Split contrast filtering

[Robert]

Lets see if I understand this.

Step #1 Do a test print with the #389 green filter.
Step #2 pick the time on the print that looks best
Step #3 expose the whole print to the time from step #2
Step #4 Now use the #68 filter
Step #5 Pick the best time and use that to make up the print.

Am I right? I'm ignoring anything like the need to dodge/burn. Lets assume my negative is magically perfect-)).

[lee]

I would use a Green #58 and a Blue #47 and I would do the blue first. Look for the first hint of black and use that for your blue filter time. You can always correct. Then do the green. Look at the highlight for this test. But yes, that is the sequence.

lee\c

[Robert]

Thanks.

[Les McLean]

The filters suggested by Lee will give you the best result but I would suggest that you start with the green filter to establish the correct exposure for the highlight and do the blue filter second to determine the contrast and tonality for the whole print. If you start the blue you will see a contrast in the testthat is not possible to maintain for as soon as you lay soft filtration on you will reduce the contrast. I prefer this way for I think of it as building the contrast. Perhaps the best appraoch would be to try both ways to see which works best for you for neither is wrong.

[Robert]

I do have a #47 and a #58 but they are only 3"x3" too small for the enlarger. I guess I could use them under the lens but the last time I tried that it seems not the best solution. How much of a problem will the Roscoe filters cause me?

[Robert]

I did it this morning. The process seems great. Much easier then me trying to figure out what the "right" contrast filter would be. The thing that surpised me was just how much light the filters passed. To my eye the filters pass very little light the paper on the other hand had no problem. I started out with a longer then normal test print figuring I'd need it but turned out it wasn't needed.

[magic823]

What would I use on a Saunders 4550XLG VCCE Enlarger (since you change set filter grades using a dial)?

[Donald Miller]

What I do on my 4550 is to use a low contrast (grade one) setting to do a test strip to determine the highlight tonality. Then I do a second test strip by exposing a second sheet of paper with the high value (low contrast) time followed by a second test strip on that same piece of paper at a grade five setting to determine low value times.

The actual printing then becomes X seconds at grade one followed by X seconds at grade five.

The burning and dodging will then be determined by the tonal range and the contrast grade at which it was printed.

[Jeremy]

Is this easily accomplished using a color head? Maybe using all the way yellow and then with magenta cranked up? For some reason I feel like I should know the answer to this question and feel dumb asking, but how else am I going to learn.

[Donald Miller]

Jeremy,
I have not used a conventional dichroic head for this purpose but it is my understanding that yellow filtration would be used for the low contrast and magenta for the high contrast.