The Long-Term B&W Printing Project - Session 2

This class includes four sessions held over two weekends: Saturday and Sunday, April 5-6 and April 12-13, from 10 AM to 5 PM each day.

Important: When registering on Eventbrite, only the first session (April 5) is listed, but your registration covers all four sessions.

Join master printer Brian Young for another advanced darkroom class, focused on creating gallery-quality fiber prints using traditional techniques. Students who attend at least two sessions throughout the year will be eligible to participate in an exhibition of student work at the BDC.

Note: You do not need to have attended the first session to enroll in this session, all are eligible.

These two-weekend workshops are for students who have basic knowledge of B&W darkroom printing. Students may use 11x14 Ilford MGRC Perle paper to produce finished work prints with detailed mapping of manipulations used. From a (documented) and well executed 11x14 “proof” print, they will be able to evaluate and predict its printing at 16x20, 20x24 and 30x40 enlargements. Understanding the variables between resin-coated and fiber paper, variations with emulsion number batches, and calculating enlargement exposure compensation will help students to produce exhibition quality prints.

Mastering this methodology will give students the means to print any negative with skill,
precision and an economy of paper. During this course, we will discuss and practice:

• Evaluating a negative for printing
• Making an intelligent test strip
• Understanding negative density and contrast filtration
• Enlarger light sources: diffusion vs. condenser vs. point light
• Paper characteristics: warm tone vs. cold tone
• Paper developers and their contrast potential, image tone
• Processing techniques for B&W paper: water bath, 2 bath developers, flashing paper, multiple filter printing, split filter printing, dry down, archival procedures, selenium toning, bleaching prints, washing prints, & drying

Host or Publisher Bronx Documentary Center