Topic: Making big prints?

[jojonas~]

how large have you gone?

how about 4x7ft?
a guy I've been following on flickr has posted up some shots from a project he's working with.
here's some shots uploaded there
and a post on his blog: http://thelowestfidelity.blogspot.se/2013/02/4ftx7ft-silver-gelatin-print.html



http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelowestfidelity/8463433094/#


http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelowestfidelity/8455365288/#


http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelowestfidelity/8494444626/#


http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelowestfidelity/8494435772/#

I'm feeling inspired though I wonder how big my largest paper is?? 

[Andrej K]

Interesting, thanks for sharing Jonas..

the biggest paper in my closet currently is 30x40cm...But seeing this, the idea of a bottle of liquid emulsion in my fridge crossed my mind... 

[jojonas~]

oh yeah, liquid emulsion~ do it!!

[Francois]

I know Kodak used to sell paper by the roll. I don't know if Ilford does the same?

The biggest size I have in a corner of my lab is an old pack of 16x20 that I got used at a church rummage sale. I haven't even tested it out to see if it was any good.

One trick for developing such large sizes is to use wallpaper pans. They're cheap and work wonderful for large paper.

[the lowest fidelity!]

Badass!!!


paper is still being sold by the roll by a number of different manufacturers...i work at a camera shop that specializes in darkroom gear.

as far as using the wallpaper troughs, i dont like it. i use a tray filled with chems and sponge it directly on my paper. by doing this i can control the developer and make it have more of a "watery/messy" look that im going after...

i also got lucky that it was raining the night i made those big prints....i just dragged them outside my studio into the rain for an hour to wash them.

nature wins!

[Andrej K]

I know Kodak used to sell paper by the roll. I don't know if Ilford does the same?

The biggest size I have in a corner of my lab is an old pack of 16x20 that I got used at a church rummage sale. I haven't even tested it out to see if it was any good.

One trick for developing such large sizes is to use wallpaper pans. They're cheap and work wonderful for large paper.

I am sure FOMA and ADOX sell their papers in rolls - "short" size usually 105 cm.. One way for developing prints larger than than your usual trays (if you don't like the idea of brushing the developer) is using long flower trays...

[the lowest fidelity!]

I've tried several different ways to run my chems on large prints, but I find the best way is by hand with sponges...

I do this directly on my studio floor. I do have a number of towels around my print to soak up the chems between steps.

[Francois]

Does the seesaw method work well?
(Holding each end of the paper in one hand and repeatedly passing the paper in the chems.)

[the lowest fidelity!]

That would work, although I prefer the "My Bloody Valentine turned all the way up while pouring & splashing my chemistry with sponges while smoking amazing weed" method. But that's just me...

[the lowest fidelity!]

FYI

the photos above are my photos. This is how I choose to work in my studio...

Thanks for referencing them!

[LeonY]

That is cool! I have tons of 20x24" sheets and print them in a similar fashion. I pin them to the wall and rotate the enlarger sideways. Thankfully i have HUGE developing trays as well, i got them in the local trading post years back for $20. But its a pain and takes ages to print 1. Usually takes me about 20 minutes per print. The exposure is the most critical thing, because the enlarger is not really meant to enlarge to such a size i have to be careful not to bump it during exposure...man my darkroom gets messy with these prints.

[LeonY]

Does the seesaw method work well?
(Holding each end of the paper in one hand and repeatedly passing the paper in the chems.)

Yep definitely does. Before i had huge dev trays i used to do this. just very messy

[LeonY]

I know Kodak used to sell paper by the roll. I don't know if Ilford does the same?

The biggest size I have in a corner of my lab is an old pack of 16x20 that I got used at a church rummage sale. I haven't even tested it out to see if it was any good.

One trick for developing such large sizes is to use wallpaper pans. They're cheap and work wonderful for large paper.

I have 1 roll of Agfa paper. no idea how long it is, have not really tried usuing it yet.. But its about 1 meter tall!

[jojonas~]

oh! welcome (back) to the forum, david. nice to have you drop by

[the lowest fidelity!]

Yeah, this forum is cool!!! I have been pretty busy with shows lately. But I have nothing booked until a solo show next year. It's always nice to read through here and see what other film shooters are up to!!!


Dave