Retouching - help

[maxspbr]

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Hello.

 

 

 

Anyone here retouch the enlargements? I'm learning about retouching because white spots from dust, etc, in the negative.

 

I'm using Spotone to do this, but I have some troubles about getting the right tone of gray. How do you do that? In my "Leica Manual" (1947) is suggested chinese ink; is it better than Spotone?

 

And at glossy surfaces is a little difficult to get the ink in the right place at the paper. At bigger spots the trouble is harder. Is it normal?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Martin

[Jean-Michel Komarnicki]

Hi,

I assume that you make your own prints. Spotone dies are the standard and best for spoting. I also asume that you use resin-coated paper (RC). The coating is meant to protect the image and thus makes spotting more difficult. more so with any glossy surface --the spotting wil be mat and will be always apparent on a RC glossy surface.

Fibre-based papers are easier to spot.

Moistening your brush with Photo-flo may help a bit.

Frustrating as it may be, the time you spend removing dust from your negatives (and glass carrier if you use that) in the darkroom is repaid 10 times over when it comes to retouching. "Staticmaster" brushes, if they are legal in your country, are excellent for removing dust. Make sure that your enlarger is properly grounded; and even your clothing and shoes should be the kind that does not accumulate static charges,

You might also try using a digital sensor cleaning brush, such as the Artiic Butterfly to clean your negative -not a cheap solution.

[odd]

Hi

 

I' m retouching my Fiberbased prints with ink from a company called John G. Marshall Mfg. Co. Not if I know its the best, but because that’s the only one I could get.

 

In the grey areas, I put on as little ink as possible at the spot and then use water to "wash the ink out" until it gets the right tone. I get ink at an area that is a little bigger than the spot. But when the ink dries, its difficult to see if you don’t know were it is.

 

Regards

OM

[photobike]

Hi OM,

I have used spoting dyes for many years. They come oin a three bottle set. You should be able to order some from a camera store that stocks photographic paper and darkroom supplies. I used a sseveral thin sable brushes and mix my dyes on a glass using very small stokes blend the dye into the print. I place a paper towel close to area that I'm working on to remove extra dye. I use a large magnifyer with ample light to see the area I'm working on. It good to have a steady hand. Practice on another print before attempting to spoton your final print. Good luck and have fun!

Walter

[vic vic]

the marshall is indeed a very good thing...........

 

i woudl add and repreat some things noted here.....

first of the qualestion of rc or fb paper is realy important.....

try to work with little but fast steps... add little denisty step by step untill it gets to about the tone u need.... see how it dries on your paper - it needs a little practice for sure...... being gentle and accurate is super important.....

 

indeed....... do as much as u can to get a clean print....... ususally, with good anti static brush and somewhat clean environment in darkoom and light table room u will get clean results without any need for retouching........

[maxspbr]

Thanks all for the excellent tips!

 

I will try this night in the manner you told me; I bought this afternoon a new brush and a magnifing glass!

 

When I had a room just to photography I never needed to spot my enlargements. Now is a little difficult, since it ithis room is my kitchen and my wife needs it too!

 

Thanks again,

 

Martin

[nikau]

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I found I could do just about anything with Spotone 3 on any print that wasn't sepia tinted! Just takes a lot of practice to get the amount and dilution of Spotone correct, and to apply it with the right amount of pressure.

[AlanG]

I found I could do just about anything with Spotone 3 on any print that wasn't sepia tinted! Just takes a lot of practice to get the amount and dilution of Spotone correct, and to apply it with the right amount of pressure.

 

Use a very pointed brush and build up fine dots rather than trying to paint in the whole white spot at once. You must have a steady hand and work perpendicular to the paper.

Any spotting will affect a glossy surface a bit and be visible when the print is viewed at an angle.

[erl]

Spotone is fine. Use several camelhair brushes that you first moisten an 'twirl' to a point by swiping with a rotating action on an old envelope or piece of paper. Have a small dish or glass of water close to hand. Dip brush in spotone and draw a wipe across the paper/envelope to see the colour. Keep drawing until the colour 'fades' to be close to the area you are spotting. Apply carefully (practice will teach you) until the dye is exhasted from the brush. Re-wet the brush with dye and again drawa sripes on the waste paper until the colour exhasts to the tone you want. For really pale areas, dilute the brush tip (loaded with dye) with water from the dish/glass and again draw stripes till the tone is right. Build up the area wiyh dye to your requirement.

 

Above all, practice, pratice, .......p.

 

Don't discard your waste prints from the darkroom. Use them to practice re-touching on before attempting a difficult final print. Then pracice again & ........

[maxspbr]

Hello all,

 

Thanks a lot for the tips. The results in my retouching are very better, and now I'm feeling that I'm getting a good practice about it.

 

Martin

[Mark Antony]

The way I use spotting colours is to have a plain bathroom tile. I then put my colours on it and mix them on the tile.

The trick is to water down the colour (have a separate water pot) and build up the colour on the print slowly 'till it matches the surrounding area, letting it dry slightly between applications. Also if you can have a standing magnifier and use the best quality brushes you'll make life easier.

In a previous life I was a hand-printer and our spotting person was tremendous, pre Photoshop she did wonders and saved me a bit of print time!

Mark

[haris]

I have Spotone, and Tetenal SpotPens. I use only SpotPens, They came in form of 10 pencils, every pencil have different shade of gray. So, no need to dilute dye, just use pencil with appropriate shade of gray. It works. With Spotone, you need to dilute dye to needed shade, choose quality and apropriate sized brush... With SpotPens, you just take cap off and work. Spotone now wait times when SpotPens are gone... .

 

Use lighter shade of gray and "build up" to needed shade. If you use too dark shade you can find yourself in situation where you need to scratch print to paper base and paint needed shade. Much pain.

 

There are no "shorcuts" for quality retouching. Be patient, work as much as it is needed, and build from lighter shade up to needed shade. And, you don't have to have perfect retouching. It is enough to retouch print so much that "wrong" part is not "hitting in the eye" when looking print. Of course, if you really want perfectly retouched print, good luck...

 

Have ready small spoonge or appropriate cloth, so you can remove excess dye from print before completely dryed on print.

 

And practice make perfection .