Print: Dad In Pain 16x20

Here is tonights darkroom printing effort. I plan on showing this photo in Rosebud in September. This is print attempt number 5 of the dad pain photograph. Durst 1200 condenser enlarger, 50 mm El-Nikor lens. Negative 35mm Tri-x exposed at 800 and given STAND development.

- Ilford cooltone fibre 16x20 photo paper

- Developed 4 minutes (for deeper blacks) in Dectol 1/1

- Basic exposure 80 seconds at F5.6, filter #3

- Dodge head -40 seconds

- Mask #1 F 4 burn blanket +85 seconds

- Mask #2 F2.8 burn black areas of pillow and to the right +100 seconds

- Mask #3 HARD burn with flash light of fogged area of negative in upper right area of print. Blend carefully to avoid any sharp noticeable lines. Do 3 different flash light exposures moving the mask each time for blending. Allow a slightly raised edge on the mask to blur, blend, hide the exposure better.

Note* Dad saw an 11x14 version of this negative before he died. I told him I would use it in the Rosebud show and he was OK with that idea. I also showed him a second photo of him in bar like stripes of light with his eye staring back at the camera. I plan on printing the bar of light photo next on 16x20 paper. I might do more change outs than I originally thought of the "My Fathers Last Days" part of the Rosebud exhibition. I will probably have at least 15 prints made up for that section of the show (maybe more). I plan on printing up more of the intimate abstract negs.

Here is a video link to the dad magazine I had made up for the recent "Life in the Margins" Exhibition.

"My Fathers Last Days" Flip Through Magazine Video

Dad in pain about 1 week before he passed away, February 2015 

Detail