Printing Low Contrast Negatives
Difficult Negatives and Unconventional Images
Conventional thinking about what makes a good darkroom print is that you should have some elements of deepest black and also represent pure white. Of course, this uses the full tonal range of the paper, is it necessarily true? True in the sense that if you violate this then you have a poor looking print.
When I make low contrast images, often involving fog, I do find them a challenge to print. Variable contrast paper does not have much latitude to expand the contrast range much. And the truth is, what is the point of making a high contrast print of a scene that beguiled one as something inherently low in contrast?
My interpretations have varied on the subject. In a prior series of posts, I ran through a gamut of different prints each interesting in their own right.
First a conventional looking print of a foggy wood.
Then something somewhat lighter that might be closer to the way the day was….
Then a much darker version that completely changes the emotion of the image.
Then a version that is extremely light and high key.
Finally, I made a lith print which is where you run when you want to express the deepest blacks while retaining some highlights.
I had a similar conundrum with another negative I made from my digital camera. Taken on a cold foggy morning on Lake Pend Oreille, I liked the way the far shore was so indistinct and seemingly more distant..
Like so many low contrast negatives I eschew the low contrast filter and work exclusively in the hardest (#5) filter. I worked down from a high exposure as follows.
The two above images show the structure of the tones. The trees are nearly full black, the different tonal ranges are on display. Except that it wasn’t dark that day.
And this final image is in interesting territory. I also recognize the vignetting and light center to the image. So, I arranged to burn the center a little while trying to retain a very white background.
These last images I really like. They are almost cryptic and invite you to look closer as what is revealed is just enough to construct an idea of what is going on. A theme of past images has been the concept of Ma and this one printed this way qualifies.