I’ve recently started a new journey working with paper negatives. If you are familiar with the history of photography then you know paper negatives date back to 1834 when Henry Fox Talbot made the first permanent negative so my new journey has roots dating back to the Victorian era. While I won’t be using paper soaked in silver chloride and fixed with a salt solution I will however be using modern darkroom papers and darkroom chemicals embracing the roots that Mr. Talbot set down.
Large format and ultra-large format photographers as well as pinhole users are typically the target audience for paper negatives. I come at things from an artistic perspective and while I can appreciate some of the benefits such as a much lower cost per negative or even availability of paper versus ultra-large sheet film I am seeking a specific type of print in the end that I can’t produce any other way. If you look at my large format photography whether it is botanical subjects or landscapes the overriding thing you may notice is very sharp images with a lot of detail. I am going in the opposite direction with paper negatives seeking a softer image that has that historic 19th century Victorian era look.
Why Paper Negatives in a Digital World?
You will need to fill in the blank for yourself of why you may want to make paper negatives in a modern digital world, but I will give you a couple of my reasons as I alluded to above. First, it is a lot of fun to adopt a process from the early 1800′s and use it in a creative and purposeful way in modern times. It is honestly a lot of fun and most importantly can give you a completely different print than you are used to creating with your current processes whether you end up scanning or printing in the darkroom. I personally enjoy just about anything that has to do with photography and if I can leverage the information in a creative and unique way then I am always up for the pursuit.
From a cost perspective using paper negatives is dramatically cheaper than using sheet film as you may have guessed. The cost differences between 8×10 Tri-X sheet film and RC darkroom paper is about $5.50 per sheet vs. $0.92 per sheet. You can use Ilford RC paper as I do and if you want to save even more money you can use Arista grade 2 paper from Freestyle. The cost drops to about $0.42 per sheet with the Arista paper. Arista paper is very good, I just simply choose to standardized on Ilford even though it is more expensive because I know this paper inside and out and also believe it will likely be available over other papers for the foreseeable future. I don’t believe there is likely any disadvantage to using the Freestyle Arista paper.
My First Two Prints
During my technical journey I realized something based on my experience that I would have never thought about without the experience. In my first series of tests I worked in the studio using my typical classic black background and floral subjects. Since this is a familiar place for me I wanted to see how far of a departure the paper negative would be from my norm. I purposely selected white Calla Lilies against a black background to test the contrast and ability to print this type of scene.
The first thing you notice is that paper negatives simply look different than film based negatives. With film the black background is clear film base and with the paper negative black is pure what (paper). This gave me the idea of changing the background from black to white and using the paper negative as the print since the white background if exposed properly will be black. For archival purposes I will always contact print or enlarge with fiber paper, however this could be a fast an easy way to use the negative as a positive in some cases.
In this first photo I used the negative to create the print. I could have went may different directions with this paper negative but I decided to go for that sepia toned Victorian type look. If I wanted a print that looks like my typical negative based prints I would just use sheet film. I exposed at EI 10 for this print and therefore slightly underexposed for the look I was going for.
In this second photo I used the negative as a positive and of the two prints I actually prefer this print over the first. I would have never known that without trying new things and just playing around and having fun. I also exposed this image at EI 10 as well.
Once you have the paper negative everything you normally do to make your prints is effectively the same. If you want a warm print then use WT paper and maybe tone with sepia or selenium, etc. If you want to scan it and upload your digital image somewhere or make a digital print then that is okay too.
Technical Details
If you read through the forums the general advice is to use a grade 2 paper and stay away from variable contrast paper. Based on my experience I completely disagree and found that my paper, Ilford MGIV RC glossy to make a great print. I used the MGIV paper because I didn’t have any grade 2 paper on hand.
