This may seem Greek to those of you that have never printed in the darkroom... I have been having issues with my black and white prints lately. Several negatives that I have attempted to print in recent weeks have come out really flat and lacking contrast. There are a number of factors that could be contributing to this and at this point I'm really not sure what the problem is. Possibilities include....
1.) An unsharp mask that is too dense [though I didn't use a mask with several negatives I attempted to print]
2.) Developer exhausted or oxidized [I tried two different developers at different concentrations, but both were older stock]
3.) Paper is becoming old and fogged [I used paper from several different batches but all were a few years old, and the one that was not is the one that was attempted with the too-dense mask].
4.) The contrast filters in my enlarger are becoming aged and faded.
To attempt to pinpoint the problem I will be mixing up a fresh batch of developer for my next print session, and working with the newest paper stock that I have. In the meantime I have also ordered some fresh developer, and some new contrast filters for my enlarger. I hope to be able to get to the bottom of this as my most recent printing sessions were very discouraging. Here are some of examples of the crappy prints that resulted...
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