نواحي فنية .. كتاب فن التحميض والطبع والتكبير

Chapter Three

Technical aspects

Developing, printing and enlarging is the next logical step in the camera image capture process. Thus, the photographer has all means of controlling the final appearance of the image before showing it to the viewers.

During the photo-making process, there are many choices, from choosing the subject, to choosing the type of lighting, to choosing the foreground and background, to choosing the type of camera, to choosing the appropriate aperture and shutter speed, to choosing the appropriate filters, to choosing the film, then choosing the development method, then the zoom method. Etc.. All these choices are not a foregone conclusion! The artist-photographer imagines the image in its final form before he presses the trigger of the camera, and in many cases before he buys the film..and this prior vision is what dictates to him the type of film or camera, etc..etc (see the chapter on the ideal image in the book Photography, Science and Art by the author

We find that the subjects that we photograph are divided into two parts: the first is physical bodies, whatever they are, a human being, an animal, inanimate objects, or a human being..etc.) and the second is sensations, feelings, and abstract ideas. The latter cannot be depicted directly, but it is revealed to it by hidden symbols and signs that most people realize either by their instincts or by study, practice and habituation. Among the frequently used signals is the depiction of evil on people’s faces by means of unnatural lighting that comes from below, or the portrayal of feelings of joy and happiness with high-key lighting, and depicting scenes of sadness or seriousness with low-key lighting.
In photographing a picture that shows the battle of life and the victor - and the defeated in it, the preconceived image that the photographer puts in his mind may be a picture of an old man with strong features showing wrinkles and grooves left by time. This is followed by making this image through the options available to the photographer. First, we choose the model for this picture, an old struggling man with clear features that show signs of time. Then we choose a black and white film because the serious or sad feelings seem more effective through black and white, and we choose the film with a high speed so that we can show the grains, and show the roughness of the life that this man lived, and it is preferable to use a small 35 mm camera, and this increases the appearance of the grains when enlarging and we use side lighting Strong with a dark background, thus showing strong and clear facial wrinkles, and the dark background suggests a general atmosphere of the picture, serious or sad. Then choose the right moment to press the trigger when the facial expression is appropriate for the subject of the photo. After that, we acidify the film, choose a solution that shows the grains, then enlarge the image on paper whose surface is grainy with a contrast slightly more than average (No. 3 or 14), thus increasing the appearance of wrinkles and grains in the image. If there are white areas in the background or edges of the image, we burn these areas until The background becomes black, not drawing attention away from the sheikh's face.

Another example: We want to portray joy and fun in the lives of children. Here, it is not necessary to choose a beautiful child, but it is necessary for him to have attractive expressions. And choose colorful clothes for him that match the background colors and contrast with them. For example, if the child's clothes are a mixture of red and yellow, we make the background green and blue, for example, like a garden. In this case, we must choose a slow color film so that it gives the most beautiful colors and no grains appear in it. And if it is possible to use a camera larger than 35 mm, that would be better. And the lighting is distributed, for example, by the sun hiding behind the clouds, and to remove the blue tinge that produces a mixture of
A candidate defending it we put in front of the lens . Like (85). Then we give the child a toy to play with and we wait until the right moment when the happiness appears clear on the child's face and we press the trigger of the camera, either with a narrow aperture to show the background details or with a very wide aperture to focus on the child. Acidification is done routinely and magnification is done on colored coated paper. Unimportant things may appear. Or draw attention away from the child. These are eliminated by enlarging only the important parts.

But if we photographed this image on a black and white film, then in this case we must use a slow, small-grained film and develop it in a fine-grained, low-contrast solution, and enlarge it on medium sensitive paper (No. 2, for example).

Now let's imagine the first image (the Sheikh's image), and we have photographed it in the manner of a child's image. The picture in this case will not give the impression that we want, but rather it is the picture of an affluent sheikh who was not disturbed by life nor did he struggle with it. Let us imagine the image of the child and we have photographed it in the manner of the image of the sheikh! The child will look older and may look ill, but of course it will not be normal. And the sense of joy and fun will completely disappear

Thus, we find that controlling all stages of photography is the way to achieve the photographer's prior vision. Controlling the stages of acidification, printing and enlarging is an important part of that.

Sometimes, after photographing the image, and sometimes after developing and printing the film, other methods come to the mind of the photographer to give a special effect by using certain methods while enlarging and developing sensitive paper by means of

This may be by increasing or decreasing the contrast, vignetting or burning, or both. Change the make up of the image by trimming it in a different way, several prints
Cons on one sheet..etc..etc The only thing standing in your way
It is the extent of your imagination and creativity.