Afterward I got into the darkroom and toned the 3 prints made yesterday. When I looked at the dried prints before submerging them in warm water I was surprised to find that I liked them better than I had yesterday. While it is true that they are far from perfect in the sky values, I was pleased that I was able to go beyond the straight interpretation and make it look much different, and perhaps better.
But I still had the toning to apply, so the fun was only beginning. It was my first time using Foma paper with Dektol developer, so I did not know how the paper would react with the toners.
I first submerged the 3 prints into a bleach bath to pull the highlights in the sky and road back a bit.
The sepia was next, and the paper reacted beautifully, a soft pearl/orange emerging in the sky. The past few weeks I have been using some pretty horrendous paper, and I guess it was a good test of my printing skills to try to make something decent with paper that was fogged, over-radiated, and old. Some printers like working with outdated paper, but I would rather know what I am getting into when I start a printing session. Knowing I have 90 sheets of Foma in my safe box is a good feeling.
I was tempted to stop the toning after the sepia, but I decided to take some more chances. One of the things I like about this composition is the autumn tree. Without toning, the foliage is too full and black, it does not show the luminosity which was present in the leaves. I knew that the next step of re-bleaching would create a nice glow in the tree. However, it would also lighten everything else to bad effect. What to do?
Well, the re-bleaching worked its magic on the tree, so the next step was to apply developer to the foreground road and field to bring back the correct shadow densities, and then, to turn the picture upside down and apply it to the sky. This all worked fine, but one more step was needed, because the sepia toned highlights in the sky were now too tepid due to the rebleach.
I dipped the 3 prints into gold toner and the pearl/orange became more intense, thus finishing the session.
I feel I can improve these prints by creating more depth in the sky with a longer burning time, maybe 60-70 seconds instead of 40-50. However, I would like to move on to something else knowing I have good paper to work with. My mind is filled with printing ideas, so strike while the iron is hot.
I dug out a print I made last year when I first experimented with painting in a sky with developer. I like the effect. It may seem too much, but I still think it works. It reminds me of Billy Morrow Jackson's Forecast :
Forecast, 1969Billy Morrow Jackson
Field Ditch Study, Version 2Printed 2007
Wim Mertens :
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