8x10 colour paper in-camera negatives

DaireQuinlan

As a follow up to : http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055838270

I got a pile of Kodak RA4 paper and RA4 dev chemicals (using expired C-41 bleach and fix) to try and use the colour paper as a paper negative. It's a little more complicated than the B&W paper, it's heavily blue sensitive to be exposed under tungsten enlarger lamps, so it needs to be filtered to try and approximate daylight colour temp sensitivity. So first few shots below I filtered with an 85B to convert daylight into tungsten, and the recommended starting filter pack on the box of 65m 55y. For anyone not familiar with colour printing, you generally need to experiment with a colour filter pack to get the colour right on the print. Most colour enlargers have a dialable filter pack, I got a bunch of gel filters that I can put over the lens.

These two have been further corrected in post, haven't quite got the filtration down, they were originally too blue.
Both willing victims the same as the last B&W set




Processing it is a PITA as it has to be done in complete darkness, with 5 trays the way I'm doing it. Lots of slopping around and dunking fingers into chemicals to be had ...

One more interesting point is that the paper is apparently sensitive to IR aswell. This is the red channel on the picture of my dad:



Anyone who's taken IR portraits will find that familiar. It means I have to get some sort of IR cut off filter to add to my filter pack aswell. A sort of anti-fenster filter . It makes it next to impossible to actually get a proper colour balance at the moment, but it does impart an odd otherworldly air to the portraits ...

Fenster

I saw that! Don't think I didn't!

Kintarō Hattori

Daire Quinlan without doubt the biggest photo nerd around these parts. Great stuff Daire, you really are trying some fantastically crazy stuff and I like that you love delving into the hobby so deeply.

These are excellent portraits again but for me I can't imagine what will ever top your B&W's.

Chorcai

Photo of you Dad looks the best here, but I like the softness in the photo of your sister. As Kintarō said, your B+W paper negs were just fantastic.

Kintarō Hattori

Chorcai wrote: »

Photo of you Dad looks the best here, but I like the softness in the photo of your wife. As Kintarō said, your B+W paper negs were just fantastic.

Tis his sister! :eek:

Fenster

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Tis his sister! :eek:

Ah sure, tis Ireland. Tis easy to get confused.

Fenster

More seriously: I love the near infrared portrait. The tones are incredible.

sunny2004

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Tis his sister! :eek:

he married his sister ?

Anyway he has my respect for what he is doing with photography..

Chorcai

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Tis his sister! :eek:

Sorry about that !

DaireQuinlan

sunny2004 wrote: »

he married his sister ?

You see how quickly rumours get started ??!?

Sister:

Wife:

magicbastarder

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

You see how quickly rumours get started ??!?
Sister:

Wife:

i take it they're not shot on the paper camera?

magicbastarder

btw, this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dairequinlan/4300496432/in/set-72157606885028088/

reminded me of this:
http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424705781/117186/chez-mondrian.html

DaireQuinlan

magicbastarder wrote: »

i take it they're not shot on the paper camera?

Nope. One is Ektar, other one is Portra 800. Both 35mm

-edit-

oh ho ho, I see what you did there you scamp

magicbastarder

i think it's funny the way this thread isn't attracting many responses, even though it (and the other one quoted above) i've mailed to more people than any other thread i've seen on boards. i imagine it's because people don't really have their own frame of reference for something like this. easier to comment on something you've experience of.

DaireQuinlan

magicbastarder wrote: »

i think it's funny the way this thread isn't attracting many responses, even though it (and the other one quoted above) i've mailed to more people than any other thread i've seen on boards. i imagine it's because people don't really have their own frame of reference for something like this. easier to comment on something you've experience of.

I know, it confuses me too :rolleyes:

Seriously though, I didn't really ask for C&C, and I don't know what people actually WOULD C&C, given that it's about 90% technique and very little else involved, so most critique would be based on shortcomings of the approach itself. Of course working around the shortcomings and limitations of the technique is half the fun. I guess if people aren't actually interested in pursuing something similar themselves then all that's left to add is a thanks or a brief message which, don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to get
I've tended to get a much better response with regard to interest in the actual technique on flickr and APUG to a lesser extent. There are more people who are actually doing something similar, or are interested in doing it.

But thanks for all the comments and thanks though, they're appreciated !

magicbastarder

the b&w portrait of your dad on the other thread is one of the best portraits i've seen in ages, regardless of technique, so the method is obviously more than just an exercise in seeing what is possible.

DaireQuinlan

Tried my reversal technique yesterday evening, this was shot at asa3, then put through a first (B&W) developer (ilford multigrade 1+9) and then re-exposed. After re-exposure it was put through the full RA-4 process. Luckily you can do this with the lights on, because this is it after 30 seconds or so when I snatched it out of the developer and dumped it into a water bath. Normally it'd go for 2 minutes.

As you can see the results are a little ... underwhelming. I have to experiment with the first developer. Fresh solution of multigrade dev at 1+4 maybe, or Dektol is another dev that people have had some success with.



As it turns out, it wasn't a complete loss. I got a neat B&W conversion out of it. I just additively blended all three channels.

melekalikimaka

your one creative mofo