I prefer to tone only the highlights with sepia, and then selenium tone the shadows. In fact I really try to just barely sepia tone those highlights so it doesn't dominate the overall image.
@@Distphoto I do sepia first, but I believe that the paper type and brand plays a big role. My favorite paper is Ilford Classic glossy fiber. I've tried Foma and did not like it at all.
i think that the dilution of bleach is very important if we want to keep control of the effects. thus, we can only tint the highlights for example. Also, I obtain different tones by varying the temperature of the second bath. With less than 20 degrees, we obtain yellow tones, with around 35 degrees, the tones turn red...you have to give it a try!
I prefer selenium, but I have had some interesting results with tea. The trick there is to tone before you get it to the sink. Somehow that tea likes to grab onto whatever the rc paper has on it. I did that for old negatives to keep it authentic looking.
This and your last selenium toning video are two of the most valuable videos ever. I'm heavily into split toning right now as I'm finding that the most pleasing. I do have a hard time controlling the color shift with sepia alone. It gets incredibly orange-brown for me, so I'm still experimenting with it. I do like that look with some of my prints though.
Instead of the Sulfide toner, you can use a combination of 28ml each of 5% Thiourea solution, and 10% Sodium Hydroxide solution (mix into 700ml of water then top up to 1l). It doesn't smell, and won't fog your media. You can adjust the ratio to change the tone to your liking. More Thiourea gives a lighter brown and more Sodium Hydroxide gives a richer brown. You could likely add developer to this one too. I tend toward the richer brown end of the scale. I haven't tested extremes of the ratio though.
Thanks! I have mostly prefered the sulfide toners to thiorea, BUt it is real close and will give those another shot on this paper. Really like them on Ilford MG (especially the Matte paper)
Would be nice I guess to expand the experiment a bit further and toning with selenium the pre-sulfide/sepia photo (I like better that one - as much as I can judge from my pc screen)! Great work, thank you!
Printing on warmtone baryt paper (usually Ilford), after fixing wash well, I put the print in a selenium bath for archival purposes, wash again. Chemists know the print will be archival for as long as the paper exists, that is, several thousands of years. The selenium will increase D-max.
I've struggled with sepia toning; selenium never seems to be a problem. I use quite dilute bleach for more control, but I haven't yet found the sepia mix/dilution that gives a subtle pink tone in the highlights (Well, I did once, but didn't make notes. Doh!) I mostly use Ilford FB Classic and Ilford Multigrade dev.
@@Distphoto Reserve split toning means that the sepia toner, which normally effects the highlights, first, primarily works on the shadows and thus leaves highlights and mid tones “unchanged”. There are several ways of producing a reverse split sepia tone. The easiest one is by partial redevelopment before a sepia toning. Therefore, the print is fully bleached in the usual ferricyanide-bromide sepia bleach and then slowly but only partially redeveloped in a very dilute developer solution. A brief soak in developer before toning is a way of giving stronger blacks in the toner. However, if redevelopment is very slow, it is possible for the redevelopment to be confined to mid and light tones, leaving just the shadows to take up the sepia toner. The skill is in learning the right moment to snatch the print from the developer. This is actually before the mid tones look developed. The results vary with different papers. After the partial redevelopment, the print is thoroughly washed and then sepia toned. After the toning, a final wash is done and the print is dried.
i have some old original Agfa paper samples (German: Papiermuster). For me the warmer tones are much better because they have more „the feeling of light“ (Brovira Chamois, Record Rapid, Portriga Rapid). I think it is because the light of the sun is warm. i liked the chamois tones, but unfortunately i did not find any papers with this chamois tone. An easy way to come near to chamois is to tone with instant coffee (f.e. nescaffe).
I selenium tone everything, 1+19 for 3-5 mins depending on the paper, just enough to slightly warm things up. I have a litre of Nelson gold toner which I keep meaning to experiment with but never seem to get time to try it (it has to be heated). That may be a winter project. Not a fan of sepia for my own images, I found it very hard to get just the right amount of tone and I didn't enjoy the smell and annoyance of using it.
@@ronaldmoravec2692 I have some prints with Ilford Warmtone, D72 and selenium that are my favorite as well. I often go to far with the Warmtone. When I get it right it is gorgeous , but has been a bit harder to keep consistent for me. Not a fan of the orange brown either
I prefer to tone only the highlights with sepia, and then selenium tone the shadows. In fact I really try to just barely sepia tone those highlights so it doesn't dominate the overall image.
I do love that look! Do you selenium first or sepia first? I get wildly different results depending on the order.
@@Distphoto I do sepia first, but I believe that the paper type and brand plays a big role. My favorite paper is Ilford Classic glossy fiber. I've tried Foma and did not like it at all.
i think that the dilution of bleach is very important if we want to keep control of the effects. thus, we can only tint the highlights for example. Also, I obtain different tones by varying the temperature of the second bath. With less than 20 degrees, we obtain yellow tones, with around 35 degrees, the tones turn red...you have to give it a try!
Never tried tempering the toning bath, I will give that a try, Thanks!
