Friday 10 March 2017

More paperwork

Some more work on different RC papers with the hot and weak Easylith developer.  First off we have Ilford Warmtone, which we know works pretty well:

I like the depth in the sky on this print of Portstewart Bay.  That's not a smudge in the middle, by the way - it's a lone seagull heading Northwards.

Next up is an fixed grade glossy paper, Kodak Polymax II.  I know nothing about this paper - I was given a box of it some time ago and this is the first time I've used it.  Its probably ancient - I liked it a lot:

Although not such a pronounced lith effect as compared to the Warmtone above it came out looking pretty good.  It looks a bit streaky in the sky, though - not quite sure why, it could be over-enthusiastic tray agitation.

Then we have Adox MCC 312:

Isn't that rather lovely? Lower in contrast than the other, but sometimes that's OK.  I think me developer was losing it's ooomph by this stage, which might well be the reason.  But still, a decent result - there's a subtle warmth to the whole print which is very pleasing.  And no, I didn't Photoshop out the seagull - it was a different neg.
Lastly comes Fotospeed's Oyster paper:

Much more colour to this paper, which didn't really come out in the scan.  It almost looks like it's had a mild sepia tone.

So there's a bit more to do, I think, with regard to getting to grip with these papers.  The next step is to do a bit more work with just one paper at a time, try to get the contrast up on the Fotospeed and the Adox papers in particular.  There's exposure as well as dilution and temperature of the developer to play with, so enough to keep me off the streets for some time, I reckon.  And just for the record, I also tried that old stalwart, Kentmere VC Select - in fact that was my first paper of the day.  In case you're wondering where that one ended up, it's in the bin :)

2 comments:

  1. So you have been playing around with papers again, lucky man!
    It's actually very nice to just sit here and check out how the different papers react to the lith treatment without having to lift a single finger, but it still takes away most of the fun. I know...
    Of the four, which one I'd really like to pin on my wall? The first one done on warm tone Ilford paper. At least that's the one I feel for right here and now, and it's the one that seems to add more to this kind of scene in some sort of way. Well, I liked the others as well, and the Kodak paper is obviously coming in second on my list :)
    I really like this lith blogging, as you already know

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    1. Thanks Jim. Yes the Ilford is the only one of this bunch that really works well, as far as I can see. I'm going to have to order another box of it - and soon - to keep scratching this particular itch ;)

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