Sizing

Borders

Tonality

Photograph: Owen Boyd

 

Sizing and cropping

I am happy to comply with special instructions as far as I am able.
Cropping to selective areas is no problem, though I would ask that you bear in mind the format of the final print.

A laser copy, or a rough sketch of the area you require is always helpful.

In the absence of other instructions I will print all slides and negatives full frame borderless.
In the case of 35mm this means a 10 x 6.5 inch print rather than 10 x 8 for instance.

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Borders

Borders are black on Cibachrome, white on Ilfoflex.
I will print with 1/4 inch borders if width is not specified - please specify for other widths

I offer two types of border:

• Neat borders with sharp edges, produced using a masking frame.
  A small amount of image is inevitably lost.
  Neat borders used where the border will be shown, not if the print is to be window mounted.
  

• Rough borders are produced by including the edge of the transparency or negative.
  No image is lost.
  Rough borders are ideal if the print is to be mounted behind a window mask.
  

• If you have a window mask already cut I can print to that size, with a little extra to be covered by the mask.

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Sending your work

Please ensure transparencies are well packed, jiffy bag & card , or a stiff envelope, especially with medium format film.

A telephone number is useful, in case anything needs to be clarified.

Please not send glass mounted slides through the post - they nearly always break!

Please enclose payment by cheque or postal order, or enclose credit card/ Switch number & expiry date.

Returning your work

I return all work as soon as possible.
normally jobs are posted within a few days of my receiving them.
At busy times returning work may take a little longer.

If your work is urgent please phone or email me - I can usually accommodate short deadlines.

I send prints up to 12 x 10 in hard backed or card "Do Not Bend" envelopes, larger prints in cardboard security tubes.

See the Prices page for return costs.

Although I of course take the utmost care with originals, I cannot offer compensation above the value of the materials, in the case of loss or damage.

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Shooting for Cibachrome

Many of the transparencies I am sent, particularly landscape shots,
really push the exposure range of the film to the limit!

The challenge for me is to pull those areas at the limits back within the range of the print material, by burning and dodging.

While Cibachrome has as wide, if not wider dynamic range than any other colour print medium,
because of the laws of physics, no print can ever match a projected transparency in terms of tonal range.

A projector will "blast through" the shadow areas of a slightly underexposed slide, while the mid-tones will be fully saturated.
The same does not apply with Cibachrome - normal or very slight overexposure usually works best.

Graduated neutral density filters help bring sky areas within the range of the film.
If you've bracketed when shooting send them all and I'll choose the best!

Printers using colour negatives can compensate to some extent for incorrectly balanced lighting - fluorescent tubes, or tungsten with daylight balanced film for instance.

With transparency printing the control is not nearly so great - what you see is pretty much what you get.

Shooting for Ilfoflex

Colour negative film has much greater exposure latitude than transparency film.

While the enemy of slides is overexposure -"clear film" to be avoided at all costs, with negative the reverse is true.
It is underexposure with negatives that ultimately produces "clear film".

Underexposure with slides leads to heavy shadow areas, but at least they stay neutral colour wise.
With very underexposed negs the shadows go muddy brown.

Colour negatives can tolerate considerable overexposure, though highlights will eventually "block up".

I can compensate to some extent for incorrectly balanced lighting - fluorescent tubes, or tungsten with daylight balanced film for instance.

When in doubt over expose; a stop over is usually no problem.

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Films and Processing

Film choice - some personal thoughts - Kodak - Fuji - Agfa - Film Processing

Kodachrome films

(I use the present tense - films are still available summer 2006)

Kodachrome is very contrasty, but with relatively low colour saturation.
Highlights easily "blow", while shadows block up.
It has a very short "straight line" section of its characteristic curve, at best a couple of stops.

This means landscapes can have thin, overexposed skies, and heavy, dark foregrounds.

The other big problem with Kodachrome is it's tendency towards a "crossed curve" -
the highlights go pinky magenta while the shadows go greeney cyan.
This doesn't look so bad on projection, your eye can compensate to some extent, but plays havoc with printing - trying to correct colour in two opposite directions!

Unlike just about all other slide films, Kodachrome has it's own non E6 processing.
This is unfortunately by no means consistent - I have seen some really whacky colour...as in deep pink snow, particularly on Kodachrome 200.

Kodachrome 64 is sharp, and fine grained.
Kodachrome 200 is a very grainy film.
Kodachrome lasts well, and I have slides in good condition from the 1960's

Kodachrome is very challenging to print, but I do understand many photographers have a great affection for it.
It has a certain "something" that other films lack.
A "real" look that suits certain subjects.

