Long term project

[Sparrow]

Long term project

Among some old family photos is one that stands out markedly from the others, a 1912 image of my then 17 year old grandma has real impact, the local museum staff say it’s a platinum contact print from a glass plate. At just 6x9” with beautiful tonal range and slightly blue colour cast even the stiff pose and the photographers attempt at an “artistic” look can not hide its integrity. For over 20 years that picture has been at the back of my mind, what are your views on the following?

Expose and develop 35mm (I use HP5 a present but also get good results with C41 B&W)

Scan (dImage 5400 at the moment) and adjust in Photoshop

Print a large neg (Epson 220 at the moment) on to a suitable medium

Contact print by a platinum/palladium process

Stand back and admire!

I don’t need links to the various websites I’ve researched for months already; I’m looking for the best method and practise for each stage from anyone with practical experience. Where I will need to spend money on kit. Particularly information about any print process that would allow me to get my eye (develop transferable skills) in before I start pouring costly metals down the sink

Can anyone help?

Ps if this is on the wrong forum please move it to appropriate place

 

[pvdhaar]

I think the weak point here is the 35mm film format starting point. In my view you have to start from 6x9. And that doesn't have to cost a lot. A cheap 6x9 folder will get you there. Compared to the stuff available before the twenties, anything younger than 60yrs will run circles around it.

If you start 35mm, you have to enlarge. Enlargment influences DOF and how gradual the tonality changes. The nice tonal range you see in the picture is not the result of the process, it's the result of the capturing medium.

No matter how high the quality of the lens or the film, I've never been able to get the same look and feel between 35mm and 6x6 myself. In fact I get better results with 400ISO film on 6x6 than with 100ISO on 35mm. No matter how small the enlargement. And it only gets more pronounced when you compare small format and 6x9.

So, now you have a perfect excuse to get yourself a nice 6x9 rangefinder coupled folder 😉

 

[Doug]

Hi Stewart -- If your goal is to produce modern print duplicates of the old print, you might consider skipping a bunch of camera-involved steps and have the print scanned directly at the lab. That will avoid optical discrepancies, grain, etc, and give you a large file (likely a TIFF) from which you can do any touch-up like spotting (or have it done, some labs have restoration service), then have additional prints made.

If your goal is to make new photographs yourself in this style and quality, which I think Peter has in mind, then I'd agree with his suggestions.

 

[Nick R.]

Stewart, you don't actually say what you're are trying to do: make a print of your grandma's photo, or make other prints in the style of your grandma's photo.

 

[Sparrow]

Sorry, I didn’t make it clear it’s to make an approximation of that quality of print in new 35mm/iso400 work that’s why I want to maximise each stage, I have a 9x6 Bessa that will certainly give me a higher quality but I can’t get the “snapshot” images I like to work with from it.

 

[John Camp]

There was actually a book published in the last five years or so on exactly how to do this. I had a copy, but when I realized I'd never do it, I threw it away. I think. (I have my photo books in two different locations; I've only checked one. I'll check the other later today or tomorrow.) In any case, the process was to scan the neg with a high resolution scanner, then print to a transparent film using an inkjet printer and special film that would take the ink without smearing or running, then contact printing from that film. Forgive me if I don't remember all the details, but I believe the platinum paper was hand-made with kits purchased from LF photo magazines -- maybe View Camera. I don't know exactly how you would search for the book on Amazon, but it's probably still there. All I remember is that it had a spiral binding...

JC

 

[Sparrow]

John, the book title or any information on making the neg would help, I’m getting 1.5 micron resolution from a 35mm on to a A4 paper print and think that may be enough, but have no idea how to go from there to a A4 neg. I have years of experience with rag papers professionally, and feel more confidant with its coating having made gum Arabic prints at collage so I feel I could at least make a start at that end of the system.