Some classic slide films never goes out of style. Or at least that’s what Lomography is hoping now that it’s now brought back Agfa CT Precisa color 35mm slide film. Best known the cool blue tone effect it produces in photos – such as the pumped up blues in images of skies – Agfa CT Precisa also has a fine grain quality and is available in ISO 100.
I suppose a typical reaction to understanding H&D curves would be, "Who cares?" And, unless you're interested in learning how your film will perform under various circumstances, it might not be of any interest to you. But, I've...
Leonard Bernstein's Mass is the next thing I want to buy for my darkroom. It might seem an odd choice, but for me the darkroom is not only a place of work: it is also a place of sanctuary. We quite often get letters from people who are returning to the wet darkroom, or are setting one up for the first time. What is the appeal? After all, you can now just sit down in front of...
Good optical alignment is
extremely important. If your enlarger is not in proper alignment, you
will not be able to produce prints that are sharply focused. Of course,
if most of your printing is done with a soft-focus diffuser, maybe it
doesn...
There's no denying the greater convenience variable contrast printing paper affords. With only one box of paper and using appropriate filtration you can get virtually any contrast rendition you desire. But another benefit of multicontrast papers is...
Most enlargers look much the same: a tall column, with the lamp and negative holder at the top, and a baseboard at the bottom. But given that a cheap, used enlarger with a good lens will, unless badly out of alignment, outperform a brand-new, state...
"Sorry, that's been discontinued." The salesclerk shakes his head. And that, you realize with sinking heart, is that: no more of your favorite film, paper, developer, whatever. These are trying times. What do you do?
First of all, make sure he's telling the truth. Far too often, "That's been discontinued" actually means...
A few months ago I showed you how to create a background for a portrait by using the Adobe Gradient tool. That tool produced a nice, smooth, gradated background as though the photographer had put a small hot spotlight on a smooth background. In this article I will show you how to create a mottled background similar to the painted canvas backgrounds that are so popular among...
I love digital cameras. However, they all have one serious problem. They tend to block up the shadow tones. That is, they have a short dynamic density range, compared to film. If you use very flat lighting you get...
Enlarger lenses are generally grouped into three price categories: hobby (inexpensive), regular "professional" (moderately priced), and Apochromatic (APO) professional (very expensive). APO lenses are designed mostly for use in precise color separation...
Sooner or later you will
want to make a copy of a color print. If you have the negative, it's
an easy task. If you own a digital imaging darkroom (computer, scanner,
and printer) it is still an easy task. However, if you have to do it the...
Enlarger lenses are generally grouped into three price categories. I refer to them as: amateur lenses (very cheap), regular "professional" lenses (moderately priced), and apochromatic (APO) lenses (very expensive). Amateur lenses are usually already mounted on the enlarger when...
Large format is fun: magical tonality, and detail in the print that goes on and on. Better still, it's easy. If you already have a darkroom, you probably have everything you need to make large format contact...
Usually when you are traveling,
you can't take your entire darkroom with you. However, you still
might want to make a few, quick, color prints while you're away
from home. All you need to make great colorpri...