m_goetz
Leaf
A lumen print, something different for a change!
This is the first ever lumen print I'm truly satisfied with. I've tried the technique a few times before but the results never convinced me, most of my sorry attempts' resulting prints ended up in the bin.
Last evening, I collected some leaves for a different photo idea I had in mind (and still do...); I thought I might try a lumen print of the smallest leaf first as it's so nice and sunny today.
I chose a sheet of the most desolate/deteriorated, entirely unusable (in both normal and lith developers!), bin-worthy pack of photo paper I have around right now: Chemaphot Oriental RP 111. It's a trial pack of 10 sheets in 18x24cm that I once acquired for 1€ on eBay, I've been wanting to toss it out for ages now – thankfully, I haven't yet!
Before fixing, the paper exhibited pleasant tones of strong purple, pink and orange and good contrast, appropriately revealing the leaf's structure. I knew fixing it would annihilate all and any traces of those tones – and I was proven right. Post fixing, the paper not only showed an objectionable lush pink tone but also the contrast was flattened so far that the leaf structure was barely visible anymore.
Massively disappointed, I wanted to toss this sheet just as I had tossed all my prior lumen prints but decided to try toning it in selenium first in an attempt to reduce the ugly pink color. And it worked even better than I had envisioned! Not only did it end up with a much more pleasant tone that doesn't resemble the original pink at all, the selenium toner also did amazing work in revealing "shadow" detail, therefore restoring the leaf structure and also the slight shade behind it.
The selenium toner really saved this print, it made all the difference to it!
A while ago, I read a fellow darkroom printer's statement that even the most desolate and "bin-worthy" photo paper still has some use and life left in it, you just have to know how to "unlock" it – I can only agree.
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There is next to no info to be found about this photo paper or the company behind it. If anyone knows something about either, please share your wisdom! :)
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Printed on Chemaphot Oriental RP 111 RC paper
Exposure time: 3:15h
Toned in selenium (Moersch MT 1 1+10; ca. 1 min.)
Print scanned on a Heidelberg/Linotype-Hell Saphir Ultra II using Vuescan.
Leaf
A lumen print, something different for a change!
This is the first ever lumen print I'm truly satisfied with. I've tried the technique a few times before but the results never convinced me, most of my sorry attempts' resulting prints ended up in the bin.
Last evening, I collected some leaves for a different photo idea I had in mind (and still do...); I thought I might try a lumen print of the smallest leaf first as it's so nice and sunny today.
I chose a sheet of the most desolate/deteriorated, entirely unusable (in both normal and lith developers!), bin-worthy pack of photo paper I have around right now: Chemaphot Oriental RP 111. It's a trial pack of 10 sheets in 18x24cm that I once acquired for 1€ on eBay, I've been wanting to toss it out for ages now – thankfully, I haven't yet!
Before fixing, the paper exhibited pleasant tones of strong purple, pink and orange and good contrast, appropriately revealing the leaf's structure. I knew fixing it would annihilate all and any traces of those tones – and I was proven right. Post fixing, the paper not only showed an objectionable lush pink tone but also the contrast was flattened so far that the leaf structure was barely visible anymore.
Massively disappointed, I wanted to toss this sheet just as I had tossed all my prior lumen prints but decided to try toning it in selenium first in an attempt to reduce the ugly pink color. And it worked even better than I had envisioned! Not only did it end up with a much more pleasant tone that doesn't resemble the original pink at all, the selenium toner also did amazing work in revealing "shadow" detail, therefore restoring the leaf structure and also the slight shade behind it.
The selenium toner really saved this print, it made all the difference to it!
A while ago, I read a fellow darkroom printer's statement that even the most desolate and "bin-worthy" photo paper still has some use and life left in it, you just have to know how to "unlock" it – I can only agree.
---
There is next to no info to be found about this photo paper or the company behind it. If anyone knows something about either, please share your wisdom! :)
---
Printed on Chemaphot Oriental RP 111 RC paper
Exposure time: 3:15h
Toned in selenium (Moersch MT 1 1+10; ca. 1 min.)
Print scanned on a Heidelberg/Linotype-Hell Saphir Ultra II using Vuescan.