Aaaarrrggghhh!

[Bobby Ironsights]

I've started printing my negs on quarter sheets of paper, grade #2 arista.edu, as I just can't get a really decent look at them from a contact sheet. I print slightly light, as I sometimes overexpose some shots deliberately and that way I'll see all of them, without adjusting my timer between each print.

This is the nicest one from this bunch, it needs dodging in the center to get better detail on the flowers, and I should have used a polarizing filter but I don't have one in this size lens.

Unfortunately it was the last one on the roll, and I was wearing latex gloves when I pulled it out of the rinse....and I got a bunch of latex powder embedded in the wet emulsion in the bottom right corner. When I tried printing 8x10 it becomes terribly obvious.

GRRR!

It's too bad, as this negative really had promise, I'll have to go back and reshoot. Luckily though, my sheet film came in, so I can use 4x5. I'm really looking forward to what 20 square inches of emulsion real estate will look like; printed.

anyway, here is the 4x5 inch proof, printed at about 3x4 inch to avoid problems with the easel movement between exposures.

P.S. I've got a 40 dollar flatbed scanner, so I lose alot of image sharpness from the print. I just wanted to show the composure.

 

[Alpha]

I think there's a lot that could be drawn out of this, especially in the background. That might, however, require more exposure but heavier dodging on the angel, or you could try printing on grade 3. If the negative itself is too dense, you could try a bit of reducer as well. In that highlight on the ground in the background, how much detail is in the negative? Some careful printing might allow you to bring it out.