andrew_horodysky1 Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Hello Everyone, I'm new to the forum. Based on your personal experiences, what have you found to be the "best/optimal" (or your favorite) outdoor lighting conditions -- overcast, sunny, etc. -- for using TRI-X 135 and RODINAL combination. And, which EI ratings/dilutions/developing times do you prefer? Thanks in advance, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sunley Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Start with the book values and then adjust for the variables you introduce with your thermometer, timer, agitation technique, fill/drain times of your tank, light meter, and the shutter speeds on your camera(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustys pics Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Tri[-X and Rodinal seem to work best for me in flat light. I like the 1:50 or 1:100 dilution. Personally I don't care for Tri-X in 35mm format, too grainy. But I love Tri-X in medium and large format. Ilford HP-5 always looked better for me in 35mm when developed in D-76. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 At rated speed I prefer it under dull light or hazy overcast sun. In full sun I downrate to 160 ASA and dev at 1:50, 20 C, 8 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john carter Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I somewhat agree with Russ and Chris. I shoot Trix at 250 for everything. I shouldn't but that is what I do. I develop it Rodinal 50+1 and use the time on the sheet. The negatives are a little denser (because of the 250 EI) but that is what I like. Russ is right, it is great in medium format and is a good flat light film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtayloreckstein Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Rodinal is one of the few developers where experimenting with development dilution and technique pays off. Stand development is fun and low stress. On a test roll, there are a thousand different ways to approach stand development. Some people say 1:150, others 1:300.... some say let it stand for 2 hours, others say to just let it stand for 30 minutes with one minute of agitation at 20 minutes. I've heard it all, and the funny thing is most of them work. My favorite way to use Rodinal is to pull develop to get sharp negatives with fine grain (a stop is a good start, depending on the film, sometimes you can go 2.5 stops with certain films if needed). I discovered this recently as I always thought taking a 400 speed film and pulling was a waste of film, but the look is clean, and sharp. haven't experimented with Tri-X as I have alot of Fuji Neopan films to clear out of my freezer as of late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_horodysky1 Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share Posted October 11, 2008 Thanks, all, for your gracious responses and advise. I'll take it to heart... and start shooting, again! Bonifaz, How do you like Neopan (400, I assume), and how do you "cook"it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtayloreckstein Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Well, I made a boo boo recently with having too many Neopan films. I mistook some Neopan 1600 for Neoapn 100 SS (they are both black, green, and white!). I've been trying to recover from this mistake. Luckily the roll was shot with strobe at about a stop and a third underexposure. So far, I've been able to pull safely to EI 250, decently to EI 200, but it doesn't look like I'll get close to EI 100. A stop to a stop and a half overexposure will be nasty, but I'm still trying.to get it down to EI 100. The only samples I have scanned at the moment are test shots from a half frame Former Soviet Union camera, the Fed Mikron. Focusing is guessed and then dialed in. Exposure is set in the old GOCT/TOCT scale which is similar to Weston's. I shot these at EI 200, that's a 3 stop pull. The meter seems accurate for daylight, but testing is still in progress. These scans were made with this process. Neopan 1600 shot at EI 200 Rodinal mixed 1:150 (higher dilutions yield less grain which I did on another batch, not scanned) Agitation the first minute, agitated again for 30 seconds at 15 minutes, then dumped the developer at 25 minutes. (Total development time is 25 minutes) Water stop bath Fix No HCA on hand, so used the Ilford mehtod of running water for about 20 min with 4 dumps (overkill). Photflo Dry When I experimented with different dilutions and times, only thing that changed was the shadow detail and grain. The less developer used, seems less grain. More time, seems better shadow detail. However, it was a hard pull, so shadow detail was irrelevant. A more analytic eye might notice differences among the zones. It worked for my current purpose of saving a roll.Everyone does their stand development different, I guess it depends on who you trust. Didn't crop these, as I liked the look. Notice the edge sharpness and contrast are spot on in my opinion.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtayloreckstein Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Again, with the Fed Micron.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtayloreckstein Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Last one, shot with the half frame Fed Micron. You may hate how I didn't crop these. But they are samples!<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert_smith_brown1 Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Bonifaz Good job! This is my first time seeing someone pulled Neopan 1600 to 200. I like the shadow details and tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big toys are better Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Don't forget to try Rodinal with contrasty films such as Ilford Pan F and the slower Efke films. These are things that do well with Rodinal and don't suffer the grain issues that the 35mm format will introduce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkpix Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Foggy winter days are best.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtayloreckstein Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Bob-- I like that technique, what would you call the technique if you were forced to call it something? Thanks! -Bonifaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Bonifaz, see Bob Keefer's website for more examples of his hand-colored photos and artwork: http://bkpix.com/about-hand-colored-photos/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 For what it's worth.... http://www.ralphgibson.com/ Tri X Overexposed AND Overdeveloped in a strong Dilution (1:5 maybe!) resulting in a thick Neg. jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Oh yeah... He shoots 35mm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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