RA-4 Color Reversal Process, a Big Update! - Large Format "Friday"
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- Color darkroom paper, aka RA-4 paper isn't just great at printing from negatives. It can also be used to make in-camera direct positives using a color reversal process. I've been chipping away at this process for a little over two years and am here to share my latest updates with the channel.
Festivus RA-4 Portraits Dec. 10th - 12th: marrash.com/new-events/
Use code "LFF10" to save $10 on a booking!
Stephen Takacs - stephentakacs.com/
Brownie in Motion on IG - / brownieinmotion
New Prints! - marrash.com/prints
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Become an LFF Sustaining Member HERE: marrash.com/memberships
Support the Channel here: marrash.com/donate
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Questions? Send me an email: largeformatquestions@gmail.com
Content by Mat Marrash: www.matmarrash.com
#largeformat #filmphotography #darkroom
00:00 Intro
01:23 RA-4 Supplies
04:16 Processing Steps
06:30 Testing & Light
07:39 Filtration
10:30 What ISO?
13:04 Scaling Up
16:02 Brownie in Motion
17:34 Festivus Portraits
19:04 Kallitypes - Навчання та стиль
This hurts my brain, utterly incredible to see this
That giant Brownie camera may be the coolest thing I have seen in a very long time.
Gregg I think you'd enjoy just about all of Stephen's crazy DIY cameras. The Brownie is one of several custom ULF cameras. :)
love the shot at 15:34, makes me want to ask the cops to do my mug shot in RA-4 🙂
[I am only making a funny here!!, as it is such a good close up shot].
Also Mat, because of the copious amount of light, a great 'test' for vampires!, they'd have no chance!!
Love your enthusiasm.
Wow, this is totally next level!!
very enjoying process
That was a lot to take in. Thank you.
at last, was anxiously awaiting your next installment on Friday, FEW!!!, good to know the channel is still active :-)))
I find this incredibly interesting! Thanks so much for sharing your process. It's an amazing time we live in where I can watch as people develop, pun intended, a new type of instant photography. Thanks again.
Thanks Alex! It really is awesome to watch new processes evolve in real time. I'm a relative latecomer to this process, but happy to share everything as it only grows the craft!
We had a colour RA-4 machine in college to do our colour printing😊- brought back happy memories.
Nice, I can have a tungsten and daylight ra4. I'm really glad yall have been sharing information on it, thanks!
Thanks Mat. Really enjoy doing things that just about no other photographer artist does. We must swim in the same lake!
This hyper-niche of the photography world definitely lends itself to folks that want to try out different processes. :)
So hard and yet so tempting...
When the color portrait emerges from the developer, you're instantly hooked!
To do this, need to “go big or go home”… or go to the event Mat is hosting! Very cool and thank you for always sharing this art and innovation!
Awesome stuff! Been meaning to try reversal RA4 for a while. Just figure I’ll do it with slides in an enlarger instead of exposing the paper in-camera. That adds a lot of convenience to the “you need tons of light” and “filtration is tricky” problems :)
Also +10000 for kallitypes! They’re such a cool alt process.
Super excited for more Kallitype vids! I have my kit and supplies all ready to go this winter!
Kallitype printing has proven to be more fun than I initially gave it credit for!
Cool stuff. I'm hopeful that Ethan eventually gets his film holder/developing tray unit put together for 8x10. I think that's the point where I might try the process out. As always, thanks for the great information for when I do give it a try!
Great video and informative thanks, full respect to Ethan for 20x24 with huge lighting
Thanks for checking it out Ian! :)
beautiful process ;)
Thank you! Cheers!
Great video! I’ve got a lot to work on if I too want to shot r4 photos
Great video. We need another update :)
adding an absurd amount of light helps out.. thanks for the info..
Yes, did a lot of RA-4 over the last 60 years but always wanted to apply it to prints, still may as I'm only 80 and lots of time to go.
When working with a process as intensive as RA-4, having time to dedicate to it is one of the most important things! :)
This is so cool!!! I so want to give it a shot ... just need to get some cash for the material!!!
Thank you Mat for telling us how deeeeeeeep THIS rabbit hole is... I have some RA4 developers laying around since I stopped shooting Vision 3, but maybe this is way too deep for me at this moment hahaha cheers and stay safe
It's definitely deeper than I thought it would be when I started this back in 2019! It feels great to finally getting some positive results and hopefully this can lessen the learning curve for others.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with my freezer "leftovers", no yours :)
I just picked up a 4x5" back for the Sinar to motivate myself to shoot more quickloads and Polaroids! Thanks again!
