Photography 1 Instructor: Bradly Brown Email: [email protected] Contact Sheets
Start by gathering these materials:
10" x 13" or larger sheet of clean glass Negatives in Print File sleeves Photo paper 6" x 6" Multi-Grade filter set Sheet of matt board to make test strips Pencil (no pens!)
Follow these procedures, step-by-step:
1. By gently pulling forward on the lever on the left side of the enlarging head, raise the head so that you can insert the negative carrier. Gently let the head down, being sure that the carrier is properly seated, and the head appears to be properly aligned. Be sure the door in the condenser head is closed. Place your negatives (in Print File sleeves) on the enlarger baseboard and turn on the enlarger light by switching on the "focus" switch. Adjust the height of the enlarger so that the projected rectangle of light easily covers the negatives with several inches to spare, all around. Focus the edges of the light by turning the focusing knob, located to the right of the negative stage. To accomplish this will require some jockeying - up and down, focus, up and down, re-focus, etc. Note where you will place the paper and negatives (the lights will be off later). Finally, turn off the light by moving the switch from "focus" to "time".
2. Carefully record the exact position (height) of the enlarger head. This will be your PERMANENT standard height for making ALL contact prints with this enlarger.
3. Set the timer for 3 seconds. Adjust the enlarging lens aperture to f/8. Insert a #2 filter into the enlarger. Don't contact print with Multigrade (“MG”) paper without using a filter.
4. Now remove a piece of photo paper from the box and replace the lid. Place the paper on the baseboard, emulsion side up. Place the page of negatives on top of the paper, making sure that their emulsion side (dull) is facing down. Gently place the glass on top of the negatives. This keeps them flat and "in contact" with the paper, so that your contact sheet will be sharp.
5. Using the mat board, cover everything except half of the last strip of film and make a 3-second exposure. Then move the cardboard up so that the top half of the last strip of film is exposed and make another 3-second exposure. Continue to do this with each strip of negatives, all the way up the page. You now have a "test strip" that divides each row of negatives into two exposures. Remove the glass and the negatives and record the f-stop (f/8) on the back of the paper in pencil. Then process the paper [refer back to “Processing Prints”].
6. Take the contact test print in a tray into the light and examine it. The correct exposure is the one in which the film edge is slightly lighter than the adjacent "maximum paper black." In other words, the exposure in which the area covered by the clear edge of the film is not quite as dark as the sprocket holes. Ignore the images! This correct exposure time MUST be at least 15 seconds (i.e., 5 of the 3 sec. "increments"). If you don't find this in your first test, follow these guidelines: If a "correct" exposure time falls on a strip exposed less than 15 seconds, or if the entire contact sheet is "too dark," try "stopping down" by moving the lens' aperture to f/11, and repeat the printing procedure. Be sure to record the f-stop on the back of the sheet before processing. If the entire page is "too light" (and the film edge is too easily distinguishable even in the darkest strip), try "opening up" to aperture f/5.6, and repeat the test.
2 7. Once you have determined a correct exposure time that is at least 15 seconds, expose an entire sheet for that amount of time. IMPORTANT: Do not move the setting on the timer! Make your print using the same number of "3-second bursts," which produced the correct strip. Process and inspect the wet print to be certain it is right. [NOTE: If you are using fiber based paper, rather than RC paper, then once you are confident that this is a correctly printed contact sheet, you will have to compensate for dry down. When fiber based paper dries, it gets darker. Luckily, the percentage of darkening is fairly consistent for a particular paper brand. Ilford MG FB gets 7% darker, so to compensate, do the following: 1. Set the timer to 2.8 sec. 2. Make your exposure using the same number of bursts you used to make the last print. You have just exposed the print 7% less than when used 3-sec. bursts. The wet print will appear a bit too light, but will be correct when it dries.]
8. This combination of exposure (time and f-stop), printing filter and enlarger height is the one you will always use when you are contact printing in this lab, so long as you use the same type of paper and film, and an enlarger with the same focal length lens. Record this data so you can use the same settings every time.
Final thoughts. What if the images are too dark or too light on your correctly exposed contact sheet? Well, at least you know your negatives are overexposed or underexposed. This will help you plan your printing strategy for these specific negatives. If the images are so dark or so light that you can't "read" them, you may have to make another contact sheet, just so that you can see the images clearly. But, if that is the case, chances are that you will not want to print them anyway.
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