Copper-Iridescent edges to photos: Cause??

zinx · Jan 28, 2014

Hey all. I'm currently working on my senior thesis and for it, I am exploring the surreal wonders of experimental black and white analog photography. I was quick to experiment, honestly, and also picked up on what makes a good, clean image with perfect tonal range, etc., etc. In my misadventures, I've discovered some rather interesting defects that both my professor/mentor and I are absolutely stumped as to how they could have occurred. I figured if anyone would know, it'd be someone in a place like this.

What I am focusing on most at the moment is how I managed to get the beautiful copper oxidation on the CORNER of my photo featured below. We both agreed that it probably has to do with bad fixer (many students do not understand tong etiquette to the point where I felt it necessary to purchase my own), and I am wondering if, since it is only ever found in the unexposed borders of the image, oils from my fingers or the completely mixed-up and oxidized chemical over-spill that just never quite makes it down the drain no matter how hard you try to flush it (I work there as well, and am now a TA for a non-majors darkroom class)...
The bottom line is, I think it's some combination of chemicals/oils/oxidized fixer that contributed to this defect, and I really would love to learn how to manipulate it.

Can anyone help me with this? I'd really appreciate it. :]

(the light from the scanner makes it appear more silver than copper)

ann · Jan 29, 2014

Looks like silvering out, fixer washing problem.

webestang64 · Jan 29, 2014

Fixer is weak and or wash time to short. And yes....oils from your fingers are not helping. I wash my hands many times while I'm printing with plain old Ivory soap.

zinx · Jan 29, 2014

Again, I am trying to make this happen on purpose on the image itself, rather than on the corners. I am guessing that it means the fixer is weak, as my professor has suggested. However, would this not create a blue-toned image in the end, rather than distributed copper?

ann · Jan 30, 2014

You can get various colors when the photo starts to break down from poor technique either washing or fixing.

webestang64 · Jan 30, 2014

zinx said:
Again, I am trying to make this happen on purpose on the image itself, rather than on the corners. I am guessing that it means the fixer is weak, as my professor has suggested. However, would this not create a blue-toned image in the end, rather than distributed copper?

Oh.....I get it.........Just use Berg toners.....they have a copper/brown and a blue toner.

compur · Jan 30, 2014

If it always happens on the same corner, that is, the corner where you handle the print, then I would guess it is coming from whatever you are handling the print with.

For example, if you are using wooden tongs that soak up everything they are dipped in or anything that has been exposed to other chemicals.

I presume it's not migrating into the image area because the image area is made of metallic silver whereas the non-image area contains only as-yet-unreduced silver salts (silver-halides). I would guess the copper colored area is comprised of silver sulfides since they do have a copper or brown color. I once had a similar effect happen with some prints that were exposed to car exhaust. After a time they began to develop coppery splotches. I then discovered there was a particular Agfa paper which was susceptible to this (the paper I was using at the time) and I just reprinted them on another paper.