Falling in Love With 8x10 Prints

    

 When I started thinking about going back into the darkroom again, one of the first things I thought about was printing big as in 16x20 prints and possibly 20x24.  However, I fell back into printing 11x14 as I did in my undergraduate studies.  Maybe it was comfortable.  Recently, I've been printing a lot of 8x10 work lately and it's really grown on me.  When I get an 8x10 print that I really like and it's finished (meaning they've been toned as that's the last step for me) I think of it as a precious jewel.  I can easily hold it in my hands and gaze at it taking it all in.  It's chance to reflect a little bit on the process I went through to get to this final stage.  Maybe in a few months it'll be 20x24 or bust but right now I'm enjoying what an 8x10 print is offering me.  

Lith Printing

 There are periods throughout the year where I just need to walk away from photography to let my body and spiritual energy to recharge.  So after a couple months break from touching a camera as well as a month long study-vacation in Japan, I finally decided to get back in the darkroom.

Today, I experimented with Lith printing, specifically the image posted with this blog. This is a print that I'm trying to make for the annual Photo Biennial here.  I've been playing with Lith printing since 2024 where I had some success, enough success to make me want to keep trying it.  One of the keys, besides finding a paper that with "lith" is keeping the develop hot.  I actually sprint back and forth to my microwave every three to four prints, reheating the developer to the depths of Hell hot.  This cuts down the development time to 3 to 5 minutes instead of 6 to 12 minutes.  My dilution is 1:3 with Arista Premium A&B liquid Lith developer.  I found with experimentation that this combination, along with temperatures around 110~120 will give me the best results.   Fomabrom Variant III Glossy FB is the paper used which I've had excellent success with.  As you can see with this print, there's a hint of "snowballing" with the development but I think it's adds to the look rather than take away from it.  

The Image was made with my Hasselblad 501CM and 50MM FLE lens along with a Hassellblad orange filter. I used Kodak's Tri-X film developed in HC-110 for 8 minutes (N+1). Fomabrom variant III glossy paper. Split toned with Sepia and Selenium.