The other day I posted some pictures I’d taken in Sherborne Abbey. They were shot on black & white film, scanned and edited digitally. I had envisaged a pale blue tone to emphasise the coolness of the stone building. At the time, I found the blue look I wanted digitally.
With that image in mind, I did some toner tests using Fotospeed BT20 iron blue toner. I found it quite hard to tame at first and I made a lot of small test prints until I got more-or-less the look I wanted after diluting it 1+2.
- Test 12 is probably the best, but I’m still not quite happy with the shade. It’s too turquoise.
- Test 5 has nice shadows but is too blue.
- Test 3 is an interesting effect and one I might use again.
- Test 9 is also an interesting effect, which definitely gives the impression of light
More experimentation is definitely needed, but I fear the look I wasn’t isn’t attainable with this blue toner. It has been recommended to me to use gold toner (which comes out blue) but that is quite expensive – about £60 per litre.
Jonathan Gazeley 