A Medium Format Shooter’s Photographic Process

[deantaylor]

<p>Photographer Andrew Jamieson was recently asked to give a presentation at work on his medium format film photography process. Instead of sharing a slideshow, Jamieson filmed this beautiful 4-minute video that covers how he loads Tri-X film into his Hasselblad, meters and shoots his photos, develops his film, scans it into a computer, and post-processes the images in Photoshop.<br /> “I develop my own film, I do all my own retouching and I shoot with a range of digital SLRs, 35mm and medium format cameras,” Jamieson writes. “I’ve been working on a personal project over the last year which looks at capturing Falkirk’s industrial past. This video shows a part of my process.”</p>

<p>https://youtu.be/XMlg6-wXCgw</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>I also like Paterson tanks. Not sure if the reels are true Patersons, mine are slightly different (maybe much older).<br /> I like to wash with a very low flow of water, using a dedicated hose. Bottom to top flow.<br /> Funny to see how he use Photo Flo... just a gush directly from the bottle, and after that, a brief gush of water to clean the tank funnel.<br /> And no film squeeging... :)</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Photoflo is an highly concentrated surfactant, which can damage the film. I would suggest going gentle with it. I put a drop or two in a tank of distilled or DI water, and mix it well for a final rinse. I always used a squeegee too, but one with rubber blades rather than a sponge, which can trap grit and is much harder to clean. Even with Photoflo, water can collect on the film, drying unevenly and leaving spots. Using a squeegee, the film is dry to the touch (and dust-free) in a few minutes, and completely dry in a couple of hours (or overnight for safety).</p>

<p>The best film washers use a gentle flow from bottom to top, or flush periodically with a siphon. Sadly, a lot of useful darkroom accessories, including thermostatic mixers, have gone the way of the dodo bird.</p>

<p>Stainless steel reels, like Pattersons or my 50 year-old Nikor tanks, work best. They last forever, are easy to clean, and can be loaded even when damp. I practiced with old film until I could load them without guides (which scratch) or buckling, in the dark ;).</p>

[User_502260]

<p>I cringe every time I hear that someone is using a squeegee on film. It's not necessary and it is far too easy to damage the wet emulsion that way. You can let the film sit for a short time in distilled water for its final rinse and then just hang it up. I agree that Photo Flo should be used sparingly. I use a few drops while the film is sitting in the distilled water. I move the reel around a little, pour out the liquid and then hang the film to dry. I never wipe either side of the film with anything. </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>I've squeegeed over a mile of film, without damage. Perhaps it's a good thing I'm not a cringer ;)</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>I`ve found that (in my case) it`s matter of particles on plumbing.<br>

If you have an efficient tap filter and clean procedures, the squeegee process use to be safe.<br>

Without a filter, or with a dirty/low quality tool, the damage is certain.<br>

Nothing like two fingers inside a nitrile glove to squeegee films. Quality film squeegees are missing around here.</p>