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RA-4 Printing, pt 3: Print Ring-A-Round and Contrast Control

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This is part three of a three part series on printing color RA-4 process in the home darkroom. Here I cover the some more advanced techniques for color printing. We look at making a color print ring-a-round for finding the best interpretation of the print, and methods to change print contrast. Part one covers the necessary tools and materials, and part two looks at basic printing methods.
This image was shot on Kodak Portra 400 and processed in my darkroom using Kodak C-41, and I am printing on Fuji Crystal Archive CA II using Kodak RA-RT chemicals.
Some useful links:
Kodak J-39 Tray, Drum, and Rotary-Tube Processing with Kodak RA Chemicals
imaging.kodakalaris.com/sites...
Kodak CIS-49 Preparing Smaller-than-package-size Amounts of Kodak Chemicals
125px.com/docs/techpubs/kodak...
Kodak RA-4 RT Developer 10L:
www.uniquephoto.com/product/k...
Kodak RA Developer Starter:
www.uniquephoto.com/product/k...
Kodak RA Bleach/Fix 10L:
www.uniquephoto.com/product/k...
Arista 2 Liter RA-4 Kit:
www.freestylephoto.biz/11812-...
Arista Color Printing Filters 3 inch kit:
www.freestylephoto.biz/31633-...
Arista Color Printing Filters 6 inch kit:
www.freestylephoto.biz/31636-...
Channel Merch, Discord, and more:
linktr.ee/The_Naked_Photographer
Music by Hooksounds: www.hooksounds.com/ref/thenak...
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @thenakedphotographer

Опубликовано:

8 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 95

@lonniepaulson7031 6 месяцев назад

In school we had to do a color ring-a-round for an assignment. I never knew adding chemicals could control contrast. I used a method back in the late 70s of contrast masking where we used I believe it was a black-and-white specialty copy film that was blue sensitive and I think it might have been a reversal film. I put the color negative in the enlarger and the focus was softened to prevent the grain on the finished mask to be sharp. The film was processed in a special developer and when the mask was dry it was sandwiched in pin register with the color negative and a higher contrast print was made. Kodak wrote about this masking method for contrast control in one of their books on printing color negatives. Printing color in the darkroom is like going back to the stone-age since now we have modern digital cameras and Photoshop and Lightroom.

@odukar2315 4 года назад

The best learnings about RA-4 process and printing I have ever seen! Thx for the excellent overlook and the detailed information. Since two years I'm struggling to start with RA-4 printing. Now I feel much more confident that I will make it ;-)

@YSoreil 4 года назад

I got referred to this series by Nico. This was extremely clear, nothing like this existed on RU-vid before unlike for black and white. Other people who had done RA-4 always scared me off on the colour balancing but it seems less bad than I thought from your excellent results. The effectiveness and ease of contrast control blew my mind. Loved the series!

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

Hey thanks!

@romanspataro1688 4 года назад

very thankful for all of the work you've put into this series of videos

@IainHC1 4 года назад

This is deeeeeep!!!........ Thank you for making this series :-)

@PHONYJOSEPH 4 года назад

Thank your for these great RA-4 printing videos! Your videos have made setting up my color darkroom much less intimidating, and likely saved me a ton of paper and chemicals :) You rule.

@AnaloguePT 4 года назад

these 2 parts video are very helpful to RA4 newbies like me. Thank you for sharing.

@bebox7 4 года назад

Loving these videos and would love to see more just showing printing different types images eg portraits, streetscapes and just seeing your process in detail. There is almost nothing on YT about colour printing so this will be such a great resource. Thanks again for doing these. You should sell a more in depth colour series I’d definitely buy it 😀

@edward_grabczewski 2 года назад

Wow, what a great video! You make it look so easy but we all know there's years of fast disappearing experience in these gems. Future generations will be able to watch these and keep up the good work. Thanks again!

@jjruns123 4 года назад

oh my god you are helping me so much as a university student. i am forever indebted haha

@andytymon9795 4 года назад

Great video series! Thanks.

@Noah-gd1zf Год назад

I just recently found out there is a community darkrrom near my home so i watched this series to get into color printing. The videos are simply great! Easy to understand and detailed enough. I'm really hyped for my first print soon :) thank you so much!

