SOLARIZATION

by Ted Peterson
Another thing that you may want to try and is something different is called Solarization.
A Photographic paper (some times negatives) is partly developed and can, but you donot have to, rinsed but do not fix. At that point you will turn on a lignt (enlarger or over head light) and then exposed the paper. You then place the print or negative back into the developer and finish developing the paper or negative.
You then stop and fix the print.
When you do this a partial reversal will take place. The reversal can only be partial because there is nothing in this process to reverse the action of the developer on parts of the image which has already been developed.
The result is that the highlights which was developed fully when you placed the image in the developer was completed developed and will be unaffected by the re-exposure. The shadows was not developed when first placed in will now be affected by the re-exposure and will be developed when you placed the print back into the developer.
If you do not rinsed the print, leaving the print in the developer and then re-exposed another thing may happen. This cause a item called mackie line. A mackie line is a line of undeveloped silver at the junction of a highlight and a shadow. When further development brings the shadow to full density, the result is a negative or print in which highlights and shadows are both black, but separated by a thin transparent line.
If you then make a print of this, the picture will be a thin black line.
You can make a record winning print by using this way to make prints or negative. You can never make a copy of the negative as it will not work the same each time. Keep your negative so you will be able to make another print.
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