"1940s look" on B/W enlargement

Keith Tapscott. wrote:
Print slightly dark on a good fiber-based paper (preferably Galerie),
bleach back to normal density with Farmers and lightly tone with a
brown toner.

Ilford Galerie is very nice, also consider Kentmere Kentona.

Thanks, Keith! Unfortunately, at this point in the course, I know
absolutely nothing about fiber-based paper... but if I can get a few
sheets and learn how to work with it, I'll give it a try!

Adam

On Mar 8, 5:28 pm, Adam wrote:
Hi everybody! Would someone be able to help me with a darkroom
question? I've been "shooting pictures" for several decades but this
semester marks my first actual darkroom experience. I have one nice
shot (35mm Tri-X) of an old (restored) vending machine in an old
(restored) train station, and nothing in the image gives any clue that
it was taken recently. What I'd like to do is make an enlargement that
somehow looks as if it was shot (and even printed?) in the 1930s or
1940s... at least something that would fool a casual viewer at first.
Does anyone here have any suggestions on how to (inexpensively) simulate
that '30s/'40s "look"? As I said, I'm a beginner in the darkroom, and
my paper on hand is Ilford Multigrade IV RC De Luxe Pearl. Thanks in
advance for any suggestions!

While it's a little late for this particular shot (and others
have given excellent sggestions), my favourite way to
take period-looking shots is with a period camera and
old-tech film.

There are lots of 1940s folders and such on EBay,
and several companies still make what is essentially
fossilized 1950s film. Anything that doesn't say
"TMax" or "Delta" on it is worth a try.

I can take perfect 1950s newspaper photographer
pictures with my Crown Graphic and happy family
vacation pictures with any of my old Kodak folders.
Kodak were inordinately fond of 620 film, but it's easy
to respool modern 120 film on to 620 spools.

Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre
Grid: CN89lg pied a terre..."
ICBM: 49 16.57 N 123 0.24 W - Hospital/Shafte

Adam spake thus:

Hi everybody! Would someone be able to help me with a darkroom
question? I've been "shooting pictures" for several decades but this
semester marks my first actual darkroom experience. I have one nice
shot (35mm Tri-X) of an old (restored) vending machine in an old
(restored) train station, and nothing in the image gives any clue that
it was taken recently. What I'd like to do is make an enlargement that
somehow looks as if it was shot (and even printed?) in the 1930s or
1940s... at least something that would fool a casual viewer at first.

While the replies so far have concentrated on such aspects of the print
as color (suggesting sepia or similar toning, which may be a good idea)
and things like "antiquing" the print to make it look old, I think
there's more to it than that.

Specifically, it's the *tonality* of a print that, to me, says it was
made back in the 30s or 40s. I'm not sure exactly *what* that tonality
is, but I can recognize it, and I think we all can recognize it when we
see it.

My guess would be a little lighter overall, with no murky shadows, and a
lot of clear tones in the midrange. Think the opposite of, say, a 60s
print, with its heavy blackness.

And of course it would be tack-sharp.

I wonder if Richard K. has any ideas on this, having seen and worked
with a lot of these images.


--
Just as McDonald's is where you go when you're hungry but don't really
care about the quality of your food, Wikipedia is where you go when
you're curious but don't really care about the quality of your knowledge.

- Matthew White's WikiWatch (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/wikiwoo.htm)

laura halliday wrote:
While it's a little late for this particular shot (and others
have given excellent suggestions), my favourite way to
take period-looking shots is with a period camera and
old-tech film.

Thanks, Laura! In this case, I used a Canon TX (1976; it was the bottom
of the line of which the F-1 was the top) and good old Tri-X. I'm
planning on shooting one roll of Tri-X with my uncle's Argus C3
("brick"), which seems appropriate for 1950s-type snapshots.

Adam

David Nebenzahl wrote:
What I'd like to do is make an enlargement
that somehow looks as if it was shot (and even printed?) in the 1930s
or 1940s... at least something that would fool a casual viewer at first.

