I make images using paper negatives, from time to time.
I can't find another thread about this, and I so would like to have a thread, where I can send my students (and other interested) to see what can be done in this way...
I know there's a lot of paper negatives around LF forum, but let's see them here.
Portraits - nudes - landscapes - still life's and so on.
I'll begin:
Kristina. 24x30cm negative. Ilex paragon soft focus lens.
and Maj - same story..
excellent start Gandolfi! and great idea for a thread
Would this be an appropriate place for a brief expalnation of a paper negative??? I have wanted to give it a try.
Those look like positives.
Seriously, I'm a bit confused exactly what you mean. Are you shooting paper in the camera then contact printing it? I've used paper negatives in the very old days by printing slide film on Panalure then contact printing that, to get a positive BW from a positive color transparency, but that was the extent of it, and it was so long ago I don't even remember what the results were like.
well yes!Originally Posted by Roger Cole
Photographic papers are used in stead of film.
Very simple - very quick and sometimes interesting...
Papers are ortho chromatic, so especially with portraits you can get some interesting results. (Reds get dark - a redhead will get black hair... lips tends to get dark - hints of freckles are "brought to life" - and on the other hand, the "white" in the eyes (which are more bluish naturally) tends to get whiter than "normal"....
The negatives are used to make contact prints (these are scans, so an original print will look a little different, as you will see the fibers of the paper in the print. (can look great, by the way).
You can "manipulate" or retuch, by using a pencil on the back - or red lipstick if you want to make areas totally white.
An old - almost forgotten, but worth while process.
(It is cheap - very quick, and simple...)
stradibarrius: read my comment above.
Just start.
Use RC paper (stays flat so it is easier to contact print).
Low iso... depending of what paper you use, from about 12iso and down..
(If you're using multigrade types of papers, you can place a low multigrade filter in front of the lens to get more grey tones.)
Simple and fun!
Great idea. As I am running out of film, and just bought some x-ray film, I was curious what positives from paper negs would look like. I think I still have some very out of date 8X10 paper...some that is about 35 years old even. Could be fun...or disappointing, but worth a try
hi emil
i also like paper negatives
its cheap, fun and addictive !
Last edited by jnantz; 20-Jun-2011 at 07:18.
Out of date paper is perfect for paper negatives. A little age-fog is a great thing for reducing contrast. Start your ISO at 6, you may find that you need to go down to 3.
I have shot a LOT of paper negatives and I really love the different look that it gives an image. Plus...it's cheap...and fast.
Humm. I'd certainly try it, as it's so cheap, if I had an 8x10 camera. With only a 4x5 I'd be stuck with 4x5 contact prints - large enough to view, but a bit small to display. Might be fun to experiment with anyway.
Gives me another reason to miss Panalure. I could really use it for BW from color negs again, and it would be a panchromatic paper for this.
Can't one of the small European makers make a panchromatic paper? If they can make contact speed papers they can make a Panalure replacement. Pretty please?
Oh yes - are you using graded papers? Graded paper is not really orthochromatic; it's blue sensitive. VC paper is also green sensitive, but the contrast would vary with the color of the subject.
I think I tossed my decade out of date paper last time I was in TN though. (It was all VC anyway.)
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