Help with PMK Pyro....

[albert_martinez]

Greetings,

 

I need some help sorting out PMK issues. Being new to this wonderful

developer and not having yet purchased Mr. Hutchings, I'm polling the

knowledgeable readers of this site for advice.

 

My first processing experience went something like this:

 

FP4- 10min @ 68deg

1. Constant agitation (Jobo) for the first minute

10 sec every 30 by hand.

2. Fixer- Clayton 1:3, 500ml, constant agitation on Jobo for 5

minutes.

2. Exhausted developer for two minutes, agitation by hand every 30

seconds.

3. Wash for 30 minutes

4. A bit of Photo-Flo for good measure and wala... a murky negative.

 

The hardware:

Toyo 4x5 monorail & Fuji 300mm T lens- used for portraits (head and

shoulders).

 

This negative screemed resolution, it was sharp enough to shave on.

Printed on Ilford paper.

Problem: When compared to my Agfa Rodinal 1:50/ Ilford FP4/ Agfa

Paper combo it seemed murky, it's amazingly sharp with very little

grain but something not quite right.

 

Any advice would be truly appreciated. I've been working on this head

and shoulder shot for over a year, similar prints adorn our wall

in search for the perfect head and shoulder combo.

 

Thanks for the anticipated help-Albert

[timothy_o_mcdonald]

Albert - I tank develop 4x5 FP4. My experience is that you have underdeveloped. I'm also unaware of the fixer you are using. I process FP4 @64 for 10 min at 70, agitate for 5 sec every 30 sec for 5 min then for 5 sec every 1 min for 5 min. Water rinse 1 min, Photogragphers Formulary TF4 fix 4- 6 min then the 2 min soak in used PMK.

 

A final rinse (1 min with agitation)in distilled water with 4cc Photo-flo/gal , this is discarded after use, then wash for 30 min. Great stain, good density. I am getting negs that can be printed a number of ways.

 

Specular hi-lights on snow that jump out at you, with real good shadow detail. Zone spread of 2 - 8 with detail, I don't get quite that much in the final print but they are still nice.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Tim McDonald

[doug_bennett]

In checking at Clayton's <a href="http://www.claytonchem.com/darkroom.htm">website</a>, it appears that their fixers are hardening fixers. In fact, their Archival Fixer claims to "inhibit stain formation". You need a non-hardening fixer that will leave the stain.<p>

 

I'm currently using FP-4 with Formulary's WD2D+, which is a pyro/metol combination, with their TF-4 fixer . The stain is subtle compared with PMK, but I'm well pleased with it.

[timothy_o_mcdonald]

Definetely go with a non-hardening fixer, PMK will harden the negative.

 

Tim

[mark houtzager]

10 min @ 68F sounds on the short/cold side indeed. More agitation (20 sec

every 30 sec, rest in between) may help.

 

Also, I'm not entirely sure if PMK would be the developer of choice for

portraits; it obviously depends on the lighting conditions and I found that PMK

not always works effectively under overcasts skies.

 

Good luck experimenting...!

 

Mark

[photojim]

1. Agitate more. I agitate my roll films violently for three seconds every 15 seconds. PMK oxidizes very rapidly on the film surface and you need to dislodge the exhausted developer frequently.

 

2. Use Photographer's Formulary TF-4 fixer. It's alkaline and doesn't reduce your staining. It also requires a very short wash time, as an added benefit.

 

Jim