Exposing the images
March 22, 2011
Checking the grain on an exposed image
My first encounter with Shakespeare was at 14 when I read Macbeth. To date it is still one of my favourites. I was fascinated by the notion of appearance versus reality, what is hidden and what is revealed and the gradual transformation of one element into another. To me the hidden and the revealed are themes that run throughout most Shakespeare plays and are also the basis of the circular structure of his theatre, where all appears to be revealed due to its structure, yet at the same time the audience is constantly surprised.
I wanted this gradual revelation to be a significant part of the image I made. I find all of these themes echo both the processes and the finished outcome of darkroom photography. The monochrome blacks, greys and whites hint on contrasts and opposites, and the action of running photographic emulsion through developer gradually reveals the images imprinted on the paper with light.
Printing photographs in a darkroom is tremendous fun - black and white photographs, that is - as colour photographs need to be printed in complete darkness where co-ordination is key and one only gets to see the images once they are fully developed. In black and white photography printing, a red (or amber) light is used as it does not affect (expose) the emulsion that the photographic paper is covered with. Photographic emulsion is only sensitive to blue and green light, so using a red light the work area can be illuminated.
The process runs in two parts - the dry part and the wet part. The dry part involves inserting the film negative in the enlarger, adjusting the height of the enlarger lens to ensure the size of the images fits the paper that is being used, selecting a time frame for the exposure (how long the light will be projected through the negative on to the photographic paper) and the placing the photographic paper under the lens and exposing the paper. Although it may sound complicated when explained in words, the process is straightforward and easy to follow.
The important things to remember are firstly to always make sure that the negative that is getting exposed is in focus. This can be adjusted with a simple focuser that looks a little bit like a toy plastic microscope. The key is to watch out for when the grain of the negative is most apparent. And secondly, do several test strips to ensure that the exposure time is correct. Here the key is to look out for the ultimate black by shifting the negative slightly to the side and allowing for a beam of pure light to fall onto the paper alongside a fragment of the image to be printed. Once the pure black is reached, usually there is no need to expose the image for longer, as then there is a risk of making the pure whites grey.
The different times of exposure on one strip of paper are achieved by covering the paper with a piece of card and gradually exposing it with every added time frame. Exposure times can vary from 3 seconds to several minutes depending on the size of the image and the lightness or darkness of the negative. Once the image has been exposed the wet part of the process begins.
by Evguenia Jokhova
| No comments yet
Share this