I tried using several different filters on the multi-grade paper starting at a 0 through a number 2. It turns out that I liked the negatives without any filters the best. Using a #2 variable contrast filter should be the same as using a grade 2 paper in theory but I can’t be absolutely sure of that. I am currently running tests with Ilford Grade 2 glossy RC paper and have established the EI of the paper to be EI 6 or EI 3 depending on the subject and desired look of the final print. I found the highlights to be good and mid-tones and shadows great at EI 6 and with EI 3 the highlights were great, but with less desirable mid-tones.
The most tricky part of the entire journey is finding the right ISO/ASA rating of your paper in combination with your developer. The relationship between your paper and developer is very important. Based on trial and error I am currently using as ASA rating of 10 for my Ilford MG RC paper with a 15% correction for exposure and as noted above EI 6 or EI 3 for my Ilford Grade 2 RC paper. I error on the side of more exposure and effectively round up to the next second. For example, if my exposure at f/32 was 10 seconds then I would expose for 12 seconds as a general rule.
I use Dektol at a 1:3 dilution for my darkroom prints and decided to stick with Dektol for my paper negatives as well. Since you develop by inspection for paper negatives you want a soft and slower developer. I dilute my Dektol to 1:9 and as of right now typically end up with a development time around 1 minute if exposed properly. If you want a softer developer then I would go with Selectol. Photographer’s Formulary makes a replacement for Selectol called TD-31.
To complete your development process simply use your standard stop bath and hardening fixer as you would when making darkroom prints whether you are going to make darkroom prints or scan for inket prints. RC paper only needs a few minutes for washing and then you are ready to go. I use 30 seconds for my stop bath and 3 minutes for my hardening fixer. This should give you a paper negative that will outlast your lifetime and then some.
Scanning, Enlarging, Contact Printing
One of the best things about paper negatives is that you can scan them as transparent negatives just as you would film, you can contact print them or even put them in your enlarger and make enlarged prints. The RC paper base is translucent and this is why you can scan, contact print and enlarge with it. If you want or need a more translucent negative then read the process below of how to peel the plastic coating off the RC paper.
Alternative Printing with Your Paper Negative
If you want to make your paper negative more transparent for one or more alternative printing process then you can peel the protective plastic layer from the RC paper which is not possible with fiber papers. I don’t use fiber papers for paper negatives for a couple different reasons to include their “curling” behavior and texture which doesn’t go to well from a negative perspective as a general rule. If you want to separate your paper negative from the base and make it more transparent follow the procedure below:
- Use one of your regular darkroom trays to put your paper negative in.
- Bring water to a boil and then let cool for a couple minutes before pouring over print in your tray.
- Wait for 3 to 5 minutes for the water to soak in.
- Make sure the print is pushed down before you rub the corner of the print inwards towards the middle. You are trying to lift the corner of the paper apart.
- When the paper backing starts to separate carefully pull the two surfaces apart while under the water. If you feel too much resistance, stop and let the print soak a little while longer.
- If you have any traces of paper left on the plastic layer let the paper soak a little longer and then just rub it off.
- Put your separated negative on a flat and clean surface to dry in a dust free area.
- Have fun.
Summary
With effectively no or very little money you can start making paper negatives today. If you have a darkroom them you have everything you need and if not a few simple items such as trays and chemicals you are ready to go. I’ve only used this with large format cameras and haven’t pursued this with medium format, but it is possible. I think all you would have to do is lay a piece of RC paper with the emulsion (shiny) side towards the lens and you are good to go. Roll film is super convenient but that doesn’t mean you can’t try paper negatives with medium format cameras. I have 6×12 and 6×17 roll film backs for my large format cameras and I definitely plan on trying paper negatives with them. In closing, I would just say have fun with this and you may find another tool to put in your creative bag that separates you from the crowd.
Be sure to comment if you have any experience with paper negatives so other readers can benefit from you and if you give it a try be sure to come back and submit a comment about your experience.
My next quest is making negatives on glass plates using the dry plate method. Basically I don’t want to hassle with being forced to develop on the spot with the wet plate process so dry plates make the most sense for my style of photography. I am in the process of writing the article and testing things so be sure to check out the new article in the next couple of weeks.
Tim
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Tim Layton
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