@dominiciacopino4604 10 месяцев назад

I just wanted to share more appreciation for this video. Still one of the best RA-4 intro videos available on here. I recommend his RA-4 reversal next in the lineup for anybody looking for more RA-4 info. Then I also recommend liking, subscribing and giving all of the love on "the socials" because his channel is full of amazing, well-made, knowledge-dense, clear and concise content. Thank you again for experience you share with the photography community.

@RodGSilva 4 года назад

thank you very much for the series

@Fnzzy 4 года назад

This is such an awesome video series! Thank you for doing this. I am at the very beginning of RA-4 printing and this is incredibly helpful.

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

Glad to help!

@marekmaje1426 3 года назад

Awesome, big thanks for this massive amount of informations !

@johannes6178 3 года назад

Good stuff, exactly what I was looking for!

@HenryAni 4 года назад

I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for the resources you continually pour into this channel. I just looked at how much paper you went through just to paint a better picture. I appreciate it.

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

Thank you!

@gerardodalchielelueiro6818 4 года назад

Thanks for your video is very very usefull for me Best regards from ARGENTINA

@flam3srock 4 года назад

Loved this series! I do RA-4, and learned some new things. It is possible now to print with a condenser head and an RGB LED bulb called LIFX. I do it with great results. Please continue to make videos about colour film and printing. There is a lot of information on B&W but not so much on RA-4.

@cedrinescheidig4986 3 года назад

Great video and channel ! Very clear and informative. I'm very interested about preflashing in RA4, I hope you'll find the time to make that video

@rodrigoquirante 4 года назад

Thank you! Awesome video!

@cameronwilson8561 4 года назад

Awesome video and well explained, I didn’t even think there was a way to control contrast with colour, now I know, thanks so much 👍🏻

@cameronwilson8561 4 года назад

.... also, where can I get one of those Kodak aprons?

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

That's my secret!

@wcoyote2276 3 года назад

A long time ago I did RA-4 developing. One thing I ran into was the fact that I had 'Photo-gray' glasses. These glasses change tint depending on the the light. That will throw off your color balance when viewing the prints making it harder to get the correct color. Also, I used a Bessler color analyzer once I had made a good print. This made it much easier to go to the next print.

@oludareohi396 4 года назад

youre a legend! thank you so much for this.

@jesperbent3685 4 года назад

Makes sense ...about moods. Thanks

@randallstewart175 4 года назад

After 55 years of B&W and color printing, I thought I knew it all, but these chemical alterations to color developer to control color contrast are new to me. I commonly use masking to control contrast, but this technique is a welcome option which makes the process much faster. Cannot wait to try it out, As I understand the video, these develop alterations do not effect color balance - even better.

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

I’m glad you saw something new! There is no change in color as you use these methods, but it is easy to overdo the contrast change. Use very small amounts and learn how it affects your prints. I learned about this from one of the Kodak engineers that created the RA4 process. I suppose you could think of these as “unofficial” Kodak instructions.

@jinxinjing4823 3 года назад

Great video👍

@moosilagutthila-it2ho Год назад

Thank you for the tutorial! It’s really interesting to watch. I thought adjusting the exposure we can change the contrast. Am I wrong?

@drkmaes 4 года назад

great, thanks

@WillemVerb 2 года назад

Thank you for this :)

@TheNakedPhotographer 2 года назад

You’re welcome. Anytime you want to do a collaboration just give a shout

@chenzhijie1986 2 года назад

感谢您的分享

@davidbrinkmann7850 Год назад

This is awesome thank you. Also...lol "ask for a syringe for dosing kids...."

@markmadderra4834 4 года назад

Great video. Still would like to learn how to make color prints with gelitan filters. Thank you. Mark

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

Right now I have neither a filter set nor an enlarger that can take separate filters. I'm looking at options, but I don't have a big budget so it may take some time.

@peaceandgreaze 4 года назад

I've been doing my own RA4 printing for a year and a half or so at a darkroom I just built, and this is blowing my mind! I learned so much. THANK YOU! I have a question, if I make a print on an 8x10, and I want to scale up to say 16x20, is there a formula for calculating what my new color settings should be? I know there is a formula for adjusting the exposure time, and I've used that to good effect, but the color cast does seem to change a bit. Thanks again!

