Get Total Consistency from Print to Print

Over the years I’ve evolved a technique I have come to refer to as Selective Masking. I use the term “selective” because it is a physical, hands-on method of tonal control in analog printing, rather that the photometric “unsharp masking”. In its basic form, it’s not techno-anything; it simply is a means of solidifying your own dodging and burning preferences into a “package” which remains absolutely constant from print to print.  You can change your mind about how you want that package to perform; you can dodge and burn in greater detail than with traditional methods and with absolute consistency from print to print.  It works with either a diffusion enlarger or in contact printing.  It does NOT work with condenser enlargers.

Carried to the ’nth degree, Selective Masking can transform the job of printing a challenging negative from one of agonizing difficulty to the mere push of a button: a “straight” print from the untouched, unmodified original negative. Any size print. Local contrast changes can be made, and that oh-so-smooth gradual sky burn can be built into the mask package.

Available in my Online Store:  Want to turn a difficult negative into a straight print?  This technique has worked well for me in the over 20 years I have been refining it and has been updated to reflect more sophisticated digital techniques.  Selective Masking “How To”

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