Photo 1, Q1: The Enlarger
There are many kinds of enlargers, that look different, but they all have the same basic parts. You will have to be able to find these parts and work the enlarger in darkness!
In class, we drew the enlarger, labeled the parts, and practiced identifying the parts by handling and operating the Enlarger, this activity must be made up if you were absent. The worksheets were handed in and graded. A quiz will be given on Thursday, Sept 28 on the material covered from the first day until Sept 27th.
The following Power Point Show contains information and notes on the Enlarger you are responsible for:
Enlarger Power Point Show: |
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Enlarger Power Point to print: |
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The aperture is the opening in the Lens. The lens will have a mechanism that opens up and closes down the opening. The sizes of those openings are called f-stops. Look below for a comparison of f-stop sizes. The mechanism on this lens is a series of blades that are controlled by the aperture ring. When you turn the outer aperture ring on the lens, the blades close and open. You will feel a click or a place that the ring stops at, the ring is made that way so you can adjust to a size easily. That is why they call the sizes "stops". The "f" stands for focal ratio.
The Dot that the green arrow points to shows where the aperture f-stop number must line up. In the dark you cannot see this. But, if you know your enlarger's f-stop numbers, you can start at one end, which you can visually see if you are starting at f-4.5, as it would be the brightest effect, then count the stops (clicks) to get to where you want to go. So to get to f-8 starting at the 4.5, would be two clicks on this enlarger. |
WE also drew and labeled an aperture in class. We discussed the interesting fact that the f-numbers are really fractions, so the largest number here, f-16 , is the smallest opening. And the smallest number here, f-1.4, is the largest opening!

For quick general directions on how to use the enlarger see the link here, but this is a very general overview:
www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Photo-Enlarger
www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Photo-Enlarger