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

Unfortunately there isn’t. If you are lucky you will have a consistent color shift every time you would be able to dial in the same correction every time. But only if you’re lucky.

@edmundholmes7559 4 года назад

Great video, really well explained. I've been RA-4 printing for around four years now, and always wished I could adjust the contrast. Unfortunately this method wouldn't work with my setup. as I use a Nova heated tank which holds around 2 litres of developer on a replenishment basis. `it lasts many weeks between refills, so I'd be stuck with high or low contrast.

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

You will have to resort to masks for reducing contrast.

@edmundholmes7559 4 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer I only just found your channel, have you made a video about this yet?

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

Check the one about unsharp masking. A contrast reduction mask is the same thing, just exposed a little less so only the shadows are affected.

@YesjamPark 2 года назад

Nice tip. Can I still get a Kodak ra4 paper? I don’t see anything but Fuji..

@pedronunes6401 2 года назад

loved this whole series! these videos are helping a lot now that i am starting to print in color! i just have a question, when you add hidrogen peroxide to the developer, can you mix it into reusable chemistry, or do you have to do it one shot? Thank you!

@TheNakedPhotographer 2 года назад

One shot, don’t try to reuse it

@richl6995 3 года назад

Can I write on the back of prints and process batches in a drum? Pencil or pen? Amazing series! You convinced me to start a darkroom. Thanks

@TheNakedPhotographer 3 года назад

I use a sharpie marker on rc and color paper. Pencil won’t work. You can run batches if you have the proper dividers for your drum.

@cnccontroller 4 года назад

Thank you, it was very interesting! Sorry for my English, maybe you know the complete recipe "RA-4" for self made home, a mixture of chemicals?

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

I do not. The ingredients are too difficult to find. Besides, the Kodak RA4-RT is cheap and easy to get where I live.

@cnccontroller 4 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer Yes I understand. Thanks for the answer!

@lorimoscova Год назад

Thank you so much for the series. I just have a question about the 5 and 10 steps towards the 6 directions: 5 points red (for instance) means > 5 yellow + 5 magenta or half way?

@TheNakedPhotographer Год назад

You are correct, 5 magenta and 5 yellow make 5 red

@fidelzuniga6908 Год назад

Hi, this is the best RA-4 video tutorial series I have ever seen. A quick question about the Ring-A-Round red +5 +10 scenario. Does this mean to add + 5 of the adjacent colors for red, i.e., +5 Magenta and +5 Yellow?

@TheNakedPhotographer Год назад

Yes, to adjust red/cyan you have to adjust the magenta and yellow filters equally

@fidelzuniga6908 Год назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer Thank you for confirming. I wanted to make sure I was understanding the color wheel correctly.

@andrelambert_ 3 года назад

Can you do a video about ra4 pre-flashing?

@TheNakedPhotographer 3 года назад

I intend to but I do t have a timetable for it yet

@SD_Alias 4 года назад

thanks for showing that adding chemicals to the developer for contrast changing. I just did not know. I think we did it not in the past because EP2 later RA4 chemicals had been in developing machines with about 20L content per bath and that should not be spoiled. So we did it most with the help of masking. Do you know any solution to increase/decrease the saturation of color and touching not the contrast? I remember that there was a workaround, but i simply can not remember how, because i have not done it for 30 years…

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

Just like the old days, you have to choose a different paper to affect saturation.

@ibuki7832 4 года назад

Hi, the naked photographer. Would you give me some recommendation of color print enlargers that can print maximum film size 6x9? I've been researching enlargers but hard to find what's good. I've searched for DE VERE 5108 and Durst cls501, but they are pretty expensive now days.. I was wondering if you know any other color enlargers that would work nice. Thank you!

@cmedley 3 года назад

Have you ever experienced yellow streaking in the white borders of the prints? Do you have to thoroughly mix in the H2O2 with the developer? I may have overdone it, I added 30ml to 120ml of developer for an 11x14 print. I use drums and I don't use a stop bath.

@TheNakedPhotographer 3 года назад

I did not get streaking. Try the stop bath and rinse before the blix and see if it helps.

