how to overlay images

[msbarnes]

OK so I want to overlay a series of images...

How do I do it in the darkroom? The negatives are all in the same lighting/setting so they would need the same exposure.

Do I just determine the exposure time for one negative and then divide that by the number of images that I want to overlay as a starting point? I'm not sure if I would be able to capture all of the mid tones.

If it matters, this is of a person flapping their arms trying to mimick the concept of motion. I would want atleast three negatives but hopefully more (maybe wishful thinking).

[jnanian]

hi msbarnes

what is your darkroom set up, do you have more than one enlarger ...
do you have a safelight filter for under your enlarger to help you align the images ?

i have a few ideas in mind that might help you, but i don't want to suggest something,
if it won't be any help ...

one thing i would suggest is putting one negative in your enlarger at a time and dodge out
and burn in just the arms of each negative but the last one
the last one burn in the body too,
you will probably have to cut out a mask / kind of like a stencil
to print through ...
you can print as many negatives as you want this way, even 6 or 7

if you can find a red safelight filter for under your enlarger, they are a huge help in doing this sort of printing
so you can align and set up with ease ...

have fun

john

[msbarnes]

university darkroom with more than one enlarger...maybe 8 or so. I do not think I have a safelight fitler, not sure what that is. I assume that is some sort of filter that protects the paper from exposure? I do not have one of those but I can probably check with some of the instructors, they might have some at their studios tthat I may be able to borrow but I am unsure.

[tkamiya]

Yes. Safe light filter is a dark red filter. When used, it won't expose the paper - if you are reasonably quick! It usually comes with the enlarger as a "swing out" type thing under the lens. If you are using the Ilford under the lens kit, it comes just like a normal under the lens filter.

Let me caution you though - it's awfully hard to see the projected image using this filter.... critical alignment is nearly impossible.

p.s. I'm a bit surprised, John didn't suggest the coffee developer works well with multi-exposure images....

[jnanian]

university darkroom with more than one enlarger...maybe 8 or so. I do not think I have a safelight fitler, not sure what that is. I assume that is some sort of filter that protects the paper from exposure? I do not have one of those but I can probably check with some of the instructors, they might have some at their studios tthat I may be able to borrow but I am unsure.

hi ... again

if you have access to a few enlargers at your disposal it makes things easy

set every enlarger up with a negative in it ...
and project the negative on a clean sheet of paper and focus it so everything is the same
scale from one enlarger to the next ...
make your initial exposure and dodge out everything but the arms ...
and then move the paper to the next enlarger and burn in the arms
and dodge the rest ... all the way until you finish all your negatives ...
you don't need to make masks just dodge out everything but the arms you
want to print ...
practice with your hands making a hole that looks like the arms you want to print
and do each arm separately ... and in the end burn in the whole print a little bit to even
out the background and whatever stray light might have projected on the print.

it might take a bit of practice and a few sheets of paper , but it is do-able ...
if you end up getting frustrated, you could always make all 5 prints separate -
and make a collage, and rephotograph it on 1 negative and print that .. water colors and paints
on the print can help blend the applied images and if lit straight on, and not from the side you
won't see lots of edges ...

another, probably more time consuming way to do this, is to photograph all over again, but use a black background with
cuts in the fabric and have arms sticking out of it behind where the body will be ( the subjects arms? someone else's arms? )
and then a photograph of what will be the background.
being a black dark background it will be clear on the film so you can sandwich the background behind the first - armed negative.
painting with light might be an option, so you have your subject stand there, and arms behind her all moving, and you use a flashlight
to light your subject and arms, with the camera on bulb for all the exposure ... and maybe at the end
a dim flash to stop the moving hands in the midst of all the movement ..
sounds like a PITA but it might do the trick.

unfortunately the only thing coffee might be good for here, is to drink ...

[jeffreyg]

Call Jerry Uelsmann. Consider re-taking the picture with a slow shutter speed as the subject moves their arms or prepare to spend a lot of time and paper. I once printed four 4x5 negatives using one enlarger on a 16x20 paper for an Arts-In-Public- Places assignment. Each image was separate and had an unexposed grid separating them. I had to make masks and remove and replace the paper for each exposure. It took ten hours to come up with the result I sought.

Enjoy.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/