Fogged Paper

[Annie M.]

Fogged Paper

The ocean is so misted in this morning the wave lines are invisible and shore fog is so thick you could bump your head on it so I am thinking about fog.

I have literally reams of once glorious papers stacked neatly in their little yellow cardboard coffins... I have tried benzotriazol in various dilutions and only had mediocre results. My understanding from this article...

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/AntiqueP/antiquep.html

is that there are other possibilities with high contrast developers and bleaching back. Now the Blinking Eye article gives some general formulas that may prove helpful but does not deal with many of the recently discontinued papers.

Most of the information I have found on fogging is coincidentally foggy. Certainly there must be someone who has done some more specific testing than just dumping a tablespoon of benzo in the developer or doing a slosh in the farmers with fingers crossed. . I am hoping that others will share their specific formulas used successfully with specific papers. I think this could be an asset to the community as many of our favorite papers are disappearing into the fog.

I am planing to do some testing of Polymax Fine Art soon with some high contrast developers as suggested by the Blinking Eye and will post the results here for those that wish to explore their feminine side... any assistance with formulas or just general mojo will be sincerely appreciated.

cheers... annie

[EdWorkman]

This might work- it did work for me when I was desperate.
Throw in some benzo [for good luck]
Lengthen the exposure {note 1]
Pull the developement [ note 2]

Note 1 really bad paper will require a BIG increase
Note 2 The efficacy of this method may be limited by how fast one can get the paper into the developer, agitate evenly and get it out again. Hand-eye coordination is critical as in extreme cases it will "come up" very quickly.
Like I said, I was desperate, but it worked, after several tries.
Rocket Scientists Need Not Apply
-it's all in the wrist.

[EdWorkman]

I'll add that it worked for some high-noon-black-subject-in-desert-sun negs very well: contrast was decreased.

[John Bowen]

check out this apug thread
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum37/47681-old-paper-again.html

Randy is probably a good source of info on this sort of stuff. Good luck!

[Annie M.]

Thanks guys!

OK for starters I'll try over developing in lith with a bleach back and compare it to the benzo.

[PViapiano]

I've been printing on some older Agfa MC118, a beautiful paper...using Dektol 1:2 with 30ml of 10% benzo solution, about 1 1/2 minutes. After complete print processing, I bleach with a ferri solution for 60-90 seconds, rinse, fix and rinse again, then wash.

I've also used Ansco 120, a "soft" developer which gives a nice effect with the right negative with this older, fogged paper.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Annie, use it for the final support for carbon transfer prints, or you can send it to me and I can do it!! Have fun finding out how to raise the dead!

Jim

[Annie M.]

...it was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.

...it lives!!! exp date 12/99.... brought back from the dead... 150 sheets of p-max fine art 11x14... I now have enough to do a sweet little series... this paper is sublime the finish like the inside of an exotic shell... the Agfa actually looks almost plasticy in comparison.

Thanks PViapiano... I also used Dektol with benzo as per your suggestion. I did a bleach after and the image just bloomed... checked the developed out emulsion vs a just fixed out emulsion test they are the same...

apologies to Mary Shelley... annie

[PViapiano]

Thanks PViapiano... I also used Dektol with benzo as per your suggestion. I did a bleach after and the image just bloomed... checked the developed out emulsion vs a just fixed out emulsion test they are the same...

Woo-hoo! I love it when that happens!

Thanks for the poetic reference...we need more of that around here. I'd love to see some of your work when you're ready...

[PViapiano]

FYI, I tried the Agfa MC118 today with Ansco 130 1:2 and no benzo for 2 minutes. Bleach (2 min), rinse, fix, bleach (30 sec), rinse, fix...looks really good. Highlights are maybe a hair below where I expected...

I mistakenly happened to reach for the no-benzo-added developer when I filled the tray today, so thought I'd see what would happen.