In reading a few posts on various photographic forums about the lastest characteristics of the Foma papers, the conversations that the classic paper has a lovely warm brown tone peaked my interest. I have been seeking a warm brown image tonality without the additional steps I do today using a bleach + redevelop process. So […]

During the field-trip with NGLFP to Westview Cemetery in Atlanta,  all three of us converged on a large monument for Stephen Andrew Ryan upon which sits a mesmerizing mourner. The mourner leans at the base of a rough hewn cross and stone ivy is growing up the sides of the base and cross. Her stare and features […]

Yesterday I decided to try Photographers Formulary 130 Paper developer which is same or very similar to Ansco 130 developer. The developer is supposed to provide rich blacks with high contrast if used straight, or can be diluted 1:2 for a softer working solution. PF recommends 1:1 for best overall results. There are 6 ingredients […]

After my toning experiments I decided to split tone the Frogtown Creek II image. I think I went a little too far with bleaching so turned the whole image brownish rather than just warming the faintest highlights. But I do like the results and it is different than the untoned version. The print was a […]

Today I decided to run some more toning tests. Instead of working with a scenic image I chose to make a sort of step wedge though not very precise.  I exposed an 8×10 sheet 1 second at a time moving a cardboard sheet down the page until I hit about 12 seconds which was more […]

Over the last few weeks I have been trying my hand at Toning with Thiourea (Sepia) and Selenium on different papers. This thanksgiving day weekend gave me some extra time to try Split Toning with both. And as luck would have it my mentor Steve Sherman put out a video on his toning technique along […]

I found a couple of negatives I shot 2 years ago stashed in a box of rejects. I may have initially thought these negatives too contrasty or improperly processed. However in the darkroom I was able to pull out the details using split grade printing and a bit more skill than I had in the […]

I love experimenting in the darkroom and recently sought out a brown tone developer. Photographers Formulary  had a similar developer to an older Ansco formula which was supposed to have been a brown toned developer on certain older papers like Kodak Ektalure which is no longer made. So I ordered some PF106 (link) to see […]

Details of the Appalachian Trail – Staircase on Blood Mountain. I should call this the Devil’s staircase because it took the wind out of me and several other hikers to get up it. It is only about a 50 foot rise in elevation but is merely the first in a series of steep inclines and […]

After printing the Cooper Creek image and being a little disappointed with the color and contrast I decided to re-print it using a warm tone paper. There are tons of images of warm tone paper prints having a deep rich brown color on the internet. What no one tells you is that is the result […]