While the replies so far have concentrated on such aspects of the print
as color (suggesting sepia or similar toning, which may be a good idea)
and things like "antiquing" the print to make it look old, I think
there's more to it than that.

Specifically, it's the *tonality* of a print that, to me, says it was
made back in the 30s or 40s. I'm not sure exactly *what* that tonality
is, but I can recognize it, and I think we all can recognize it when we
see it.

My guess would be a little lighter overall, with no murky shadows, and a
lot of clear tones in the midrange. Think the opposite of, say, a 60s
print, with its heavy blackness.

And of course it would be tack-sharp.

Thanks, David! I spent a while this afternoon looking through a binder
of new prints made from 1930s-40s negatives (for sale at the FDR Visitor
Center), trying to figure out what they had in common. Most were low
contrast, a few were high contrast. In general the whites were a very
light grey and the blacks were a dark grey. There wasn't much shadow
detail. Most were sharp, but a few weren't. I think one difference is
the range of greys -- modern images have all shades, but these had maybe
only five or six distinct shades of grey between the lightest and
darkest. Does this sound plausible? If so, is there an easy way to
simulate this?

Adam

Does this have the look?
http://www.digoliardi.net/broken.htm

pico wrote:
Does this have the look?
http://www.digoliardi.net/broken.htm

Thanks! I'd say it does -- only maybe six or ten gradations between the
lightest and darkest greys, and not much shadow detail. Is that an
actual photo from the 1940s or 1950s? If it isn't, how'd you get it to
look like one?

Adam

On Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:29:29 -0500, Adam
wrote:

John wrote:
an enlargement that somehow looks as if it was shot (and even
printed?) in the 1930s or 1940s...

Print slightly dark on a good fiber-based paper (preferably Galerie),
bleach back to normal density with Farmers and lightly tone with a
brown toner.

Thanks, John! That's a little beyond what we've been taught so far, but
if I can get those supplies I'll give it a try.

I've found that (depending on the paper) images that are given a
slight treatment in ferricyanide (Potassium Ferricyanide) first tone
much better. And it really is extremely simple.

Pot. Ferricyanide 50g
Pot. Bromide 50g
Water 1.0L

Now that's a stock formula that works quite well. If you bleach the
image back with this solution and then "redevelop" it with something
like a sulfide toner, you'll have an incredibly stable warm-toned
image. For a good toner take a look at :

http://www.photoformulary.com/Deskto...ion=0&langId=0


==
John S. Douglas
Photographer & Webmaster
Legacy-photo.com - Xs750.net

On 10 Mar 2007 11:47:19 -0800, "laura halliday"
wrote:

While it's a little late for this particular shot (and others
have given excellent sggestions), my favourite way to
take period-looking shots is with a period camera and
old-tech film.

That's a very good point. Nothing looks quite like an image created
with an old 127 Ektar lens !

==
John S. Douglas
Photographer & Webmaster
Legacy-photo.com - Xs750.net

On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:57:00 -0400, Adam
wrote:

Thanks, David! I spent a while this afternoon looking through a binder
of new prints made from 1930s-40s negatives (for sale at the FDR Visitor
Center), trying to figure out what they had in common. Most were low
contrast, a few were high contrast. In general the whites were a very
light grey and the blacks were a dark grey. There wasn't much shadow
detail. Most were sharp, but a few weren't. I think one difference is
the range of greys -- modern images have all shades, but these had maybe
only five or six distinct shades of grey between the lightest and
darkest. Does this sound plausible? If so, is there an easy way to
simulate this?

It's called "soot and chalk". No good clean whites but also no good
highlight details. Same for the shadows. You can get a similar look by
shooting that TX400 at EI64 and shortening development by about 50%.

==
John S. Douglas
Photographer & Webmaster
Legacy-photo.com - Xs750.net