Overview:
This 1912 manual, “Bromide Printing and Enlarging,” by John A. Tennant, delves into the intricacies of bromide printing, a technique that offered photographers greater flexibility and control over their prints. Tennant covers everything from choosing the right bromide paper to creating stunning enlargements using both daylight and artificial light sources. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the relationship between light intensity, negative density, and exposure time. The book provides detailed instructions for contact printing, dodging techniques, and creating composite prints. It concludes with an in-depth look at toning bromide prints, including the sulfide and uranium methods.
Tennant’s comprehensive approach aims to empower photographers with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve high-quality bromide prints. He explains the underlying principles of each technique, offering both theoretical understanding and practical advice.
Key Findings:
- Bromide paper offers flexibility and control: Tennant highlights the unique advantages of bromide paper, including its independence from daylight and weather, its simple manipulation, and its ability to produce high-quality prints from a wide range of negatives.
- Light intensity is crucial: Tennant emphasizes the importance of understanding and controlling light intensity for successful bromide printing. He outlines the inverse square law of light and its application in adjusting exposure times based on distance.
- Dodging techniques enhance prints: Tennant discusses the effective use of dodging techniques to manipulate light distribution during printing, allowing photographers to adjust contrast, highlight specific areas, or create special effects.
- Toning offers creative options: The book describes various toning methods, including the popular sulphide and uranium techniques, which add color and depth to prints, allowing for greater artistic expression.
Learning:
- Understanding the Characteristics of Bromide Paper: Readers will learn about different types of bromide paper, their surfaces, and their suitability for various photographic styles and printing techniques.
- Mastering the Fundamentals of Light: The text explains the relationship between light intensity, distance, and exposure, enabling readers to control exposure with precision.
- Implementing Effective Dodging Techniques: Tennant provides a clear explanation of various dodging methods, offering readers the tools to selectively control exposure for creative results.
- Exploring the Art of Toning: The manual delves into the intricacies of toning bromide prints, equipping readers with the knowledge and techniques to achieve stunning colour effects.
Historical Context:
This guide was written in 1912, a period of significant advancements in photography. The rise of bromide printing was revolutionizing the way photographers approached image making, offering them greater control over their creative output. Tennant’s book reflects the excitement and possibilities surrounding this emerging technology.
Facts:
- Bromide paper is coated with gelatino-bromide of silver emulsion: This emulsion is similar to that used in dry-plates and films for negative-making.
- Bromide paper is less sensitive than negative materials: This allows photographers to work with more light during printing and toning.
- Bromide paper can be used for both contact prints and enlargements: Its versatility makes it a popular choice among photographers.
- The ferrous oxalate developer is well-suited for bromide paper: It produces pure black tones but requires an acid clearing bath, adding complexity to the process.
- Metol and hydroquinone developers are reliable and versatile: They offer excellent keeping qualities and allow for greater control in development.
- Fresh developer is essential for rich black tones: Overworking the developer can result in greenish tones and poor results.
- Developer temperature plays a crucial role: Maintaining the proper temperature is essential for consistent development.
- A standard negative is needed for determining proper exposure: This serves as a reference point for adjusting exposure times for different negatives.
- The intensity of illumination varies inversely as the square of the distance from the source of light: This principle helps photographers calculate equivalent exposures at varying distances from the light source.
- A strong light overcomes contrasts: A close proximity to the light source reduces the contrast between highlights and shadows.
- A weak light increases contrasts: Moving the negative further away from the light source enhances contrast.
- Bromide negatives can be made in the camera: They offer advantages in certain types of work, but require special considerations for exposure and development.
- Daylight enlarging offers affordability: Homemade apparatus can be created for a low cost, allowing access to this technique for most photographers.
- Sunlight can be effectively utilized for daylight enlarging: Using a reflector and carefully managing the angle of sunlight ensures even illumination of the negative.
- Condensing lenses are crucial for artificial light enlarging: They effectively focus light onto the negative, ensuring uniform illumination for sharp enlargements.
- The planes of the lens, negative, and screen must be parallel for successful enlarging: This ensures proper focus and even illumination.
- The centers of all components should be aligned in a single straight line: This prevents distortion and ensures precise enlargement.
- Enlargement size is determined by the distance between the lens and the negative: Moving the lens further away from the negative creates a larger enlargement.
