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Re: Farmer's Reducer Information.



>  >>When I reduce a print I always got a  more contrasty print. When I
>reduce a
>>>film
>>>I always got a more softy film. Why? Is it possible to invert the
>terms?

>One idea might be that when you reduce a print, the shadow details
>disappear first, because there is less silver in those areas. This would
>explain the higher print contrast.

-- Yes

>When you reduce a negative, and
>depending on the reducer, overall contrast is reduced so you have a
>softer negative.

-- ??

Positives and negatives are in one respect of the same kind: they are
surfaces carrying different concentrations of silver particles.
Reducers cut down on these concentration.  If a reducer thereby
increases contrast, it will do so  irrespective of whether we see the
image as a positive or a negative.  So my response to the case
presented is:  Can't be -- try again!

Normal use of Farmer's will always increase contrast, both with
negatives and with positives.  Of course, if you let act the reducer
long enough you will eventually decrease contrast.  But by that time
you will normally have lost all shadow (neg.) resp. highlight (pos.)
detail -- the limit being 0 contrast, i.e. the image has been
bleached away.  (A merely theoretical limit since the reducer will
have lost activity long before that point has been reached.)
Photography still holds many mysteries but the theory and practice of
Farmer's is not one of them :-)

André