Printing help needed please

[coops]

I seem to recall reading in one of AA's books that those of us new to printing often get the shadows and highlights where they want them at the expense of the midtones. I shot a waterfall and large boulders on tmax 100 recently and printed it on Ilford glossy rc paper. I got the water perfect, the dark wet rocks right where I want them, but the rest of the print looks blah and muddy. It all looks grey and kinda flat. So, not quite sure where to go from here.
Should I print again trying to get the midtones and then dodge and burn the rest? What do you guys normally do in situations like this?
I should add that I use a color head for my b&w, and split grade printing. I did just get a set of the large ilford contrast filters and could use those instead.

[Gem Singer]

Make sure your safelight is the proper color for the type of printing paper you are using.

Test it to make sure it is actually safe, and check your enlarger for light leaks.

Improper safelight illumination and light leaks are a common cause of grayed-out highlights in VC prints.

[David de Gruyl]

I am assuming you are using multigrade paper... It sounds like a contrast issue.

I use a meter, so it may be a bit out there. I usually measure either the mid-tone or black for exposure (depending on the more important tone), and then the total contrast range. I use the darkroom automation meter and charts (http://www.darkroomautomation.com/da-main.htm) but conceptually it should be the same.

I have also been known to print for highlights, but the contrast range takes care of that.

[memorris]

You might try moving away from split grade printing. I was taught to adjust the exposure for the highlights then adjust the contrast for the shadows. When done like that it, a long as the negative has good mid-tones, they will work well.

[ic-racer]

Simple geometry rears its head. You can fit any 2 points to a paper curve. But the third point falls beyond your control.

The common case is to dodge or burn if you can. Also, try printing the other way. That is, set your highlights and mids and let the darks fall where they may. That can be a reasonable compromise in my opinion.

[nolindan]

Simple geometry rears its head. You can fit any 2 points to a paper curve. But the third point falls beyond your control. The common case is to dodge or burn if you can.

The best strategy is to pick the tones that define the central focus of the image. Usually this would be the light to dark midtones or from the midtones to either the shadows or the highlights. Fit these two points to the paper contrast. Only dodge and burn the least important parts of the image. If you find yourself doing dodging and burning on the central subject then you may be doing things backwards.

People find themselves doing D&B on the subject matter when they do split-grade printing or use an enlarging metering system that uses the highlights and shadows to determine contrast. Although some metering systems do allow you to use a mid-tone to determine paper grade they assume an HD curve for the paper - paper curves between brands and emulsions can vary 1 zone in the midtones even though they match at the highlights and shadows where the meter's paper 'calibration' is made. In either case you should adjust the grade and exposure so you aren't doing manipulation on the subject matter.

--
Nicholas Lindan
Darkroom Automation

[Michael Graves]

Simple geometry rears its head. You can fit any 2 points to a paper curve. But the third point falls beyond your control.

The common case is to dodge or burn if you can. Also, try printing the other way. That is, set your highlights and mids and let the darks fall where they may. That can be a reasonable compromise in my opinion.

Ah, but the third point CAN be controlled to a certain extent. Every paper has a different curve. If one paper gives me the highlight and shadow detail I want but muddy midtones, then I change to a different brand of paper, or change the developer or the developer dilution. All of these techniques allow a certain "positioning" of the middle tones in relation to highs and lows.