Task 4
Research
and experience in the Darkroom
The most important thing about darkroom is that is
completely light tight, which means it's cut off from any natural light
entering the room. The only light that should be on in the darkroom is the
safety light, which is red because the paper that is used in the darkroom dues
not react to the light frequency of the safe light. However, the safe light can
eventually expose the paper, so it is important to keep the paper in a light
safe bag. Only taking out what you need to keep the rest of the paper safe. This
also save the paper from being fogged if any light is accidently let into the
darkroom (paper isn’t cheap). If any natural light is allowed in the room the
print will become either completely black or have a rather overall foggy
appearance to the image when placed in the developer. Because any light that
will ruin the print all cell phones and any other devices in emits light are
forbidden from entering the darkroom. When in the darkroom is important to sign
in and out so that people are aware of who is in the darkroom at what time.
This is good because if anything goes wrong in the darkroom and you are not
time in as being in the room there will be no implication against you. The
darkroom we will be using has a two-door system in which one door is completely
light tight and the other door enters a small space before you enter the room.
When entering the room it's important to knock on the first door so that people
are aware you are entering. Once inside the space that the light is entering
turn around and close that door. Then once that door is shut proceed to enter
into the other door making sure that no light enters the darkroom whatsoever.
When in the darkroom they are chemicals used in the
process of creating a final image. In the darkroom I am in there is a chemical
bath which contains developer, a stop bath, fixer and finally water. The
chemicals used the darkroom are toxic therefore Food & Drink are prohibited
from entering the darkroom at all times. It is also important not to wear any
clothing that you do not wish to stain if you happen to get some of the
chemicals on them. Jewellery is also another thing that should not be worn in
the darkroom at all. When in the darkroom it is important to be properly
protected are hands from the chemicals so gloves and tongs should be used when
transporting the image to another chemical bath. I'm going to explain what each
chemical dues and why it is needed in the darkroom.
Developer
The developer activates to light-sensitive crystals that
make up the emulsion on the paper. When the emotion comes into contact with the
developer, any parts of the paper exposed to light will become some gradient of
black. Depending on the grade used and time of exposure. The developer is one
of the chemicals that can cause damage to your skin by giving it dry rash among
other things. Gloves or tongs are essential when transporting the paper from
different bath's to protect the skin from having a negative reaction to the
chemicals used. Developer can also cause fingernails to go brown and should not be ingested or come into to
contacted with your eyes.
Stop
bath
The stop bath is an acid that deactivates the developer.
As it enters the bath the print stops turning black. If not stopped the print
would eventually turn completely black in the developer. Again avoid contacted
with the skin and eyes.
Fixer
The fixer removes the
unexposed crystals on the emotion, making the paper light safe. The photograph
can then be exposed to natural light safely. If insufficient fixing time is
applied to the paper the picture will eventually turn yellow over time. The
image will also disappear as it slowly turns darker. Fixer is the reason why
you
should wear clothing you don't mind getting market as it
stands clothing if it comes into contact with them.
Hyper
clear
This was not used in our darkroom but I will explain the
principle of it anyway. Hyper clear is used to ensure uniform drying, so that
you don't get dry marks later on. This seems like a very handy chemical to have
as dry spots can really ruin an image if the image is not dried properly.
Water
After the chemical baths the image should then be placed
in water for a significant amount of time so that all the chemicals used during
the processing of the image are washed away making it so that it is safe to
handle.
I'll go into detail later how long each chemical bath
should take while processing the image. The next thing to cover is the place
where exposing the image will take place. The apparatus used to expose our
negatives onto the emulsion paper is called the enlarger. There are many parts
to an enlarge used to cast the image onto the emulsion paper so I'm going to
name each of the things that are on the larger that you need to know about.
The Enlarger
Focusing
knob
The focus knob is used to move the lens up and down from
the negative to focus the grain of the negative. This means that when the
negative is printed the grains that make up the image will be in focus.
Head
knob/ press panel
The head knob will either slide or move up and down to
change the size of the image been printed. So, you can make the image massive
or small depending on the size of the paper.
Aperture
ring
The aperture ring should be located on the lens and
changes the aperture. If the light is turned (on the enlarger) on as you turn
the aperture ring back and forth the light will get dimmer and brighter. During
my time in the darkroom we were told to start at f 5.6 and change only if
needed via the test strips. The aperture ring on the enlargers we were using goes
from f-stop 2.8 to f-stop 16.
Negative
carrier
The negative carrier carries the negative you wish to
print. It goes between the lens and the bulb, so it is important to make sure
you turn off the light (on the enlarger) before you take out the carrier. If
you take out the carrier while the light is on, it will illuminate the room
making other people's paper become fogged by the light of your enlarger. Making
for a bunch of very pissed off people.
The
filters
The filters on then enlarger are cyan, yellow and magenta
they are shorn through the light when casting the negative. We only use magenta
and yellow to do black and white prints they add contrast to the overall print.
There are different grades of magenta and yellow, but it is important to start
with grade 3 (23y to 56m) and through test strips determine whether the grade needs
to be adjusted up the grade scale. Cyan is only really used in colour printing.
The
timer
The timer is used to accurately controlled the exposure
time of the enlarger (the amount of time the light is exposing the emulsion on
the paper).There are different types of timers used for example the one I was
using was a digital timer that went up in who seconds and not a turn dial
timer. I found the digital timer easy to use as I did not have to remember to
flick the switch to alter how the timer interoperates the time. Bothe timers
have three buttons, one is to set the timer off, one stops the timer and the
other keeps the light on constantly.
Before I get into how the printing processes that you go
through to get the final print works. In my research I came across photograms. Photograms are an arrangement of
objects placed onto a piece of photo paper in an interesting pattern. Then it
is exposed using the largest f-stop of 2.8 for 10 to 15 seconds and then
developed normally. I really want to try for to do one of these in the future,
as I think they look interesting and very creative. With little effort needed
to get an amazing result.
