Luminosity

I learned how to print black-and-white in the space of 45 minutes. That was how long it took our second-semester photo teacher to show us Minor White's "Jupiter" portfolio. He was frustrated with our unfounded belief that we knew something about black-and-white printing. By showing us these prints, he hoped to shake up this arrogant group of freshmen.

My memory is hazy on the other people's reaction, but my own remains crystal clear. I had never seen prints of such beauty and complexity. They were luminous and rich, seeming to transcend the medium used to create them. They turned everyday objects into icons, imbueing them with a fine sense of mystery.

While I didn't actually learn to print in those magical 45 minutes, the experience became my base and guideline for printing. It also brought the realization of just how poor my own prints were. The one technical quality about these prints that stood out was their luminosity. Rather than just reflecting the light falling onto them, they seemed to be illuminated from behind, a characteristic I've noticed in many great photographers' work, such as Paul Caponigro's Stonehenge portfolio and many of Robert Mapplethorpe's portraits. This was the quality I wanted to capture in my own prints.

Thus began many frustrating years of darkroom work. As my personal vision slowly began to focus, my final prints continued to be disappointing. While often seeing the potential for luminosity during film exposure, it was rarely appearing in the final prints.

Through trail and error, I gradually realized that there wasn't really any great secret about print luminosity, and with this realization, certain salient facts came out. Luminosity seemed to appear mainly in the mid-range tones, or was happening because of these tones.

Palmetto, Everglades National Park, Florida

During a visit to the "Sea of Grass", southern Florida's Everglades National Park, I found this incredible thatch of palmetto. First noticing these plants in the afternoon, and also noting that they were angled towards the east, I decided to return and shoot them just before sunrise. This elusive pre-dawn light can provide some wonderful opportunities for print luminosity, especially when the subject fits the conditions.

After a drenching rain fell for most of the night, the next day dawned clear and crisp. The light, in the five minutes before the sun rose, was perfect for the palmetto. The lush illumination-combined with the wet leaves of the plant-provided perfect conditions to shoot the plants.

This was shot on Ilford FP-4 4x5 with a 75mm on a Toyo Field View, and was developed normal minus one in Kodak HC-110. It was printed on Ilford Multigrade FB(with a #3 filter), and developed in two baths of Zone VI developer; 30 seconds in straight developer, 3 minutes in a 1:5 dilution.

One of the first things I realized is that a negative needs to be denser than is considered normal. This extra density was producing the mid-tonal glow I desired. After much experimentation, my film speed for Ilford FP-4 4x5(normally ISO 125) dropped to ISO 50. This overexposure provided the density needed for luminosity. I began using Kodak HC-110, taking advantage of the long tonal range this developer produces. As time passed, this would be the only film/developer combination I would use for ground photography.

Black Rocks, Colorado River, Colorado

Last summer, my brother-in-law talked me into rowing a supply raft on one of his field science river trips. At the end of the first day, we camped at a strange geological formation known as Black Rocks. Ancient granitic schist- some of the oldest rock in the world-had pushed up here, and the river had-over eons-sculpted it into fantastic shapes.

After we set up camp, I grabbed my camera pack and began to explore these wonderful rocks. One particularily eroded outcrop hung right over the river, and after trying different angles and lenses, I decided on a composition. As the sun dropped, the rocks began picking up an intense glow from the bright western sky. This was shot on Ilford FP-4 4x5, with a 75mm on my Toyo Field View. It was developed normal minus two in HC-110 developer, in an attempt to control the high contrast inherent in this scene. The negative was printed on Oriental Seagull #3, and developed in two baths of Zone VI print developer(30 seconds in a straight bath, 2 minutes in a 1:7 dilution).

A publisher recently offered me a contract to produce a color aerial calendar on the natural landscape of Utah. As I had never done any aerial photography, this required a certain amount of thought. After due consideration, I opted to follow my normal philosophy, leaping blindly into a project, hoping that it worked out.

After some aerial trail and error, and after deciding that the Pentax 6x7 was the best camera, I managed to produce the calendar. As I collected flying time, the black-and-white possibilities began to intrigue me, and I began experimenting with various medium format films. The film that seemed to work for me was Ilford's HP-5 120. Dropping the film speed to ISO 200(recommended speed is 400), and determining that, no matter how contrasty the scene appeared, the development needed to be pushed, I began to get some printable negatives.

Shiprock, New Mexico

There is an intriguing basalt formation rising up on the northern plains of New Mexico. Known as Shiprock, this ancient volcano has always seemed to me a likely subject for an aerial photo. Leaving the Farmington airport several hours before dawn, my pilot and I traveled west, arriving over Shiprock minutes after sunrise. Directing the pilot to circle the formation, I noticed an amazing volcanic dike that ran south from the main spire. This was the remains of an ancient lava flow that had run south from the main eruption, which occured at Shiprock. The combination of this dike and the jagged spire of Shiprock created a wonderful composition, and I directed the pilot to criss-cross over the southern end of the dike.