Thanks Matt. It would be great to see those tests in your Flickr account. I´m a bit curious about how sharp pics you can get with this paper. BTW, certainly the low key portrait looks like a film still from a Wim Wenders movie. Regards.
I’d love to see a few alt processes! Also interested in gum bichromate
The UV printer is going to be getting some miles this winter! :D
Beautiful hair as always Matt. Is there a step by step that I can follow? What I've gathered from this video is
1. Black and white developer in total darkness
2. Stop bath
3. Expose to light while rinsing with water
4. Ra4 developer
5. Stop/rinse
6. Blix
7. Stop/rinse
Yep, you've got it! :)
@@MatMarrash Thanks pretty hair Mat!
Wow Matt ; I need a real darkroom.
Really great video! I've been trying this process on and off for a year now, and like you say, it's about filtration and light. It's fun when you get a good shot, and so frustrating when you mess up. My current ratio is about 1 good to 10 mess up's. So, I'm still learning the process. I got 5x7 Fuji Crystal sheets for my 5x7 camera that are quite cheap.
It's a good thing the paper and chemicals aren't too expensive, otherwise I'd have lost my mind early into 2020! >__
Hey i wanna try it in my 5x7 too. I'm on a budget so what amount of flash power do you consider to be okay for the format? Thanks!
@@HugoPlaVentas You can use any amount of flash you'd like, but the minimum at once you'll need for a decent exposure would be ~2400 watts for f/5.6
@@MatMarrash thanks!! Great video btw :))
The gossen digi pro f2 will meter multiple flashes -- it tells you how many flash bursts you'll need for a desired exposure. Obviously only good for still life unless there's a high speed flash unit out there I don't know about?
Yeah multiple pops can work for portraits but that requires a lot of holding still.
Great work Matt. Do you use developer starter in your RA4 developer?
I'm starting to play with the process and finding uneven development is my biggest problem. Particularly caused by stop bath causing orange mottling in the image.
Nobody:
Mat: The camera we use is so big, you have to get INSIDE OF IT to take a photo.
This large format stuff is a slippery slope!
I wish I could make it to the RA-4 reversal session -- just to watch or assist (and learn, of course). But I do get to gloat a little -- my LomoGraflok came in the day before Thanksgiving, and the fresh film I ordered came the day after. Due to limited play time I've only shot about 3/4 of the first pack, and I'm having issues with the Graflok conversion back I mounted on my Anniversary Speed Graphic, but I'm completely confident everything will be right when I can get my Graphic View II out with its original Graflok back (and I'm considering how to put a set of its clips on my Speed Graphic to use that clip-on reversing back with the more portable, rangefinder-equipped camera).
FWIW, the production LomoGraflok is very professional looking, cleanly designed and fairly robust -- mine slipped out of my hand and fell a couple feet onto my kitchen floor and doesn't even show a mark.
I'm still getting used to the extremely narrow exposure latitude of the Instax material, but when it's right, it's *spectacular*. I know the reason why all they make is the 2(ish) inch high in three widths -- so they only need one coating and pod filling/attaching machine, and then cut and seal to the various lengths -- but I really, really wish they'd make this stuff in larger print sizes. Even 4(ish) inch high, to give 4x4 and 4x6 prints would blow away any integral instant Polaroid ever offered (and, at least for color, I think it would compete with FP-100C). They'd still be able to sell their own camera (plastic lens, auto exposure and manual focus like the existing Mini cameras) for around $100, and that would give the hackers of the world a start for putting those bigger prints behind a 4x5 camera...
Fingers crossed the Graflok conversion and happy to hear you've been enjoying the instant back! "Fuji-roids" are awesome when the exposure is spot-on and their neutral color palatte is so awesome to watch emerge in the print. I would cry tears of joy for a film integral and larger than Instax Wide!
Nice to see Stephen using a "green monster" (the Calumet C1) for the 8 x 10 portraits. Do you remember what lens he had on? Not sure I would ever try RA-4 but ... callotypes, that's a different matter. Thanks, Mat.
Hey Bernard, that Calumet C1 really is a monster! I think for the 8x10 he's got on there a triple convertible f/6.8, can't remember the series or FL. Due to the heavy filtration and bellows factor, most shots were close to wide open. Cheers!