The
first stage of getting a negative ready
The first stage of getting a negative ready is to
cleaning if by putting a little rubbing alcohol onto a cosmetic pad and wiping
down both sides of the negative. Then wave the negative until it is completely
dry. The next step is to load the negative into the next carrier. To do this
make shore to turn the light off on the enlarge and remove the negative carrier.
Then by slightly bending the negative whiles hold up to the light and rotate
the negative so the image is upside down. Once upside down place in the carrier
emulsion side down, making shore the image is in the frame properly. The
negatives will look upside down, but like your eye when passed through the lens
will appear right side up. Close the carrier and place it back into the enlarger.
Extra
information about film
Film is made up of
the compounds emulsion and plastic strip. The plastic strip has a thin layer of
an emulsion on it. The plastic is a base layer for when the unused crystals are
washed off by the fixer in the development process; the plastic remains to give
the negative substance. You can tell which side is the plastic side as it is
shiny and smooth. It is best not to touch the negative directly as it will
leave fingerprints on the negative meaning that when you project the negative
you will have your fingerprints along with the image. Once the negative carrier
is in turn on the enlarger and open up the f-stop to its widest aperture of f2.8.
Then by using the easel (the easel is used to frame our work and can be used to
create a specific size border around our image) underneath the enlarger to get
the size of the image right, by altering the head knob on the enlarger to get
the size of the image you wish to cast for the paper size you are using. If the
for some reason you cannot see the image being cast then it may be extremely un focus so
play around with the focus knob to try and make the image visible. Once the
size of the image is chosen place the focus
finder underneath the light. Using the finder, find a white dot through the
eyepiece of the finder and slowly alter the focus knob until the dots (or
grain) are in focus. Once focus set the aperture back to 5.6 and turn the
lights off.
Test
strips
Test strip save time and paper in getting the right
exposure needed to print the image. On the web site it says to start with an
f-stop of 16, as it produces the best quality of image. But, I am starting with
S f-stop 5.6 as my teacher has suggested. Lay the test paper onto the easel and
set the timer for every five seconds. Cover part of the paper with a non-transparent
piece of paper or card and after every five seconds reveal a small sized
section of the paper until you get to the end of the paper. This way you get a
5 to 30 seconds exposure set. After processing the test strip and washing it so
you can see outside in the light analyse whether or not you need to increase
the exposure time, grade or alter the f-stop in any way. If the time given is
insufficient try different times of exposure if the image is too light or too
dark.
Printing
After the test strip sales has revealed what exposure,
grade and f-stop are needed. Insert a full piece of paper into the easel (7 ½ H
by 9 ½ W with a border of ¼) and turn on the precise time for the exposure.
Remember emulsion side up for the paper and don’t touch it. Process the paper
and until you can see the result in normal light don’t alter the settings on
your enlarger.
Processing
After explained how to print the image I will explain the
times needed and techniques used in the development process. Place the paper in
the developer for a minute and rock the tray back and forth gently; this will
help the image to develop evenly. Using the tongs remove the paper and let it
drip for a second (no flicking or waving it side to side you’ll get chemical
everywhere) and then placed into the stop bath for 30 seconds. Then using the
tongs for the stop bath lift out of the stop bar and allow to drip a second or
two before placing into the fixer. After the paper has been in for 30 seconds
removed from the fixer and placed in the rinse bath for 10 minutes to make sure
all the chemicals are off. On the website I have been researching it says to rinse
the paper between baths to prevent cross contamination of the chemicals making
them last longer. Once the chemical starts taking longer to work or starts
changing colour it is spent and should be disposed of. One washed remove from
the bath and wipe with a sponge to help prevent dry spots. Then place on the
drying rack.
After the image is being processed and you have taking it
out into natural light to observe you may notice white or black marks appearing
on your image. The white marks are dust or hair and can be removed from the
negative by either lightly brushing the negative with a very soft brush, as to
not create scratch marks or using air pressure to displace the dust from the
negative. But, this may in fact stir up more dust onto a negative. Not all dust
can be removed from the negative so just get what you can off. When removing
the dust take the negative outing in to natural light, so you can see what
you're doing. Black marks are scratches and the difference is that dust blocks
the light leaving a white mark, but a scratch has had the emotion removed so
light can pass though leaving a dark mark. These misfortunes are usually solved
through ‘spotting’, but that is an extremely competent process which I am not
going in to at this moment (I can’t do it). So, I will place a piece of advice
my teacher told me. She said to use the grease around your nose to fill in the
scratch marks on the emotion I'm not sure whether this actually works or not
and neither is she but give it a try anyway.
Burning
and dodging
Sometimes an image may be unbalanced in light to dark
ratio. This may be a sky that is to bright or a shadow that is too dark. The
idea behind burning and dodging is that you allow parts of the image to be
exposed longer than the rest of it. The darker areas need less exposure whereas
the lighter areas need more exposure. This is where test strips can indicate
the areas needed this treatment to get a better overall contrast within the
image. When blocking the light from touching the paper make sure you move your
hand or object side to side to prevent the outline from becoming visible on the
print. For example if you cover part of an image with your hand it would look
unnatural to have an outline of said hand in the image. So, move it to prevent
extended exposure but also to prevent your hand being visible on the print. Remembered
dodging is blocking of the light to an area and burning is the opposite.
The information I have collected for this procedures in
the darkroom is from my own experience and research on the website below. I
decided to put both experience and research into this to prevent me from
rewriting things over and over again. I will do a timeline explaining my
journey through the darkroom as well to convey my feeling and thoughts at the
time.
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