Paper negatives development.

[philippe_thibault1]

<p>Hi guys,<br>

I rencently accquire one speed graphic and a crown graphic. Im new to large format and to these camera so I want to start to learn by shooting low expensive stuff. Someone recommended me to shoot on photo paper wich I have a huge stock of. Problem is my darkroom is in renovation. Did any of you ever develop paper negatives in a developing tank like a paterson tank? If so, what method did you use and what result did you get. Secondly if it's possible, would it work in rodinal and how much time would it take at 1+50 or 1+100 for example.</p>

<p>Thanks guys for the answers!</p>

[leicaglow]

Sure, paper works fine, but I would develop them in a tray in paper developer. Never liked film developer for paper. Depending on the paper, your ISO will be around 6 (2 to 12). So test that. You can easily scan the paper negs and reverse them digitally. One issue I worry about is how flat paper stays in the film holder compared to film. Filtration can also be a problem due to the different sensitivity to light than film.

[peter_fowler]

<p> I've used the Ilford paper (and recommended developer) in my Busch Pressman, between it's very low ISO and crazy black and white contrast, I'm not too sure it'll teach you anything that's relevant to a real film negative ! Not trying to rain on your parade,it's kinda fun to play with, but! Peter</p>

 

[jodys]

<p>You can develop in a tank if you like, but I would stick with a paper developer like others say. Also, you normally develop paper to completion, it develops too quickly to do compensating developing. If you want to try compensating developing anyway, I suggest a very dilute developer (say, Dektol at 1:50 of stock solution) so that the developing time is quite long (other wise you will not get even results). With a dilute developer, you can also develop to exhaustion, that is calculate the precise amount of stock developer you need to develop your 'negative' to, say, 60% of it's potential. I use this method with X-Ray film in 8x10, where I've calculated that 0.7 - 1ml of Ilford syrup gives me the negative consistency I want (so dilution and developing time don't really matter anymore). If I have 10 sheets to develop, I mix 7-10ml of syrup with 10x the qtty of liquid needed for my drum (100ml, so 7-10ml into 1L), and can measure a little more/little less of my mix for each sheet if I want to adjust them individually.</p>

<p>This is all based on the fact that both paper and X-Ray film are extremely high contrast, and it is necessary to compensate your development to tame that contrast. Another technique used with paper is to 'pre-flash' it, that is expose your paper to a bare bulb light (say, 40W at 6ft for 1s), before shooting. This will fill in the highlights and result in an overall lower contrast. I don't think this works very well for landscape, but I've seen great portraits done on paper using pre-flash.</p>

[jnanian]

<p>folks who do street photography in afghanistan ( with paper negatives and an kamra-e-faoree ) use an inspection/ view window . you might consider doing something similar for your tank, like a darkroom-light filter. since you won't have the benefit of developing in a tray "by inspection" ( or pulling it when you think it might be done ) and will be processing your paper negatives "blind" it might give you an idea how your exposures went. you might also consider using enlarging filters if you are worried about contrast or a lower-contrast developer like caffenol. have fun with your paper negatives ... i'd rather shoot paper than film ...<br /> if you have never heard of a kamra-e-faoree <br /> http://www.afghanboxcamera.com/</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Thanks for that reminder, John. Coincidentally I was looking last week for information about that type of street-process box camera, and couldn't remember the name or website where I'd seen it before.</p>