How To Get Shapness&Contrast? Red Filter?

I took some photos some time ago and i got really thick, sharp & contrast negatives, but i dont remember how i did it. The negatives looks kinda purple which have never happend before . I used T-Max 400 & the T-Max Developer that is all i remember. could i have been using a red filter? I have tried that but the negatives looked very unsharp, underexposed & no contrast and that was the opposite i wanted.

 

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Could someone please help me i would be grateful. Fredrik

if your tmax negatives are purple, then you did not fix (and rinse) properly. tmax takes longer to fix than conventional films. red filters do not give red negatives unless you use a slide film. there are several postings relating to purple tmax negatives on this site. go and look for them. regards

Red filters require three stops more exposure, so make sure you are metering properly. The next step is to develop the film for your enlarger, or work with your lab to nail the exposure/development process for your work. If you aren't developing the film yourself, you will need to tailor your exposure to the lab's processing technique. Talk with the person who develops and prints the film.

 

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If you are deveoping the film yourself, try an extra 30 seconds in the developer to bring out more contrast. We really need more information to give specific tips, because your film developer, enlarger, paper and paper developer will all effect your contrast.