To tone or not to tone...that is the question

I've always found black and white photography fascinating, in fact, the beauty of classic photography is one of the main reasons I liked photography.  But due to the many advantages of digital and color photography, I had to move rather fast and leave black and white photography behind.

I've always known about toning and photographic effects in black and white photography but never really found the time to experiment. The idea of subjecting a black and white print into chemicals to produce a different hue and create color amazed me.

Enjoy the images!  

 This image has a light yellow/gold tone. The double exposure negative is printed on warmtone paper and soaked in the yellow/gold solution for about 2 minutes. The one advantage that this picture lacking midtones gave me is that it allowed me to create a rather imaginary and surreal time where the sun is barely just coming out and the sky has this slight yellow light starting to take over. (The image itself is just a bad exposure)

This image has a light selenium tone. The double exposure negative is printed on warmtone paper and soaked in the selenium solution for about 5 minutes. This is better seen in person but the print is overcome by a purplish hue. This is my favorite toner so far.

Lastly, we have the combination of both selenium and yellow/gold toners.  I'm sure this not the best example i have but it is definitely my favorite.  Upon closer inspection, you can notice a rather brown hue.  I made a lot of mistakes before i was able to reach this hue. It is so slight that you can barely notice it but that is exactly why i love this picture. Other experiments resulted in the accidental sepia tone.










Toning for me was a very exciting experience because not only was I reverting to the good old days of darkroom printing but i took it a bit further.  Unlike painting or sculpture, us photographers cannot materialize our thoughts and ideas into out photographs.  Painters and sculptures can create with their own hands and mold, specifically, the thoughts that float within the realm of their minds. Photographers must rely on the machine, not always and not necessarily, but most of the time, to produce an image and enlarge it on paper.  But the toning process, the control it gave me, was an amazing experience that brought me closer to my art.  the photograph no longer became a product of my imagination but an extension of my mind.  Having said that, this is the original b&w image i worked from.  I had to print it several times to to create all the other toning effects. 

 

 And finally, more examples, successes, and failures of darkroom experimentation with toning and solarization. Enjoy!