How did Robert Frank process his films in the 50's?

[fred_obturateur]

I had an argument with a friend recently about that. He was on the

artist "Diafine/Acufine" side whereas I opted for the classic "D-76"

approach. From the "Moving Out" book (Scalo, 1994) one can tell he used

PlusX film but there's no mention of lab work.

Did anyone read something about it? I will add Diafine/Acufine revs

might not have been available in the late 50's so that's one more thing

in favor of D-76...

Thanks.

[._._z]

The sharpness combined with the level of grain apparent in shots from "The Americans"

suggests it could have been Rodinal.

 

You could always try asking him. He still lives in NYC. 80 years old last month.

[roy_des_ruisseaux]

I'm not sure about Acufine but I am almost certain Diafine didn't come along until 1963. I was going to photo school in New York, I was from Baltimore and my freind was from Milwaukee. We had an apt. and I remember we read about Diafine in the photo magazines and went out and tested it.Acufine also came along after Edwals UFG.They were similar developers. I would think a more traditional Dev. such as D-76 or Rodinal would have been the choice but what do I know.

[Mike Gammill]

Could he possibly have used DK-50?

[User_502260]

Edwal made FG-7. UFG was made by Ethol (ethol).

[roy_des_ruisseaux]

Thanks Jeff. you are right of course. Used UFG when I was a darkroom guy at UPI in the early 1960s. I also used FG7 when I was freelancing. I always liked the stuff because you could dilute it seveal different ways. However you couldn't let that opened bottle sit around too long.

[al_kaplan1]

The guy who developed (no pun intended) UFG for Ethol was named Harold (I think) Bauman. UFG was an acronym for Ultra Fine Grain. He left Ethol to start the Bauman Photo Chemical Company about 1961 or 1962 and market Acufine which he also formulated. A couple of years later he invented Diafine. The company name was eventually changed to Acufine Inc.

 

He also marketed Acufine Paper Developer, which was unique in that the intense blacks came up fast while it built highlight density slowly, the exact opposite of other formulations like Dektol.

[scott_walton2]

Back then, darkroom was only discussed in small circles to keep the "secrets" hidden from the competition! He very well could have used a developer with a name like 777. It has been discussed that this developer, like HC110, will last and last untill it looks like mud but the more you use it, the better your film comes out... with finer grain and smoother transitions! These were considered "trade secrets" and info was usually written "for darkroom eyes only".

Diafine has been around since the '60's and was just as good back then as it is now.

[mark_sampson]

Even more to the point, the films of 50 years ago are no longer available. The Plus-X of today has been reformulated over the years... Super-XX was the fastest film then, around EI 200 and grainy to boot. Of course S-XX has been gone, even in sheet form, for over a decade. So if you're trying to re-create that look, some experimentation may be necessary.