Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free: AG Photographic The Imaging Warehouse Process Supplies RH Designs Second-hand Darkroom Supplies |
> Wow!!! the power of Pot Ferri |
*** Click here for the FADU 2015/2014 Yearbooks *** |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Wow!!! the power of Pot Ferri
First off, please note that I have just posted the same question on another different forum that I belong to. I have done this as I believe there are different members and i.e. different opinions on both of them. Apologies if you are on both as a member.
Anyway, onto my question... Wow!!! is the first word that came out of my mouth after the first use by myself of Pot Ferri for bleaching back, on Monday just past. I spent some time in the darkroom on Sunday, printing up some postcards for an exchange group that I belong to. I thought all was fine, after I viewed the test strips and the final cards under a daylight bulb in the darkroom and then the bathroom light whilst they were in the wash. I can only put it down to the artificial lighting, and my tired eyes on the Monday, but the next day when I viewed the cards, which were now dry, I couldn't believe how lifeless they looked. I know all about dry down etc. but the prints lacked any highlights, which were all light-ish grey. At first I thought that I would have to reprint them all, or maybe bleach them right back (as I have Pot Ferri and Hypo from toning experiments) and then snatch them from the redevelopment, in the hope of getting a better set of prints. Over a mug of coffee, I decided to read bits of Tim Rudman's printing course book and for the first time, thought that I would have a go with lightening the prints slightly in a bath of Pot Ferri. First I thought of using a brush on certain parts but after reading, I read a passage that says (something like) that some photographers regularly over print slightly and then put the prints through a Pot Ferri solution. Then there were the various formulas, all talking about making a litre of this and a litre of that... Finally I read another bit of text somewhere (in the Darkoom Cookbook?) that says to use one half of a teaspoon of Pot Ferri in 200ml of water. Well, the transformation after putting a DRY print (so as to affect the highlights first and mainly overall) into the solution for just 30 seconds amazed me. I still have the enlarger set up in the correct position and I keep notes of all my printing, so next time I'm in the darkroom, I'm going to try and print a card again with slightly less exposure (I use an RH Analyser.) I am going to do this as I am curious to see if I can get a similar print as achieved, or whether I should routinely over expose from now on and bleach back slightly. I can't put a print or two up for you to see the difference as they have only just been put in the post and I don't want to ruin the effect for people receiving prints through the post, unseen elsewhere. So, to finish, does anyone do the above regularly? Many thanks. Terry S |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Personally I have only used it very occasoinly as purely a rescue attempt, it works, but I think it better to get the print right in the first place, every so often what ever you do it does not look right and as a last resort I will try local bleaching, but certainly never ever would I print to bleach to get things right, for me only for emergency rescue
Richard
__________________
jerseyinblackandwhite.blogspot.com |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I have never used pot ferri so cannot comment really. A pity that the before and after cards can't be shown as this might help me to decide about trying it. Secondly half a teaspoon in 200 mls sounds quite strong but clearly you were able to stop the action quickly once you got to where you wanted to be.
Was it an immediate dunk in stronger than normal fix or just normal fix? Crucially can you wait and only dunk when what you see in the pot ferri solution is what you want or do you have to "predict" where it will be in say X secs so the fix is given the time it needs to work?e In theory over exposing and bleaching back should produce no better an effect that getting the exposure right, shouldn't it? However in practice it may in fact be easier to get the same of slightly better effect from this than attempting the "perfect exposure" I just don't know. For instructional purposes I'd love to see 3 prints, namely, 1. the overexposed;2. the bleached back and 3. the correct exposure to compare and contrast. Mike |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
that's great terry if you made some prints that you were not a hundred percent happy with and that solved it ,that sounds like a great and easy fix ,also sounds like a great money saver ,I made some prints the other night and when they were dry the next day I tore up two 10x 8 prints that I could have tried to salvage , I have never used Pot Ferri but I should have some for emergencies ,who sells it ..
www.essexcockney.com |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Tim Rudman, as far as I can see in his book, doesn't consider the technique a 'rescue job'!
__________________
regards, Tony |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Terry, I should have said that I assume you haven't just used only 200ml to bleach back the print or have you if it was a postcard(6x4).Alternatively was it 200ml per half teaspoon and then made up with water to submerge the print?
I had assumed that the ratio used was half a teaspoon per 200mls so for instance bleaching back a print in say 1000ml to cover the print requires two and half teaspoons? Mike |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
That is where I get a lot of my B&W materials from. For some film and papers they are cheaper in both price and postage than AG |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Thanks Mike |
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Found this-
Comes as two packets. Solution 1 is potassium ferricyanide, solution 2 is fix. http://www.morco.uk.com/black-white-...s-reducer.html Also, in browsing, http://www.tmax100.com/photo/pdf/farmers.pdf |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Pot Ferri
Quote:
Likewise at the same time I bought re-loadable cassettes which again were not on their website. If they cannot help you could always try Silverprint who used to be in London but have now moved out to the sticks. https://www.silverprint.co.uk/ Last edited by John King; 1st March 2018 at 06:59 AM. |
Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free: AG Photographic The Imaging Warehouse Process Supplies RH Designs Second-hand Darkroom Supplies |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
De vere 203 Power | RussKelly | Darkroom | 4 | 28th August 2014 06:57 PM |
ferri not ferro | robinb | Chemical formulae | 4 | 13th June 2013 08:50 AM |
Resolving power of enlarging lenses | MartyNL | Darkroom | 14 | 15th September 2010 09:35 AM |
The Power of Photography | Argentum | Art and aesthetics | 2 | 16th November 2009 09:35 AM |
power plug | Argentum | Equipment miscellaneous | 7 | 29th November 2008 06:15 PM |