry if this sounds like a silly question. The lens should be unfocused, I think, not sure if that matters as far as the use of a contrast filter. Is it good to use an enlarger as a light source for contact prints?

Could someone enlighten me?

Thanks,

Larry

[Mark_S]

Yes, the contrast control works. VC papers work by having two emulsions - one is very low contrast, and is only sensitive to green light, the other is high contrast and is sensitive to blue light, so by varying the colour of the light, you can vary the contrast. You can even do contact prints where you burn in areas at a different contrast with a flashlight with a filter over it.....

[Larry Kellogg]

Mark,
Thanks for that explanation! So, for burning, should I get a little Maglite flashlight and red and green filters to put in front of it? Do I just use some gel material? Any thoughts on some good flashlight to use for this application? I guess I'm going to have to be careful waving around a flashlight in a shared darkroom. ;-)

Hmm, can't I just use a hole in a piece of cardboard and dial in a contrast filter on the enlarger in order to burn in a part of the print, without using a flashlight?


Larry

[Jerry Bodine]

VC papers work by having two emulsions

In the case of Ilford MGIV (and others) there are three emulsions. An excellent tutorial is:

http://www.darkroomautomation.com/support/appnotevcworkings.pdf

Also, a technique known as "split-grade printing" can be used for burning in highlights and shadows. Using a burning card with hole, highlights are burned in with #00 filter and shadows are burned in with #5 filter. Highlight burn-in has little effect on shadow density, and shadow burn-in has little effect on highlight density. An excellent resource for this technique is:

http://www.waybeyondmonochrome.com/WBM2/Welcome.html

[Michael Alpert]

You've been given excellent advice by previous posters. A flashlight with red and green filters is not a good idea-- questionable control of light intensity and the wrong kind of filters.

[Brian Ellis]

Yes, the contrast control works. VC papers work by having two emulsions - one is very low contrast, and is only sensitive to green light, the other is high contrast and is sensitive to blue light, so by varying the colour of the light, you can vary the contrast. You can even do contact prints where you burn in areas at a different contrast with a flashlight with a filter over it.....

Your basic point is certainly correct and answers the OP's question. But to pick a nit and maybe for the sake of being technically accurate, there is no emulsion that's only sensitive to green or only sensitive to blue light. Each emulsion is sensitive to both but in varying degrees. At least that's what the late Phil Davis said in his workshops and in an old article in Photo Techniques magazine. He also said that most, maybe all, VC papers actually have three different emulsions rather than two.

[David Karp]

I have been making contacts using ADOX MCC110 using the VC head on my LPL4500II set on the Ilford channel. I am happy with the results.

[Larry Kellogg]

Thanks for all the help. That "Way Beyond Monochrome" book looks like a terrific resource. Jerry, thanks for letting me know about it. So much to learn, so much to learn. So much fun!

This summer I will be taking another film class at the International Center of Photography. Here is the course description:

"In this intermediate course, students refine their technical and aesthetic skills in blackand- white photography. The course emphasizes the relationship between exposure, film development, and the finished print. With approximately two-thirds of class time devoted to hands-on darkroom printing, students can enhance darkroom skills, experiment with toners, and explore different photographic papers and chemistry. Other topics include metering difficult lighting situations and presenting finished prints. Assignments and critiques foster the development of both skills and style. Students are encouraged to develop film and do additional work outside of class. prerequisite: Photo I or portfolio review."

Openings are still available if anyone is in New York City. The facilities at ICP are top notch and the people are great.

Larry

[Jerry Bodine]

You're very welcome, Larry. I'm sure you'll find, as I have, that the co-authors are very responsive to questions sent to them. Chris Woodhouse is the electrical guru for the most part - a subject that is not my strong suit.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I always remove the lens when contact printing.

[Larry Kellogg]

Is there more of a chance of flashing other people's paper if I remove the lens? I'm working in a shared darkroom.

Larry

[Jerry Bodine]

Looking at the images of the community darkroom on the ICP website, showing the black (seemingly small) partitions between adjacent enlargers, I suspect there is far less chance of fogging a neighbor's paper than fogging your own paper by light reflecting off you. So it's a good idea to wear dark clothing - I do this as a precaution in my non-shared darkroom. Never hurts to ask an instructor though, especially considering the huge shiny stainless sink/tanks behind you when working at a station.

[Larry Kellogg]

Hello Jerry,
The dividers are low, too low in my opinion. That's an interesting thought about wearing dark clothing. Yes, there is a lot of shiny stainless steel behind us. I have been nailed by light when people don't put in a film holder or pull it out with the light on. Why are those film holders so fuzzy to line up on a Saunders? Lots of sliding around to get them right.

By the way, there are light tight drawers at each station. I just pull one sheet at a time from the drawer. I'm getting better at producing more good prints in fewer tries, but I still burn quite a bit of paper. I use RC just so I can hang something on the wall by the end of a class, you can't do that with fiber.

[sun of sand]

make a mask using a same size straight print in order to cut out intricate shapes for burning
mask covers over the base exposure which is the least exposure you'll give to the print

expose for base
cover up with mask to align with that first exposure
now you can burn in multiple areas by simply giving them more light and once one area is done you tape back onto the mask that area which has been cut out leaving the other areas requiring more light still unmasked
keep going

do this with split grade and have complete control over the contrast in a photograph


it's very simple
i didn't learn it from anyone
it is more time consuming or at least more exhausting thinking about what to do with a print


probably the most accurate method for dodging and burning a contact print, too

[Larry Kellogg]

Thanks for the tip with regards to burning. Yes, it is exhausting trying to figure out what to do with a print, and also
to decide which prints deserve a lot of work. I think I need to use your technique to print this image:

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