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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. When you reduce a negative, and
> depending on the reducer, overall contrast is reduced so you have a
> softer negative.
>
> NOW, it is homemade paper, lots of other things can be happening. I doubt
> you will get constant results from batch to batch. I will assume we are
> discussing negatives, here, however.
>
> B.
Bob, what you wrote above confuses me. I read it late last night and didn't
reply because I might have been too tired to grasp what you were saying but
this morning my confusion remains. For years I have shown students how to
reduce negatives. It is my understanding and experience that reduction shows
up first where there is the least amount of silver. This would be the
highlights in a print and the shadow details in a negative. If either the
print or the negative is flat to begin with, reduction will not increase
contrast; but if the shadow areas in a print or the highlights in a negative
are robust and what needs to be reduced in thin areas of either negative or
print is not excessive, contrast should increase since removal of a small
amount of silver will be quite evident in areas with little silver and will
not make much difference in dense areas. Set me straight if I'm wrong about
this.
Sarah