Re: Big neg (was: Cyanotypes on glass)

Hi Galina,

How are you?

In response to your questions, here are a couple thoughts:

Especially since lith film is so hard to find in Norway, why not use photo paper in the camera? Timo
claims to be a masochist and would not consider using it, but it may fit your purpose. The color
response and speed are quite close. It's usually cheaper and easier to handle than film, plus you
can scan it on a flatbed scanner, and save yourself even more money, also time. The only
disadvantage, perhaps, is perhaps paper texture, but I can tell you a trick to make that go away.

In terms of file size to print to 60cmx200cm, you'll need about 120 Mb files - I feel that 150 dpi
will be plenty to capture all the details you need and no one will be looking at the print with
magnifying glasses. 120 Mb is not hard to deal with on your scanner or your Mac. You might try
printing a small 150 dpi image on the printer to see how it looks first.

By the way, if you are lucky and can find some low contrast RC paper in the sizes to fit your
camera, that would be ideal (we found a big box of outdated No. 1 Ilford paper that we savor as
treasure). Otherwise there are a number of techniques to lower the contrast.

With best,
Sam Wang
>
> From: Galina <galina@online.no>
> Date: 2003/12/07 Sun AM 10:37:59 EST
> To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
> Subject: Big neg (was: Cyanotypes on glass)
>
> I have used Maco´s film, it is fine to my opinion. Rather expensive
> though here. There is no lith-film available here anymore, one has to
> get it from Europe or USA, taxes and postage make it three times the
> original price. It is so frustrating, that sometimes I am about to ask
> people on the list for help. If one sends it as a private package -
> there are no taxes! Smaller formats I usually drag with me from London
> or Berlin, but the sizes that Gordon has been mentioning remain to be a
> dream.
>
> Here in Norway it is not so much less cold or darkness wintertime,
> still if it is sun and snow (rather high contrast picture) my exposures
> in a round 60 cm pinhole and 120 high were about 1,5 min on that film.
> In the shadow or towards 3-4 PM it may be as long as 15 min., but you
> loose contrast so much then, that I had to heat the developer to about
> 25-28`C in order to get any picture at all.
>
> Naturally, the hole is much bigger in a pinhole than in a field
> camera, but i have also used very big format (50 x 60 cm) Maco lith
> film neg in a field camera inside with the artificial light. Portraits
> turned very Cameron-like: diffused and mystic! Exposure started at
> about 20 min in my setting. But one can certainly make still-life or
> object photographs that way.
>
> I am planning to take some pinholes outside during Christmas, but
> decided to make them rather small, scan and enlarge digitally on my
> Epson 7600. There will be a lot of experimenting with file sizes and
> print definitions, I hate that! Wonder if my Mac is going to like it?
>
> Could anyone tell me what would be the reasonable way to go if I want
> to print negatives about 60 x 200 cm from a Photoshop file? How big
> should the file be for printing on Epson 7600? Are there any clever
> tricks? I plan to scan on a dram scanner at a service company, but will
> I be able to handle such big files on my poor Mac G4 ? Has anyone been
> printing on Epson 7600 in those sizes? Jack Fulton gave me some
> valuable advise earlier, maybe he can help again?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Galina.
> www.galina.no
Received on Sun Dec 7 10:43:05 2003