I have spent the week getting my processes calibrated and finalised. It is hard work of trial and error but with one process I am fairly happy it will produce what I want, although not helped by the fact that my new 8×10 camera has light leaks, so have to laboriously tape it up after making any lens or orientation change.
Test strips from the vandyke brown process. These are from negatives I develop from from the 8×10 camera. There is some difference in the chemical brand I am using here the result is not quite the same at home and had to take numerous test strips to find the right exposure for the paper, pretty happy that this will produce what I want. Ready to start my first proper prints.
First full print using Ilford Direct Positive paper. This is photographic paper placed in the camera and when developed normally produces a lovely positive print on this fibre based paper. Because it is exposed directly in the camera the image is reversed left/right.
It is a tricky medium to use. It is very low speed, requires long exposures, is naturally very hight contrast. Several techniques can be used to help tame this but it is it hard to get consistent results especially as the paper is sensitive to the UV spectrum of light you have to take tnto account the time of day when exposing. Still, pretty pleased how these are turning out, I think I have it sussed.
Ah, sometimes the mistakes can be attractive. The other process I planned to use is that of transferring the image of instant print film, just after it has started to develop, onto silkscreen paper. Part of this has to be done in the dark and it is a fiddly process. That part didn’t work well here pulling the film through rollers it got caught, but once freed I pulled it through anyway although damaged. Like this it never made it to the transfer.
Trying out framing. In this case the instant film went through the rollers OK but it slipped whilst I was positioning it on the watercolour paper in the dark. Anyway, again, quite like the result.