Creative approaches...

[ChristopherCoy]

I spent the good part of the afternoon last Wednesday in my "darkroom", which basically means I got to be really close friends with the washer, dryer, and toilet since my "darkroom" is our utility room. In any event, since I hadn't been in the darkroom since August, it was really nice to do so, and it has certainly gotten me going again. Since then, I've been thinking about things that I can do creatively to spice things up a bit, instead of printing photos in the same old mundane manner - paper in the easel, 1/4 inch border, develop, stop, rinse, repeat... In other words, always coming out with a straight-forward, four sided, crisp photo.

I started to remember things that my high school photography teacher had us try, such as "flicking" drops of developer onto the paper with a toothbrush, or misting it with a spray bottle etc. And that led me into trying to figure out "new" ways to create frames or borders, such as a torn paper "edge", or maybe figuring out a way to 'pre-flash' and make a black border instead of white.

And that is what I'm wondering.... what are some of y'alls favorite creative approaches when printing? Or what else can I try to shake things up a bit?

Any ideas or suggestions?

[jnanian]

i like making a mask with a knife and matboard so the border is jagged

[Mainecoonmaniac]

How about a "dirty" edge with a home made neg carrier? Or maybe hand-coated emulsions on different types of paper?

[ChristopherCoy]

How about a "dirty" edge with a home made neg carrier?

This is what I was thinking about. Perhaps some torn watercolor paper or something.

[eddie]

I sometimes laminate a smaller negative to a larger one. For example, I'll hit a 4x5 sheet with multiple flash bursts, then develop it. I'll then scrape off part of the emulsion, and plop in a trimmed 35mm neg, or two. I use the laminating sheets from Staples or Office Depot. There are a few examples in my Gallery posts (my earliest images). In my case, I also scratch the larger negative, and selectively bleach/tone the image area(s).
You're only limited by your imagination...

[ChristopherCoy]

OOOHHHH... That sounds like serious fun Eddie!

[eddie]

Chris- The resulting prints look like they're hand-coated. It's sort of a "faux-platinum" look.

[ChristopherCoy]

I was just looking at your gallery. I may have to try that when I get some sheet film in.

[eddie]

Chris- find some out-dated film. No need for fresh. Hit it with a bunch of strobe bursts, then overdevelop. Also, try it with 120. You can make panoramics that way.

[jnanian]

chris,
you can also make photograms right ON your film
and over expose it like eddie was suggesting ..
use a bright bulb ( like 300W ) to expose your prints by contact printing
on RC or whatever you have ...
use something other than normal developer, maybe dilute print developer,
maybe no so dilute, but process for 30seconds instead of a long time ..
partially fix in spent fixer so it is half fixed and allow it to age as you print it ..

You're only limited by your imagination...

EXACTLY !

have fun !
john