- Stopping down the lens increases exposure time but can improve sharpness: However, stopping down the lens can also affect the overall contrast of the image.
- Sulphide toning converts silver into silver sulphide: This chemical transformation results in brown or sepia tones, often considered more pleasing than pure black.
Statistics:
- 3 ounces of hypo in 16 ounces of water: This is the recommended concentration for a fixing bath.
- 10 minutes: The time required for fixing prints in a fresh hypo bath.
- 300 grains of potassium ferricyanide and 100 grains of potassium bromide in 20 ounces of water: A common formula for the bromide-ferricyanide bleacher used in sulphide toning.
- 4 ounces of sodium sulphite in 20 ounces of water: A 20% stock solution of sodium sulphite used for making the sulphide toning bath.
- 3 ounces of stock 20% sulphide solution in 20 ounces of water: The recommended concentration for a sulphide toning bath.
- 2 to 3 minutes: The time required for bleaching a bromide print in the bromide-ferricyanide solution.
- 1 dram of uranium solution, ½ dram of acetic acid, and 5 ounces of water: The formula for the uranium toning bath.
- 6 to 7 minutes: The typical time required for uranium toning of bromide prints.
- 15 minutes: The recommended washing time for uranium toned prints.
- 2 ounces of glycerine in 25 ounces of water: A solution used to help keep bromide prints flat after drying.
- One-twentieth the exposure of a rapid plate: The approximate exposure time for making bromide negatives in the camera.
- One-half additional exposure: The increased exposure time required when using bolting silk for softening shadows.
- 3 to 5 minutes: The ideal exposure time for negatives in contact printing on bromide paper.
Terms:
- Bromide paper: Paper coated with a gelatino-bromide of silver emulsion used for making prints by contact or enlarging.
- Developer: A chemical solution used to develop a latent image on photographic paper.
- Exposure: The time during which photographic material is exposed to light.
- Fixing: The process of removing unexposed silver halide crystals from the emulsion to make the image permanent.
- Toning: A process of changing the colour of a print from black to another shade, such as sepia or brown.
- Dodging: A technique used to selectively control exposure to light during printing, allowing for manipulation of contrast and highlights.
- Vignetting: A technique that gradually softens or fades the edges of a print, drawing attention to the central subject.
- Composite printing: A technique that combines multiple negatives to create a single image.
- Bolting silk: A fine mesh fabric used to soften shadows and blend tones in enlargements.
- Sulphide toning: A method of toning bromide prints using a bleaching solution and a sodium sulphide solution.
Examples:
- Landscape with a dense sky: Using a piece of paper cut to the skyline, photographers can dodge the sky portion during printing to achieve a balanced contrast between sky and foreground.
- Portrait with a prominent hand or face: A small hole cut in a sheet of paper can be used to selectively expose specific areas of the negative, adding emphasis to these features.
- Landscape negative with a thin sky and clouds: A mask can be used to block out the sky portion of the landscape during the initial exposure, preventing the clouds from being obscured by a faint sky.
- Overexposed bromide print: Diluting the developer can help to recover detail in the highlights of an overexposed print.
- Underexposed bromide print: Using a strong, undiluted developer can help to compensate for an underexposure, increasing contrast and recovering shadow detail.
- Print with a heavy shadow area: Bolting silk can be used to soften the shadows, creating a more harmonious blend with the highlights.
- Bromide negative for enlargements: A contact positive can be made on carbon transparency tissue and then enlarged, or an enlarged positive can be made first and then used to create a contact negative.
- Enlarging from films: Films are placed between two sheets of glass and fastened in a kit or negative holder for enlarging.
- Bromide print with a bald-headed sky: Uranium toning will primarily affect the subject matter, leaving the sky white.
- Bromide print with dark shadows or masses: These prints may be less suitable for uranium toning, as the toning process tends to increase contrast.
Conclusion:
Tennant’s guide to “Bromide Printing and Enlarging” provides a thorough and insightful exploration of a technique that revolutionized photography in the early 20th century. By understanding the principles of light, exposure, and developer chemistry, photographers can create high-quality bromide prints, explore creative options with dodging and toning techniques, and elevate their photographic artistry. This manual serves as a valuable resource for photographers seeking to master the art of bromide printing and unleash their creative potential.