Paper negatives

[DeBone75]

I've been a member on here for a long time but this is the first I've posted in a long time. I'm going to add my cheap two cents. There has been some discussion about enlarging a paper negative and how well or not it would work. I always thought that a contact print is just kinda a waste. Just my opinion. I like enlargements. So I thought I'd give it a try. Now most have said probably too long of an exposure and the contrast would be harsh yada yada yada. Well here's my "first" attempt. Not a particularly large enlargement but it worked ok. "Negative" shot on an old Japanese whole plate and enlarged just up to 8x10. Developed in old Zone VI at 1:3. Same with the positive. Shot at grade 3 on an Super Chromega F with dichroic head for 10 seconds at F11

[DeBone75]

Forget to mention dev Time for negative 1 minute and positive 2 min to get max black

[NedL]

Forget to mention dev Time for negative 1 minute and positive 2 min to get max black

Thanks for sharing that, nicely done! I like 8x10 or 7x11 contact prints from paper negatives. I don't really think the 5x7 or the 122 "postcard size" are a waste, but definitely admit liking larger prints is what made me go to larger negatives. If I had an enlarger could handle 5x7 or whole plate, I think I'd be right with you on that!

[nolindan]

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"....

That sounds like the results from wet plate. Both wet plate and paper have lots of UV sensitivity.

In wet plate a focusing adjustment was made to bring the "chemical focus" in line with the visual focus. I wonder if it would be worth it to incorporate such an adjustment when shooting paper negatives. Photographing a ruler at a 45 degree angle will how close the paper focus is to the visual focus.

[DeBone75]

I think one advantage of this enlarger it's output is 1000 watt. Makes a big difference in exposure time. This was just a I'm bored and want to try something. Lens is too soft so not as sharp as I'd like. I will do more testing. The negative was rated at ISO 12, lowest my meter will go. Paper Arista EDU Multi grade

[jnantz]

Thank you James, I saw that video before but forgot he used concentrated hydrogen peroxide. I used the drug store one, probably a 3% solution.

Donkittle, I would love to chat with you in private but your knowledge will help others than me if we continue here.

I did the same as you but used white vinegar for the second bath. It did bleach a little after an hour but I ended up with a black paper after the second exposition. Do you use the 3% solution or a stronger solution ?

T.Chabry
3%peroxide works but it takes a long long long long time for it to bleach the negative image to clear ..
you might consider getting some "40 Volume" as they call it at the beauty supply store. I think it comes out to 12% ..
what I do is have a white vinegar stop bath, the carry over goes with the print into the peroxide bath
it should start to clear as soon as you bring the print into the peroxide, when it's white you rinse it in running water and either put it under the sun or a bright light to activate the unexposed silver
and re-develop and re-stop and then fix the print... it's fun and easy.. good luck!