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Want Grain? Delta 3200 in Rodinal...instant "Art School"


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I'm with ya, John. <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/1344478&size=lg">This shot</a> is Delta 3200 in Rodinal 1:50. <p>

 

That elusive "luminosity" is one of the things we all pursue. The highlights never seem to block up with this combination, and the prints really glow. BTW, John, I like this shot, and I really like the head shot using Tri-X/Rodinal. If you're ever down Huntsville way, we oughta burn some film.

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Wolfgang,

It never occured to me that the Grain wouldn't be that obvious from that little scan as

it is VERY obvious on the original print (I am scanning from a Print).

 

I usually scan at 300 dpi and do basic level correction. Then I resize the image to

500 pixels wide and "Save for Web" from Photoshop to get the image down to 100k.

 

Here is a detail scan where you can really see the grain.

 

jmp<div>006V17-15282384.jpg.5bcf633fca39a1c420f1123ee9628537.jpg</div>

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Doug,

Nice shot....I love the viewer comments explaining how if you simply would use a

smaller aperture, then you would have more Depth of Field :) some people....

 

I have been in Huntsville a lot (though not lately). I used to play at the Tip Top Cafe,

Crossroads and also at 5 points Music Hall in Birmingham.

 

At my 'day job' I am a musician.

 

Have you tried Delta 3200 in HC-100? I haven't done it myself, but I have seen it and

it looks REALLY good. A lot more "Solid" and much less grainy than in Rodinal.

 

jmp

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Art School? More like...overly enlarged Kodak disc film with a loose diopter in the printing turret.

 

Call me a skeptic, but Delta 3200 may have the mushiest and poorly defined grain structure of any film in existence. I swear that Konica 3200 was sharper along with Kodak Royal-X.

 

If you want lots of grain, and *sharp* well defined grain (not this soggy oatmeal crap), try TMZ 3200 and Rodinal.

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An interesting thread...I can well see the point in John's original posting, as well as Scott's criticism. I'm about to try TMZ in Rodinal as soon as it gets darker here and I usually develop my Delta3200 in DD-X.

 

Scott, I must agree with the technical aspects of your assessment, but I think that the mushy grain works for some types of images, eg. skin can sometimes get a nice look of this.

 

Most of the time, though, I like my grain sharp and small, but that doesn't mean I'm confined to one look.

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Good point, and a more succinct version of what I was trying to say.

No painter would limit himself to a single "best" brush. In photography, we

tend to get sidetracked to a "Big grain is bad, small grain is good" or whatever

frame of mind. It's important to control the process, and then use it express

something once you have it down.

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JMP, have you used Dektol print developer on your negs? Sharper and even more grain. I use it for some scenes that have a lot of contrast. And over frame the scene. Then recrop in the darkroom and print with much higher contrast too. Really sharp grain but still that soft pallet. Try it. I like the image too. Very nicely done.
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