This was shot on Ilford HP-5, developed normal plus one in HC-110. It is printed on Ilford Multigrade FB(with a #4 filter), and run through two succesive baths of Zone VI print developer-30 seconds in a straight bath, 2 minutes in a 1:5 dilution.

Figuring a paper\developer combination mystified me for some time. After trying every decent silver paper in conjunction with every good paper developer on the market, it became clear that any one combination couldn't give me the flexibility that I needed. Translated, this means that I make too many mistakes in film exposure and development to rely on one paper\developer combination. Eventually I built up a stock of several brands of paper and developer on hand, relying mainly on graded Oriental Seagull and Ilford Multigrade, and using either Zone VI print developer or Edwal's Ultra Black.

Agave, Del Mar, California

Agave are a wondrous photographic subject, as evidenced by the attention bestowed upon them by many great photographers. I have always wanted to get a good shot of these photogenic plants, and during a recent visit to southern California, finally had the opportunity. In the seaside town of Del Mar, I discovered a cluster of three agave, with a highly eroded clay bank behind them. The conbination of the smooth tones of the plants and the ragged contrast of the wall created an interesting composition; however, this scene required a very certain angle of light.

After finding these agave in the afternoon, I returned near sunset, hoping that a low angle of light would work. The light, even as the sun dropped towards the horizon, was far too harsh. As the sun dipped, however, a low horizon cloud softened the light, providing the perfect illumination for this scene. The cloud was just big enough to allow me to take two meter readings and expose two sheets of FP-4 4x5.

This was shot with a 150mm lens on a Tachihara Field View camera, and the film was processed in HC-110, normal minus two, and printed on Oriental Seagull #2. The paper was run through one bath of Zone VI print developer, diluted 1:8, for a time of four minutes.

Zone VI is smooth and neutral, and is my developer of choice. While it can be used in dilutions of varying strength, my standard technique is to run the exposed paper through a first bath of straight Zone VI for twenty to thirty seconds(until a ghost image appears), followed by a second bath diluted 1:5, usually for three minutes. The first bath gives a rich depth to the print shadows, while the second fills out the mid- and upper-range tones. This system is mainly a starting point, allowing me to decide which dilutions or times need to be altered for any particular negative.

Ultra Black is my back-up developer, and can produce intense tones. When a negative won't print right on Zone VI, it will often come to life in Ultra Black. This developer can be drastically diluted, and tends to be harsher than the Zone VI developer.

Wetlands, Great Salt Lake, Utah

The Great Salt Lake, located near Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of the world's great wonders. This body of water has provided me with many photo opportunities, both from the ground and air. Near the southern end of the lake, there exists a large wetlands bird sanctuary. This area is difficult to approach on land, and so I decided to try an aerial of it.

Flying over the wetlands at dawn, one particular pattern of pools and lakeshore caught my eye. Having the pilot circle around this area, I exposed a roll of Ilford HP-5 120, trying to capture the rich, silvery light. This was developed in HC-110, and was pushed one stop. The resulting negatives were thin, and were printed on Ilford Multigrade FB, using a #5 filter, and developed in Edwal Ultra Black.

Subtle manipulations, I have found, can be the difference between a mundane print and one that shines. Small changes in print developer dilutions can make a world of difference in the final image. Using a bath of straight developer in conjunction with a bath of diluted developer can boost contrast to an amazing degree, while using a higher dilution can seem to extend a paper's contrast range. Changing the various developer dilutions is often my last step before reaching a final print.

Every negative I have requires some amount of burning and dodging. I make custom burning or dodging tools for each negative, cutting the needed shapes from thin cardboard. My only rule, as far as print manipulation is concerned, is that it be undetectable.

Cloud Reflections, Arches National Park, Utah

Arches National Park is a scant two miles from my hometown of Moab, Utah, and is treasure trove of potential photographs. While hiking along the small stream that bisects the park, I noticed a rich cloud reflection in the water. This bright reflection was nicely broken up by mud patterns left from the last flash flood. The contrast range was huge, and I cut the development as much as possible.

This was shot on Ilford FP-4 4x5, developed in HC-110 at a normal minus two time. It was printed on Mitsubishi #2, run through two succesive baths of Zone VI print developer.

I have never produced an acceptable photo from the first printing attempt. This first generation will be a starting point, and rarely will have the luminosity it should contain. This print will be tacked on the darkroom wall and end up covered with notations for improvement. On rare occasions, the second try will yeild a good print-more often than not, however, this print will also end up tacked to the wall. Often it will take me months or even years to produce the effect I need in any particular image. I recently made a print that satisfied me, and the negative was shot over ten years ago.

Photography has become, for me, an intuitive process rather than a scientific one. When I taught workshops, there invariably would be one student whose technical knowledge far outstripped my own. Without exception, their prints would be poor, both visually and technically. I was stymied by this for several years, finally realizing that they had immersed themselves so deeply in the scientific part of the process that theis knowledge became an end in itself. They had forgotten that the reason for the knowledge was to create good photographs.

I photograph to present my interpretation of the natural world. These prints are my applause for the beauty that surrounds us. If I can produce a rich and luminous print that expresses my vision, then the tools and techniques used aren't truly important.

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