[LargeFormat] Giant pinhole contact print

[Guy Glorieux]

Hi Mark,

We used the paper negative route to get the initial image because I'm
more familiar with that process than using lithographic film processed
in diluted Dektol.  There is also a stark beauty to a negative image
that size.  In fact, when the work gets to be shown in gallery, we'll
place the two images - negative and positive - face to face.

Making a contact positive from a paper negative is usually a rather
simple task.  If the paper is small enough and/or if you have a large
enough contact print frame, then you just put the positive under the
negative and expose to your enlarger light for the appropriate time.
But it seems that contact frames 12.5' x 8' have been "back-order" for
quite some time now...  -:))

So we turned to the next best process, which is to wet the negative and
the positive and squeegee them together, emulsion to emulsion.  This
works fine if you work with relatively standard print sizes.  But
today's papers are coated with a lot of additives and these will mix
with the water on the surface of the paper if it is not squeegeed to the
negative immediately.  In our case, we were working with 3 strips of
paper 50'' x 8' which had to be soaked for a couple of minutes in a
large 50''x6''x6'' water tank, carefully placed in position under the
exposure light and then covered with the 50''x8' wet paper negative.
This gave the additives plenty of time to spread all over the emulsion
and mar the positive before it even got into the developer.

Ilford UK was kind enough to provide us with some details on these
additives and we found through experimentation that they could be
removed, for the most part, by pre-washing the positive for about 10-15
minutes.  The resulting paper will tend to be a bit slower and about 1
grade more contrasty than the original paper.  The trick is that you
have to work in very subdued light, otherwise the paper will fog after
such a long period under darkroom light.

Even after pre-washing the paper, you have to work briskly so that the
emulsion does not start to dry in places before the negative is in
contact and the water squeegeed away.  For this particular phase, there
were five of us involved (also working in subdued light): two were
responsible for pulling the pre-washed paper from the water bath and
laying it in place, two looked after positioning the negative on top of
the paper and the fifth was responsible for making sure that the right
negative was placed in the right place and that the papers were
perfectly lined up.

Then, we moved to the next sequence: two were responsible for
squeegeeing the sandwiched positive-negative, one would sponge the extra
water from the floor, one would wipe any residual water on top of the
sandwich and the fifth person would check that there was no visible air
bubbles or water drops left on the paper.

The same process was being repeated for each of the 3 strips of paper.
After a couple of practice runs in standard room light, we managed to
complete the process in about 20 minutes without trampling all over one
another.

Exposure followed, with one person responsible for the timer, one person
on a ladder holding a long pole with a Grade 1 filter under the
projector and a third person waiting on a separate ladder with a burning
tool at the end of a pole with a Grade 3 filter, subsequently replaced
by Grade 4 filter for further localized burning.

One person would then roll the negatives back into a holding water tank
(ready for the next print), while two others would roll up the positives
and pass them to the last two persons who would place them, in sequence
into a 5'x10'x4'' developing tank, process and into a short-stop bath.
To avoid contamination, a separate team of two would handle the fix and
first rinse stages.  And while all this was going on, another team of
two would be in a separate room pre-washing the next batch of paper or
washing the processed prints....

All very simple, isn't it?  -:))

Guy

----- Original Message -----
From: "mark blackman" <mark.blackman1@btinternet.com>
To: <largeformat@f32.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 02, 2002 12:38 AM
Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] Giant pinhole contact print


> Guy,
> I've been following your reports with fascination! One small thing,
could
> you please explain the process of using the paper negative to get a
positive
> print? I gather lots of water is involved!
>
> Mark.