The DARKROOM COOKBOOK, Third Edition

Rescuing Thin Shadows
Saïd Nuseibeh
Printing Methods and Techniques 97
I learned this simple trick from Ruth Bernhard while printing her negative, Rockport
Nude. The fi gure in Ruth’s negative has wonderful mid-tone and highlight contrast but
is very fl at in the shadows. It is diffi cult to retain the contours of the model’s exquisitely
muscular physique as they recede into shadow.
Ruth suggested I make a series of non-image, stepped exposures on black and
white fi lm using the enlarger. These become a group of neutral density fi lms that, when
sandwiched with the original negative, raise important shadow areas off the toe of the
paper’s responsiveness to light. As the shadow exposure moves into the straight-line
portion of the H&D curve, the contrast increases, thereby giving more separation to this
area than is otherwise possible.
To make the ND fi lms I used a small right-angled jig made from black poster board
taped to the baseboard. This allowed me to slip the fi lm repeatedly into the same position
under the lens. I did not use a contact printing frame or glass because that would
merely provide another opportunity for dust to compromise the result. I also placed a
piece of matte black paper under the fi lm during exposure to make sure there were no
refl ections or stray light striking the fi lm. I made each ND fi lm using 4 � 5 inch Plus-X,
emulsion side up, and developed in HC-110 with a weaker dilution than normal. If I was
to do this today, I would use T-Max or any other fi ne-grain continuous tone fi lm.
Film requires much less exposure than one is accustomed to in the darkroom.
I raised the enlarger to the maximum height and stopped the lens down to its smallest
aperture. Ultimately, I was forced to add ND fi lters to the light path as well. While my
timer will make exposure distinctions in the tenths-of-seconds, I prefer to work in the
tens-of-seconds because I have found that the results are more repeatable.
If you decide to make your own ND fi lms the problem to watch out for, next to
dust, is that the illumination might not be even at the position of exposure. Clean the
enlarging lens and carefully scrutinize the results on fi lm in order to identify any irregularities
or fall-off in tone. Of course, it is more common to obtain irregular densities via
uneven development than from uneven illumination.
Double-check that there is no stray light in the darkroom. This includes LEDs
on timers and temperature control units. Then go through dry runs of the operation
because you will be working in complete darkness. You will need to be able to adjust
your exposure time for at least a 4-stop range in half-stop increments. I adjusted my
setup to enable exposures (in seconds) of 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 23, 30, 45, and 60.
Test to determine the proper exposure and development to give the fi rst discernible
or meaningful density above “fi lm base � fog.” This can be done with a densitometer
or by developing a single sheet of unexposed fi lm with which to compare against.
I tested using ND fi lters under the lens to achieve this density at 4 seconds. Once you
have this benchmark, then make approximately nine exposures, doubling the time