December 2023 – Koraks tinkers

Ogling curves – Comparing salted paper, Van Dyke and DAS carbon

Earlier today I posted a blog with analysis of curves and especially hues of salted paper prints. I mentioned a comparison of curve shapes with some other processes as well, and since that’s fairly easy to do, I thought I could follow up on it right away. In this brief blog, let’s have a look at the H/D curves of salted paper, Van Dyke and DAS carbon.

Shades of grey – A look at the tones of a salted paper print

Last night I felt like doing a salt print. Why not do some measurements on it? Just having fun with the photospectrometer, really! And sometimes, just playing can give some insights. Perhaps a surprise, here and there?

Skyfall – A first impression of 4×5″ Kodak Aerocolor IV

Shooting color in large format is for the rich and very dedicated. I’m certainly not the former, and the latter…nah. Well, I can always try to cut a corner here and there, so I splurged on some Kodak Aerocolor IV film, conveniently cut to sheets by Reflx Lab. Here are the results of my first four sheets shot on this film.

Big ugly no longer big (still ugly) – RGB LED head for color printing revision

As soon as something sort of works, I generally leave it as is and use it as is. Until the shortcomings become annoying enough to actually do something about it. Which is the story of my color enlarger project in a nutshell. A story that hadn’t see much development lately – after all, it sort of worked, right? Well, the annoyance got the better of me, so I did another iteration.

Crossroads – A closer look at Kodak and Fuji digital RA4 crossover

Earlier, I wrote about digital RA4 papers suffering from crossover. I feel it’s time to revisit this topic, because I stumbled across some illustrations that make the issue more tangible. Let’s have a look at some theory and split some hairs!

Upside down – How color film and paper are fundamentally different

This is a story about chromogenic color film and paper that’s not a secret at all, but it remains untold much of the time. Perhaps because it’s rather technical and it goes beyond what an analog photographer or darkroom printer needs to know. But once you start thinking about the structure of C41 (and ECN2 and E6) film and RA4 paper in particular, it becomes an unavoidable topic. It’s the question how massive color crossover is in these materials. And in RA4 paper in particular, despite the absence of substantial color filtering in the emulsion layers.

Who’s afraid of cyan, yellow and magenta? Using color C41 and RA4 chemistry at home

I regularly speak to people who would like to start doing color development (film or prints) at home. Often, they’re shunned by the prospect of having to deal with color chemistry in a home darkroom setting. Please don’t let it stop you, though. Doing color work in a home darkroom is really pretty easy. And it doesn’t have to be very expensive, either.

Ginkgo leaves on expired Vericolor film

Rainy Sunday. Had the studio strobes setup for a bit reproduction. Some ginkgo biloba leaves I picked up in my parents’ backyard were sitting in a tiny vase, waiting. Some old Kodak Vericolor film loaded in cassettes. Heck…why not?