Frogmouth Cottage Photography

Following on from my previous post, where I got my setup in place, I started to make my first colour silver gelatin print. For this first print I’m using Crystal Archive Glossy, Medium Contrast, Resin Coated paper. In B&W printing you need to determine the correct filter grade and the correct timing for the print. This is pretty much the same for colour printing, but there are three colour filters that can be adjusted. The basic steps to getting a colour print are: Sounds simple right? Yes and no. Let me explain. Making the Exposure (Timing) Test The first step...

My goal for 2025 was to teach myself to make colour optical prints in the darkroom, a goal that actually started in 2020 after I read an article on the Emulsive website about RA-4 printing. I already had a Durst M601 enlarger with a colour head that I’d never used, so I didn’t need much more to try it myself. Having not much else to do, I checked our ebay for a paper drum. I found a Patterson Thermo-Drum 1216 in the UK for a reasonable price (shipping hadn’t yet gone through the roof) and ordered it. Unfortunately, once it...