From: Tom Ferguson (tomf2468@pipeline.com)
Date: 09/27/01-03:30:54 AM Z
Welcome to the frustrating world of copy slides ;-(
I do quite a few of these, so here is what works for me. You (I) want a
neutral color low contrast film.
While Scala is B&W, it has two serious problems: It doesn't show the "tone"
of your platinum prints and it is very high contrast. For me, this forced
all those nicely separated print shadow values into a black mess.
That leaves you with E-6 type slide films. Many of the current crop of E-6
films are designed to be "saturated". They over-state color. Not good for
copy work. My favorite for flash lighting is Kodak EPN. Tungsten films
(Kodak EPY) would seem an even better choice, but I got truer colors from
the flash than from the hot lights. Probably the fault of my hot lights, I
never did test, I just used what worked.
Buy enough film to do the whole job, so that it is all the same emulsion
number. Set up and run one roll at your favorite lab. It isn't unusual to
decide after that roll that you need to change your exposure a 1/3 stop
and/or add 5cc of color correction in front of your lens. This isn't a
"standard" for all future use, the next batch of film (from another emulsion
batch) will be different.
One odd note: I find that platinum (and most alt processes) require about
1/3 stop more exposure than a glossy silver print (with the same lighting
setup) and often require a different CC filter?? Perhaps this is due to
different paper reflectivness (is that a word?) or perhaps due to optical
brighteners in the silver paper? So, if you are doing both, shot both on
your first "test roll" and check for this.
As for lenses on 35mm cameras, I like a 100mm lens for small images (11x14
and smaller) and a 50mm for big work. The wider the lens, the closer you
will be, the more critical your alignment is. I would avoid any zoom, as too
many have a variable aperture.
I do keep the lights at about 45 degrees, and don't find any use for a
polorizer for works on paper. A copy stand if you can buy or beg one is a
joy compared to doing this with a tripod. Watch that some other room and/or
ceiling light isn't reflecting onto your work.
Good luck, it is dull work, but has to be done! It is boring and enough of a
"pain" that I always make a few extras of each image. Once you are set up
there is very little difference between shooting 3 frames and 10.
-- Tom Ferguson http://www.ferguson-photo-design.com> From: Nash Computer Technology <nashcom@btinternet.com> > Subject: Copying prints > > Hi > > I've been asked to make 35mm slides from some of my original platinum > prints, and wondered if anyone could advise on how to get the best results. > I think I know the basics of copying - keep the artwork and camera perfectly > parallel, and light evenly from 45degrees from two opposite sides. > > However, I don't know what film to use (whether colour or b&w (Agfa > Scala?)). Also, is it necessary to use a polariser on the camera and/or on > the lights? > > Also, I don't have a 35mm camera, but I should be able to enlist the help of > a friend with a Leica SLR or a Nikon. Is there an 'ideal' lens for this > sort of work (my originals are 5x4"). > > Thanks in advance > > David Nash >
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