Print big - what is your solution

[Santtu Määttänen]

I'm actually not certain I would be at home siphonin those chemicals.. I could make a hole in one place which I could supply with a plug and with a hose have it drain away straight to the sewer which is about two meters from my work table by using a spatula of some sort.

I'm not ordering huge pieces of photo paper just yet, but considering trying this out with a liquid light and watercolour paper (which I have tons of already). Time to do some building in the darkroom, again 🙂 Not a bad thing.

Also those wide angle lenses are expensive. I mostly work with 6x9 these days and 80mm Rodenstock wide-angles are way above my budget at the moment. Not impossible in the future, but for now, it's not even a consideration. Currently I'm working with 105mm lens for 6x9 and 135mm lens for 9x12. Before I invest in a nice 80mm wide angle I'll be investing in a nice 50mm lens for 135 film since I don't have any and 105mm lens with 135 film makes tiny enlargements 😀 Not that I would be making anything large from that tiny bit of film anyway.

 

[bence8810]

Hi all,

Thanks for the kind words. It was indeed stretching my abilities but did work out at the end.

As for developing on the wall - wow... I can imagine all the developer escaping all over on the floor.

If you put it down on a straight surface (floor / table etc) the developer tends to stick around and is controllable with two sponges.
In my case the problems were these, which I forgot to mention above:

1. Developing on the floor means I am constantly bent over and this was not fully appreciated by my lower back. In my case the space in the bathroom is tiny too so I had to actually get into the tub at times to be able to walk around the print. (let's contribute this to the compactness of everything in Japan)

2. I didn't want dust so I used a non-glass negative carrier which I filed out a little prior so I can see the borders clearly. When checking for critical focus and when adjusting the placement on the wall - I needed to have the enlarger on projecting and after about 2 minutes the negative pops from the heat and there goes your focus. I had to shut the enlarger off after every 30 seconds and this really slowed things down - waiting for it to cool down. Would be much easier if I could leave it on for a long period behind the red filter and adjust the paper properly. This is why you see the edges so rough - I didn't manage to apply the tape around it so that it would align perfectly.

3. Setting focus. The image is far from the enlarger and I can't reach the adjusting knob. This slows setting focus down by a 10 fold at least and also the fact I need to turn the thing off every now and then.

All in all it's fun - always stretch your boundaries - seeing the end result is a wondering feeling.

Ben

 

[bence8810]

About the lens - I used an EL Nikkor 75mm f4 (6 elements) and it was just fine. I have plenty of space to move the enlarger back - I could perhaps do a 1.5m x 1.5m print but I have no place to develop it.

Ben

 

[__jc]

Santtu you're right - they ARE expensive! I just checked. I bought mine used a few years ago and I think it cost less than $200. It's maybe worth keeping an eye out for a used one, as they do make a substantial difference. But new - OUCH!

Sorry Ben - my advice was directed more towards Santtu who sounds like he has a dearth of space. The Nikkors are superb enlarging lenses, I still use a 50mm f2.8 I bought in the 1980s for 35mm.

 

[Santtu Määttänen]

Heat issue would be largely solved by using a glass carrier, then again it needs cleaning to avoid the dust. Also adding a fan could do the trick if the room is large enough to dissipate the heat (and not become a sauna).

Doing the developing on the wall actually ain't as crazy as it sounds. You could try it some time. Having the developer in the sponge in smallish quantities and rubbing it to the paper until it develops. Of course it leaves marks all over the place so it's not your go-to solution for everything but more to be done for the effect it produces.

Your working ergonomics sound horrific, but results speak for them selfs 🙂 That focusing issue is one that I'm battling my self constantly when doing anything of size. It's difficult enough when the enlarger head is at maximum height and your working on a table, not to mention the issues that arrive with vertical placement and walking from the wall to the enlarger and back all the time. Besides those focus finders ain't ment to be used vertically..

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

It's difficult to describe but years ago before the circular tanks and so on we used to run the film or paper up and down and through a small deep tray. That might be worth trying with paper but soak it first to get it bendable. You could make the tray from a length of plastic gutter.

Regards, David