@amandabreitbach8753 2 года назад

Hello! Thank you for these detailed videos. I am a professor using a Kreonite roller transfer processor and Beseler color enlargers with my students. Of course, we are using the Fuji crystal archive paper and Fuji RA chemistry (I don't see any Kodak chemistry available at this time). Do you have any ideas for how to control contrast in the processor? There is now way to add a stop or rinse bath in between developer and blix. Have you heard of anyone adding peroxide directly to the developer tank in this kind of processor?

@TheNakedPhotographer 2 года назад

I wouldn’t do that. Your machine probably has a replenishment pump in place and would be inconsistent and impossible to clean out afterwards without risking contamination. It also pretty much guarantees streaks on the print. You’re pretty limited with a machine when it comes to your nonstandard processes. Kodak paper is higher contrast than Fuji, but only sold in rolls. Masks can be made but are time consuming and have a steep learning curve. I don’t know any other methods without changing your machine setup. Contrast boosting methods are peroxide as I demonstrated, and bleach bypass. The last one requires bleaching (not blix), redevelopment, then fixing. Your machine won’t allow for that either.

@TheNakedPhotographer 2 года назад

If I may ask, where do you teach?

@amandabreitbach8753 2 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer Thank you for your quick responses! I teach in southeast Texas at Stephen F. Austin State University. We maintain darkroom and digital facilities. It seems like the color darkroom is a really rare gem in education - I don't know of any other schools with a working color print processor. It is a challenge to maintain, but I hope worthwhile for our students.

@TheNakedPhotographer 2 года назад

Texas, then you won’t be at SPE Midwest this weekend. I know University of Kentucky still runs their Kreonite and maybe SCAD, but I don’t know if anyone else.

@amandabreitbach8753 2 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer, thank you for the information! I might reach out to the faculty there to see what chemistry they are using and with what success. I went to grad school in Nebraska, so I know a lot of folks in Midwest SPE.

@shoegazing_pineapple_6956 4 года назад

Does the h2o2 work on the silver(i think it dissolves developed silver) or the dyes?Would it work on graded bw paper?Sorry if i missed it in the video

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

It affects dye formation, not silver in this case.

@shoegazing_pineapple_6956 4 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer thanks, do you think you can manipulate color film with this too?

@samuelmacaluso3367 4 года назад

Do they make a "Ring-a-round" transparency with the gels in them to place on top of your print? Like the ND transparency for exposure?

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

I’ve never seen one, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

@jonnej7521 4 года назад

The Unicolor Unicube and Duocube used to do something like that. Still available 2nd hand

@iironic 2 года назад

Do you ever do in person lessons for darkroom printing?! Or open to the idea?

@TheNakedPhotographer 2 года назад

I have been considering a workshop, but I need to find a facility to host it

@iironic 2 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer that would be amazing!!! If you do and find a space, would love to know when

@TaylerAleks 3 года назад

Did you try print from slide by RA-4 reverse?

@TheNakedPhotographer 3 года назад

I have plans to make a video for that, but it won’t be anytime soon.

@TaylerAleks 3 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer i tried a lot. But can’t win war with contrast. What you can recommend? Internegative mask?

@TheNakedPhotographer 3 года назад

Yes, that should work

@Notimportant1995 3 года назад

Please do the video on RA4 pre flash, reading is only so informative compared to the videos you make.

@guillermoperezsantos 4 года назад

Will this work with film??????

@TheNakedPhotographer 4 года назад

I wouldn’t try it, personally. You only get to develop the film once. If you screw up a print, just try another print.

@guillermoperezsantos 4 года назад

@@TheNakedPhotographer Let me explain more. I make my own color chems. but never guess that rising juts 5% the ammount of sodium silfite would have a really noticeable effect. For example RA4 dev. uses 5g of sulfite, the ammount you are using to lower the contrast is just 0.25g. C41 uses mere 3.5g and ECN2 just 2g!!! I must had made a mistake somewere in time.... and sold it to my clients ... hehehe :S

@guillermoperezsantos 4 года назад

@simonsharp9162 3 года назад

To anyone thinking of producing a RU-vid channel on analogue photography, i have to say i wouldn't bother. Why ? Because the Naked Photographer has it all covered.

@TheNakedPhotographer 3 года назад

There’s always room for more voices, but I appreciate the sentiment