Mat, is this simmilar to the Slide film process?, or more akin to "cross processing", that of doing B&W film in colour chemistry, as these are what you are doing, and also what about the Ilford positive paper, does working with this make the process easier, as opposed to the RA-4, if this is the output you are after.
what would happen if you used lets say a film base which has been developed as a filter? i’m thinking taking a 4x5 colour negative sheet of film and developing it blank and then using it as a filter. The paper is calibrated for colour negative film so maybe it would work in a pinch
07:39 It's not quite enough to overcome, but two sheets will be close.
Thank you for all the insights. Love it.
I gave it a good try and had poor results and am not sure where the problem is.
First I metered the scene (at ISO6) and got an EV of 13, Went to 12 to have ISO3, subtracted 3 stops/EV to compensate the filterpack giving EV9 (a 1sec exposure at f5,6).
The result U had using a fresh B/W developer (90seconds), stop and rinse and exposing it for +60seconds was very very light (tests with longer and shorter exposure gave similar results). Developing it in RA-4 dev resulted in a black paper :-(.
The light I used to expose the scene were LED lights.
I'm not sure where to start looking for better results.
Hey Bernard thanks for sharing your experiences and for the question! From what you've posted on metering that looks to be alright, and the only thing that could be causing a black print is too little time in the B&W developer. When you hit the lights in the water wash, the B&W negative should look like a dense paper negative.
@@MatMarrash hi Matt, I found the reason why I could get a color picture being the b&w paper developer. The bottle (ilford MG) was unopened. The liquid dark. Now with a new bottle everything works fine. Next getting filtration right😀
@@bernardpanier8231 Thanks for the update and keep at it. Getting all the variables in check is key.
Is there a place where we can get more "how it's made" info on that big Brownie?
I'm really wondering about the passive infrared sensor that's inside and what appears to be a servo driven aperture...
I'd recommend hitting up Stephen over on IG, and likely he'll make a few more appearances on the channel in the future. :)
T H A N K Y O U
Have you tried to pre-flash the paper?
Yep! Preflashing prevents its own unique challenges, but can lessen the amount of filtration needed if you already have a color enlarger setup.
14:45 fallen angels
Very close to collodion process 😀
This is definitely the right mix of wet plate and Polaroid for me!
@@MatMarrash i’m not planning to try collodion, but I luv the results of reversal RA4 !
That feeling when you realize he took portraits of himself that are technically macro shots…
Bellows extension factor is a nasty beast when working in ULF sizes!
I've done this process so many times.. But today I've fall in an error that I cannot resolve my blacks aren't so black... Why? I'm becoming crazy.. All chemical are new
And for those with a lot of patience: RA-4 reversal in a pinhole camera 😁
Hard Mode has now been unlocked!
Amazing stuff Mat! I’m interested in the RA-4 reversal process for printing slides. Have you tried this? I’m wondering if the processing would be the same?
Hey Michael thanks for the comment and question! Initially this process was developed for folks printing from slides in the darkroom. Process should be similar in requiring heavy Red + Yellow filtration in addition to any correction needed for the film.
I'm not trying to be critical but why not just use color negative film and paper? It's designed to do this. What's the advantage to making photo paper do things it was never designed to do?
Michael this is a great question! In terms of 8x10 the appeal isn't much since there's a lot of effort. However in ULF sizes, the pricing is significantly better for shooting on paper instead of buying custom cut Kodak color negative films. Once you hit 16x20" the cost per shot is < 5% of using film.
High five for the Dedication to RA4 😃🤚
Certainly would not have the patience to
Refine that process!, film look a piece of cake
By comparison 😂
I can't imagine doing this process and being picky about color, lol! I'm in it for the Polaroid "look" so a little wonky is par for the course.
Looks like you are fairly near Polaroids look👍
I have seen an Artist using RA4 for portraits but he had a mini lab in studio 😂
What, you mean you can't just drive to the photo shop and pick up a pack of Cibachrome to print your Kodachrome anymore? Poor kids.
Glad to see someone from Ohio representing!
Sadly by the time I started Cibachrome and Ilfochrome were gone. The prints are magical and I can't even fathom what making my own contact prints on that stock would be like!
@@MatMarrash Yep. Cibachrome was almost Kodachrome for paper. Deep rich tones. I understand why that one guy is hoarding it and the last remaining custom mixed chemistry.