Enlarger and Easel Adjustments Insert  the  negative  in  the  negative  carrier  so  the emulsion side will be down when placed in the enlarger. In other words, the base of the negative (the shiny side) should be up or facing the lamp when inserted into the enlarger. Clean the negative and be sure there is no dust on it. You can use the light from the enlarger to check for  dust.  Blow  off  any  dust  with  a  bulb  syringe  or low-pressure air. Then use a camel-hairbrush to remove any dust that was not removed by the air. Replace the negative carrier with the negative into the enlarger and make sure it is properly seated. Set the paper guide or masking device on the easel to form the border width needed or use a preset easel. As  an  aid  for  composing  and  accurately  focusing  the image, place a sheet of white paper in the easel — the base side of the paper is used normally for a focusing sheet — then turn out all white lights. Turn  the  enlarger  lamp  on,  open  the  lens  to  its maximum  aperture,  and  move  the  easel  around  until  the desired portion of the image is in the picture area. Raise or  lower  the  enlarger  head  on  the  upright  standard  or column and focus the image. Shift the easel as needed, and   continue   these   adjustments   until   the   image   is enlarged   (or   reduced)   to   the   desired   size,   focused sharply, and composed correctly on the easel. The size of projection prints is limited by the optical system used and the working space available. A scene may be printed in sections on several sheets of paper and spliced  together. The picture is easier to compose with the scene right side up. If it is upside down from your point of view, either  rotate  the  negative  carrier  or  remove  the  earner and  reposition  the  negative.  The  image  will  appear  right side up on the easel when it is positioned upside down in the negative carrier. Composing the Image Adjust  the  picture  until  the  best  composition  is obtained. When composing the image, try to connect any errors of image composition in the negative. The way the   scene   is   composed   on   the   negative   may   be   a controlling  factor  in  the  final  composition.  You  can change the composition of the picture through cropping. This  is  done  by  increasing  or  decreasing  the magnification of the image and readjusting the easel. After the image is correctly composed and focused, the lens aperture should be stopped down so your basic exposure time is about 10 seconds. An exposure time of 10 seconds allows you to accomplish a normal amount of dodging and is fast enough to be practical for quantity production.   The   exact   amount   the   lens   should   be stopped down depends on the density of the negative and the magnification of the image. This can be difficult to  determine  without  experience.  If  you  are  new  to printing, we suggest you start by stopping down the lens to about f/5.6 or f/8 for a normal negative. Making a Test Print There are many factors that effect exposure times in enlarging. Some of these factors include the following: . The light source and illumination system of the enlarger l The f/stop of the lens l The density of the negative l  The  degree  of  enlargement l The speed of the paper l  The  density  and  color  of  the  contrast  printing filter The  best  way  to  determine  the  correct  enlarging exposure is by making a test strip. Although the test strip is the most reliable way to determine exposure, it is not necessary to make a test strip for every enlargement. It is,  however,  a  wise  practice  whenever  you  have  any doubt as to the exact exposure required. You can make a test print using the same procedure in  contact  printing. STILL DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize the basic process of still digital photography. Photographic technology is constantly evolving. A fact  that  underscores  this  premise  is  a  relatively  new procedure   that   will   eventually   change   the   way   all photographers take and process pictures. It is called  still digital   photography. Still   digital   photography,   as   the   name   implies, allows   you   to   take   photographs   and   store   them electronically  (digitally)  in  a  specially  manufactured camera.  You  can  then  process  the  photographs  using digital photographic software installed on the hard disk drive of your computer. This software will allow you to view, crop and color correct your photographs. When you are finished, you may “output” the photographs to 11-38