John Kasaian
30-Oct-2008, 09:28
He's been in storage for years. I've been considering making some enlargements of a few aerials for an exhibition in order to demonstrate the "wow-ness" of 8x10 enlarged to 20x24 or larger. I'm thinking that might be more interesting for a public audience than straight contacts. Of course it also brings into consideration a whole different set of problems to overcome (besides coming up with the "scratch" to buy supplies)
Elwood would need the enlarger's equivalent of a sitz-bath (no problem this, just a bit of time---well a lot of time--Elwood is pretty large!)
If Elwood won't fit through the door of the newly rebuilt "Barbie Darkroom" (my kid's bathroom) I can work in the foyer. I'd need to black out one window and put up screens of some sort to block out light from the hall and living room. Again not a problem, just time consuming. I'd need a table(s) to hold my trays---check. I've got an easel and trays for 20x24---check. I would need to build some larger drying screens (something I've been meaning to do anyway.) I've got a Seal 200 which can flatten a large print in sections but the platten is pretty rough, so I'd need to portect the print with thick mat boards---a minor hassle hardly worth mentioning but I'd hate go go through all this only to "emboss" the print at this stage of the game.
Selecting a paper and washing are two considerations which I'd appreciate some advise on.
I think a cold tone paper would work best representing a cold scene---snow caped mountain peaks.
What do you think?
In this case I'm thinking it might be better to print with an RC paper because of less curl and less washing times. OTOH something this labor intensive calls out for toning to add some archival protection, but IMHO RC dosen't accept toners all that well. Of course times may have changed (I'm guessing)
Your opinions?
In my Freestyle catalog the only cold tone paper I can find in 20x24 is Kentmere, and I've learned that Kentmere does not like Ganz Speed ezels(My 20x24 is a Ganz)
I could use a sheet of steel and magnets for an easel, but if I did that I could get mural roll and go for an even larger blow-up.
Also, would glossy or matte paper be best? It seems like matte would make any fingerprints less noticeable, but glossy really makes the snow in the scene "sparkle" I've don't see glossy mural rolls in Freestyle's catalog though.
Or should I table the whole enlargement idea for now and stick with 8x10 contacts?
Elwood would need the enlarger's equivalent of a sitz-bath (no problem this, just a bit of time---well a lot of time--Elwood is pretty large!)
If Elwood won't fit through the door of the newly rebuilt "Barbie Darkroom" (my kid's bathroom) I can work in the foyer. I'd need to black out one window and put up screens of some sort to block out light from the hall and living room. Again not a problem, just time consuming. I'd need a table(s) to hold my trays---check. I've got an easel and trays for 20x24---check. I would need to build some larger drying screens (something I've been meaning to do anyway.) I've got a Seal 200 which can flatten a large print in sections but the platten is pretty rough, so I'd need to portect the print with thick mat boards---a minor hassle hardly worth mentioning but I'd hate go go through all this only to "emboss" the print at this stage of the game.
Selecting a paper and washing are two considerations which I'd appreciate some advise on.
I think a cold tone paper would work best representing a cold scene---snow caped mountain peaks.
What do you think?
In this case I'm thinking it might be better to print with an RC paper because of less curl and less washing times. OTOH something this labor intensive calls out for toning to add some archival protection, but IMHO RC dosen't accept toners all that well. Of course times may have changed (I'm guessing)
Your opinions?
In my Freestyle catalog the only cold tone paper I can find in 20x24 is Kentmere, and I've learned that Kentmere does not like Ganz Speed ezels(My 20x24 is a Ganz)
I could use a sheet of steel and magnets for an easel, but if I did that I could get mural roll and go for an even larger blow-up.
Also, would glossy or matte paper be best? It seems like matte would make any fingerprints less noticeable, but glossy really makes the snow in the scene "sparkle" I've don't see glossy mural rolls in Freestyle's catalog though.
Or should I table the whole enlargement idea for now and stick with 8x10 contacts?