low contrast scenes

[esearing]

Thanks to purchase of a spot meter I now see that I am often drawn to subjects within 2-3 stops/ev range. Grey rocks with medium brown trees/bark and maybe some red GA clay, all about the same tone in B&W. Or twisted roots with some variation in tone but not much. I tend to shoot nature/scenics in shade where very little sky or brightness would be found to cause contrast.

I've read about various methods for dealing with High subject brightness range, but have not seen any for lower contrast subjects. Is there a method/developer for boosting contrast during the negative development, or should I merely do that in the print stage with higher contrast paper as needed?

[tgtaylor]

You can try Negative Intensification which is described in The Darkroom Cookbook along with Print Intensification.

Thomas

[Doremus Scudder]

The classic Zone System method of increasing overall negative contrast range is to simply develop longer. In the days when I tailored everything for grade 2 paper, I had schemes up through N+3. This method still works well for many film/developer combinations, so, depending on what you're using, this may work fine for you. You'll have to test out the times, of course.

That said, many modern films and many developers tend not to yield a lot of extra contrast with radically increased development. For example, PMK (which I use a lot) just adds extra overall density after about N+1. Therefore, I have come up with other ways to get more contrast.

Here's what I do now in order of preference.

1. If I have a subject that would benefit from more local contrast, especially in the midtones (most of them), but would be a classic Zone System N+1, I develop normally and increase contrast at the printing stage with grade 3 or a bit higher paper.

2. I develop N+1 for any negative that needs N+2 or N+3 (or those that I don't want more local contrast on above) and after that use paper grade changes to get more contrast. For example, N+2 = N+1 development plus grade 3 paper.

3. If I can't get enough contrast that way, I'll use either bleach/redevelopment or selenium intensification to get more contrast. Selenium intensification works well for negatives developed in non-staining developers. It increases contrast about a Zone (perhaps a bit less).

Since the selenium toner removes the stain from negs developed in staining developers, a bleach/redevelop in staining developer will add a gratifying amount of contrast. The technique is described in many posts here but, in a nutshell, one bleaches the developed neg in a rehalogenating bleach of potassium ferricyanide and potassium bromide. When the image is completely gone (or just a faint stain image remains), the negative is briefly rinsed and then redeveloped in a staining developer like PMK or Pyrocat. This adds an additional layer of image stain and thus, more contrast. The technique works well for negatives developed any way.

4. If I know I have a real low-contrast scene, that would need N+4 or more, then I'll switch developers and use very dilute HC-110 and a long developing time. I've found that, with the films I use, I can get a good N+2 or 3 with HC-110 diluted 1+63 and developing times about 3x normal. This, in combination with the above methods, will get me quite a bit of extra contrast. Of course, you'll have to test your film/developer combinations to see what you can get.

5. There are some print bleaching techniques that give more apparent contrast. Often, the contrast of a print will be fine except for the highlights, which can then be selectively bleached to bring them up a bit. Search for more info on techniques here.

Hope this helps,

Doremus

[RSalles]

You can find a copy of "The Negative" from Ansel Adams for a very good price these days and you'll find exactly what can be done with negative development in this book to stretch or expand the negative density range, or contact it, as needed.

Cheers,

Renato

[Heroique]

I am often drawn to subjects within 2-3 stops/ev range ... twisted roots with some variation in tone but not much ... very little sky or brightness would be found to cause contrast.

Sounds familiar!

Except for dark patches, the roots, trunk and grass fell on a two-zone spread:



Under thick rain clouds and soft light, I wanted more contrast.

Type 55 to the rescue – my favorite b/w film for low-contrast landscapes.

Tachi 4x5
Schneider XL 110mm/5.6
Type 55
Epson 4990/Epson Scan

[jp]

I like low contrast scenes as well. A yet unmentioned option is to use a filter to create some separation based on color differences. A little bit of over exposure will create additional shade contrast. No need to worry about affecting the highlights. But most of the time I a happy with a low contrast result as long as it's not scanned or printed muddy. Keep the shadows in mind when printing and let the highlights be a little moody or dim or foreboding if it works with the scene.

[esearing]

Type 55 to the rescue – my favorite b/w film for low-contrast landscapes.

Would Slow vs Fast films make a difference or is it the slope of the film? Does Kodak offer more contrast than Ilford? Or Ilford Delta 100 vs FP4? Trying new 55 soon to see if it gives a look I like. Is x-ray film more contrasty or less than standard films?

[Peter De Smidt]

I would use a slow film, Acros, Tmax100, or Delta 100. Develop for longer than normal in Xtol, or another fine-grained developed that doesn't lose activity with prolonged development. Longer development leads to larger grain, but these film and developer combinations are so fine-grained to begin with, that grain is unlikely to be a probably. Try starting by developing about 30% more than normal.

Remember that you can use colored filters while shooting to lighten the same color as the filter and darken the complementary color. For example, a red filter lightens reds and to a lesser extent yellows and magentas, and it darkens cyan, blue, and green.

[tgtaylor]

You can also try the Developer Kodak D-19. It was discontinued by Kodak but available as a Formulary product: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...for_Black.html

The formula is published in the Darkroom Cookbook and very inexpensive to mix from scratch if you already have the components.

Thomas

[mdm]

Or a film like foma 100. Contrasty as all hell.