From: Carl Weese (cweese@earthlink.net)
Date: 06/02/00-08:07:23 AM Z
Nick,
Fog, by definition, is mainly a highlight phenomenon and won't likely be
what's affecting your shadows. If you are comparing your shadow detail
to a silver print you might be barking up the wrong tree. A Pt/Pd print
will not show the same shadow detail as a silver print from the same
negative. A Pt/Pd print with all the shadow detail can be made, but the
negative will need to have more exposure and development than a negative
intended for silver.
Completely fogless highlights are a problem for presentation rather than
for quality. Clearing properly is important, but fog is archival. I have
no desire for either dmax blacks or clear paper whites in my Pt/Pd
prints so a bit of genuine fog doesn't concern me--it merely adjusts the
reflectance of the paper base slightly lower. When I do clearing/fogging
tests, I find that even old potassium oxalate developer doesn't cause
any fog density, but even fresh POP (ziatype) LiPd chemistry may give
prints with a slight haze of non-image density in the highlights or
borders (fog, not lack of clearing). Doesn't bother me a bit with most
pictures. If you mask your prints and want totally clean borders, using
fresh develop-out chemicals is probably a wise idea.
---Carl
-- Website with online galleries and workshop information at: http://home.earthlink.net/~cweese/
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