The way I work, those highlights are much easier to keep. That was accidental...I was exploring ways to increase the raised relief and it turned out the variables that favor that also favor keeping the subtle high-lights. The highlights are a very thin layer of gelatin -- the pigment does not have significant distance to go to migrate out of the pigment. And slightly alkaline water softens the gelatin even more and allows more pigment to leave.
I work at minimum pigment levels, high DR negatives and strong sensitizer. This results in highlights made of a thicker layer of gelatin which retains the pigment better. I print so that the areas I want detail in the highlights just have a touch of texture...and they dry down wonderfully with delicate information in them. When it works...
Bookmarks