I prefer selenium, but I have had some interesting results with tea. The trick there is to tone before you get it to the sink. Somehow that tea likes to grab onto whatever the rc paper has on it. I did that for old negatives to keep it authentic looking.
Sometimes I like selenium. Depends on the paper. Some go eggplant fast and is not my favorite. I like subtle toning but can be hard to get right 🤷🏻♂️
This and your last selenium toning video are two of the most valuable videos ever. I'm heavily into split toning right now as I'm finding that the most pleasing. I do have a hard time controlling the color shift with sepia alone. It gets incredibly orange-brown for me, so I'm still experimenting with it. I do like that look with some of my prints though.
@@sbills Thank you Steve! love a good split tone 👍
Instead of the Sulfide toner, you can use a combination of 28ml each of 5% Thiourea solution, and 10% Sodium Hydroxide solution (mix into 700ml of water then top up to 1l). It doesn't smell, and won't fog your media. You can adjust the ratio to change the tone to your liking. More Thiourea gives a lighter brown and more Sodium Hydroxide gives a richer brown. You could likely add developer to this one too. I tend toward the richer brown end of the scale. I haven't tested extremes of the ratio though.
Thanks! I have mostly prefered the sulfide toners to thiorea, BUt it is real close and will give those another shot on this paper. Really like them on Ilford MG (especially the Matte paper)
I love brown warmtones mainly but here Selenium toning is really awesome
@@chriscard6544 Love this paper in selenium, thanks!
Would be nice I guess to expand the experiment a bit further and toning with selenium the pre-sulfide/sepia photo (I like better that one - as much as I can judge from my pc screen)! Great work, thank you!
Thinking about a home brew polytoner....
Printing on warmtone baryt paper (usually Ilford), after fixing wash well, I put the print in a selenium bath for archival purposes, wash again. Chemists know the print will be archival for as long as the paper exists, that is, several thousands of years. The selenium will increase D-max.
Beautiful 🙌
I've struggled with sepia toning; selenium never seems to be a problem. I use quite dilute bleach for more control, but I haven't yet found the sepia mix/dilution that gives a subtle pink tone in the highlights (Well, I did once, but didn't make notes. Doh!) I mostly use Ilford FB Classic and Ilford Multigrade dev.
@@mike747436 love FB classic for this. The matte and Gloss have subtle differences for doing this might be worth a try 👍
Have you tried reverse split toning? Maybe that gets you more into the tonality you are looking for!
Never heard of reverse split toning? How does that work?
@@Distphoto Reserve split toning means that the sepia toner, which normally effects the highlights, first, primarily works on the shadows and thus leaves highlights and mid tones “unchanged”. There are several ways of producing a reverse split sepia tone. The easiest one is by partial redevelopment before a sepia toning. Therefore, the print is fully bleached in the usual ferricyanide-bromide sepia bleach and then slowly but only partially redeveloped in a very dilute developer solution. A brief soak in developer before toning is a way of giving stronger blacks in the toner. However, if redevelopment is very slow, it is possible for the redevelopment to be confined to mid and light tones, leaving just the shadows to take up the sepia toner. The skill is in learning the right moment to snatch the print from the developer. This is actually before the mid tones look developed. The results vary with different papers. After the partial redevelopment, the print is thoroughly washed and then sepia toned. After the toning, a final wash is done and the print is dried.
Definitely the selenium print for me. That said, I look forward to try some of sepia methods you showed!
Awesome, thanks!
i have some old original Agfa paper samples (German: Papiermuster). For me the warmer tones are much better because they have more „the feeling of light“ (Brovira Chamois, Record Rapid, Portriga Rapid). I think it is because the light of the sun is warm.
i liked the chamois tones, but unfortunately i did not find any papers with this chamois tone.
An easy way to come near to chamois is to tone with instant coffee (f.e. nescaffe).
@@ChristophFrank-on2po I have a stash of Portriga Rapid and it is lovely indeed! Wish these Agfa papers were still being made 😓
I selenium tone everything, 1+19 for 3-5 mins depending on the paper, just enough to slightly warm things up. I have a litre of Nelson gold toner which I keep meaning to experiment with but never seem to get time to try it (it has to be heated). That may be a winter project. Not a fan of sepia for my own images, I found it very hard to get just the right amount of tone and I didn't enjoy the smell and annoyance of using it.
Very similar to me... Have wanted to try the Nelson's. If nothing else just to try it but seems to give pretty warm tones and a bit more work to use.
@paulstillwell's comment below looks interesting. I did some sepia toning years ago when restoring images, but it's not practical for my set-up now.
Variable toning with Thiorea might be the way to go 👍
Selenium. I never liked that yellowish/brownish sepia toning. It's like imitating that 100+ years old prints left somewhere in the attic or wherever.
I think it can be right for some images but tend to agree with you.
I dislike orange brown. Best photo I ever made was Ilford warmtone, D72, and selenium
@@ronaldmoravec2692 I have some prints with Ilford Warmtone, D72 and selenium that are my favorite as well. I often go to far with the Warmtone. When I get it right it is gorgeous , but has been a bit harder to keep consistent for me. Not a fan of the orange brown either