great streaks in the sky

[Pherdinand]

hi,
On a few b&w prints i made recently where there's a large uniform grey sky area, i noticed there are streaks starting from the middle of it and continuing towards the edge of the print. It's a minor variation in the density, but visible.
I know it is not an issue with the negative as negative scan and older lab prints i ggot off the neg do not show this. Also, two prints of the same frame show two different "patterns".
Any idea what this is?
I do agitate i think sufficiently; i flip the print a few times in the developer, i rock the tray, and such.

is this "bromide drag" on paper? does that even exist? or is it light leaks? (i have a really dark darkroom but maybe some reflection when the enlarger is on??)
Or is it processing related? exhausting developer? stop bath is messed up?
or something with my fixer??
or am i still not agitating enough?

i get it with amaloco developer, not sure with other types, yet.
Ideas welcome, especially if you recognize what i am describing as something you also encountered (and solved).

 

[Glenn2]

A thought, wonder if this could be caused by reflections of stray light from the lens bouncing off something. My Omega D6 has blades built into the negative carrier that allow masking so this doesn’t happen. It’s mostly a problem with high magnification and small crops.

Glenn

 

[JoeV]

Too small of a tray can cause reflected waves during agitation to locally develop part of the print faster than others.

 

[mpaniagua]

Probably paper issues? Try developing an unexposed sheet and see if it shows the gray area?

Something similar happened to me a long time ago and it turned out to be a paper gone wrong.

Regards

 

[jim_jm]

Are the streaks lighter or darker than the surrounding sky?
An example of what you are seeing would be a help.

 

[Pherdinand]

Thanks- i will make a photo of an example print.

unexposed paper doesnt show issues, only lightly exposed parts such as cloudless sky, where it is also well visible. Also completely black parts are fine though it mgh just not be that visible in a black area.

The tray is just large enough, i have about half an inch room around the paper only. So it's a good idea. Will try with a smaller print or larger tray.

 

[Pherdinand]

Oh and it is full frame 6x6 enlarged 3x.

 

[Pherdinand]

Ok here comes an example.
Sorry for the brown tone- its only the light. I tried correcting in the pad but then rff doesnt allow me uploading it lol


Any further ideas?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Is it fast developing? If I place it wrong and short developing I'm getting special effects in even areas.

 

[Pherdinand]

3'30". I think it is rather slow, in my limited experience.

I am rating the too small tray as #1 suspect for now.
Did not do any control tests yet.

 

[Larry H-L]

Try cleaning your print trays really well, scrub them, especially if you are using metal trays.

Otherwise, perhaps humidity damage to your paper... was it in the fridge and then warmed in a humid room?

Good luck.

 

[Dogman]

A small tray or too low a volume of chemicals (or both) seems a reasonable answer to me.