Kodak E6 films

Traditionally Kodak's E6 films have been a bit on the subdued side, but Extra Color 100, and Professional Ektachrome E100VS (both!) claim to be the highest saturation 100 ISO's on the market.

E100VS certainly has plenty of colour...
But - flesh tones tend towards the hyper, red flowers can appear as blank red disks.

Still, this is all just a printer's view of things - see what have to say about their E6 films.

Fuji

Provia has a very smooth characteristic curve, with a long usable range of exposure.
The blues and greens of Provia are excellent, flesh tones controlled...

Having shot some comparisons of Provia and Sensia, I would hesitate to recommend Sensia.
While still a very useful film, it is softer than Provia, lower saturation, and has less "body".

Velvia 50 was a splendid film, very saturated, also very sharp.
The only downside was contrast, it needed very careful exposure.

For my money the new 100 ISO Velvia is not quite as good, but it's still probably the "strongest" colour slide film available

It has a very sort useful subject range, similar to Kodachrome's, a couple of stops or so.
I would not recommend it for portraits unless you can really control the lighting ratio!

Fuji's low contrast offering is Astia.
I'm not that impressed by Astia- it tends print a bit weedy and flat.
I guess it has it's uses for ultra-contrasty situations.

I wouldn't recommend any transparency film for weddings, or indeed any portrait work
(use colour neg!)....but if you must, Astia is probably the best choice.

I haven't done any serious testing of Astia, but I often see rather light Astia slides -
I wonder if it might be slightly Underrated?

Around 90% of the transparencies I am sent are Fuji of one sort or another.

Here's what have to say.

Back to film choice

Agfa

It was very sad to see one of the big three colour film producers go into liquidation last year.
While I was never a great fan of Agfa slide films, their colour neg range was great, and Scala a unique and well loved film by many of my customers.

I've retained the notes below, as people still send in Agfa slides - there must be a lot around!

Agfa colour slide films were odd. Not like Kodachrome, no badly crossed curves, but the colour was well, weird.
Nothing like as saturated as Fuji Provia, let alone Velvia, but very strange to print.

I usually print Agfa trannie with a lot of yellow/red, filter wise, but sometimes it seemed to go completely the other way. The colours tending towards a rather flat, crude feel.

Shadows didn't block up as badly as Kodachrome, but highlights did easily blow out.
Agfa colour slide films were not the finest grained...

Having said all that, Agfa's colour neg films were superb!
Particularly Ultra 100 - if you wanted mega saturation...

I get sent quite a lot of Scala, Agfa's black and white slide film.
It can look really good on Ciba, once I've achieved a neutral grey.

It was a very contrasty film, so expect results on Scala to be dramatic rather than subtle!

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Processing

If you're not using process paid film, find a good E6 lab and stick with them - different film processing lines make a surprising difference to colour, sometimes more than which film is used !

Film drying and handling is indifferent in some labs, to say the least:

is excellent, but not cheap....

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Handling, viewing and mounting

Deluxe Gloss Cibachrome and Ilfoflex 2000 prints have a polyester backing.
This is very flat, and unless exposed to extreme heat or humidity will stay that way.

Thus mounting is less of an issue than with resin coated or fibre based prints,
at least as far as appearance goes.
However the high gloss surface is very prone to finger prints,
and prints should be handled as you would film.

Mounting with a rough border will obviously allow handling without damage,
and will be necessary for most display purposes.

I do not recommend using heat presses to mount Cibachrome unless
low temperature tissue is used.
Double sided self adhesive is preferable, and polyboards with adhesive film already applied are available.Try Artworker

Ideally Cibachrome should be professionally mounted - for an excellent mounting service in London I recommend Bliss - 02078 374 959

If prints are going to be displayed behind glass I would suggest a window mount is used to prevent the print sticking to the glass.
If you are going to use a window let me know, and I will leave a small edge to fit the matte over.

Cibachrome prints benefit hugely from good lighting -
a low voltage spot really brings them to life.

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Overseas orders

Many areas do not have local photographic hand printing services.
Owen Boyd Photography offers a safe, reliable way of ordering digital and analogue hand prints from anywhere in the world.

With the simple Upload you can send your digital files without the delay of posting.
Airmail return postage means fast turnaround times.

If you would prefer a courier service, please email or phone to arrange

Payment is accepted by all major credit cards including American Express.

Cards will be billed in £ Sterling.

For current exchange rates see XE Com's currency converter.

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