matthew_johnson

I used d-76 1:1, the effect is difficult to describe but essentially high contrast large grain effect.

First off, I know three stops will never give me any shadow detail

and most frames will be poor at best, but I am going for a very

specific effect with this film. My taste in pictures is what you

might call ecentric. My problem is not just that I have no shadow

detail, but no highlights as well. I consulted the Massive

Development chart at Digitaltruth.com and it gave me a time of 16

minutes at 20C. The water from my tap is 22C so I converted the

time using their chart and came up with 13.5 minutes of development

time. What came out are VERY thin negatives. After looking at

their site again in the PUSH PROCESSING section they give a

DIFFERENT time for Tri-X pushed three stops. 27 minutes which

follows their formula increasing the original development time by

4.5X. What gives?

I apologize if someone else has asked this, but I could not find

anthing in the archives. I know you cannot use certain sovents on

flatbed scanners like Windex because there is a coating on it to

prevent scratches or some other purpose. My question is, do simply

use a microfiber cleaning cloth? Should I wet it first? Is there a

cleaning fluid that does a better and safer job? I look forward to

any help you could give me.

I was always taught that you should leave on the light trap when

washing film because the water will travel down the center then up

around the film and exit the top thus ensuring complete coverage of

the film. When I do this it seems like most of the water just runs

off the top and I have seen many others take off the light trap and

just wash the film on the spool with water filling up the container,

but this seems even worse. Wouldn't the water just run off the top

once it filled without being forced to move over the film? I have

just set up my first darkroom and I want to make sure I am doing

everything right. Any help or other tips and tricks not relating to

this would be greatly appreciated.

Fuji Acros has quickly become my favorite black and white film because of the grainless structure and the amount control you have with increasing contrast in the printing stage without negative effects. It also has a distinctive "look" that makes people, in my mind, look much better.

I do not believe this is a question that has been adressed

previously, although I could have missed it. The photos I take are

most often done without the aid of a tripod, therefore fast lenses

and Canons IS lenses have been a boon for me. I am looking for a

circuler polarizer that decreases light in as few stops as possible

but is still of good quality that I can make 20-30 Ilfochromes out

of them. I have noticed in the specs that certain polarizers block

out more light then others. Do the ones that transmit more light do

so at the expense of polarizing feature or are they simply a

superior design? Any answers or comments on this would be greatly

appreciated.

I work at a film lab that only handles c-41 film. Every film has its own emulsion and thus has its own "chanel" on an enlarger. Most local drug stores and even photofinishing places like the one I work at don't even have a channel set up for true black and white prints. The computer that scans the coding on the negative won't even recognize the film on my machine. Thus the only way you can get true black and white prints on color paper is to go to a high end lab thus negating what you wanted to do in the first place. Your best bet to getting the results you want is to find a place that has a Fuji Frontier machine and actully request the exact color cast you want. Anyone with this type of setup can give you any duotone image you want. They can even give you black and white output from traditional color negatives or slides.

I will be developing in my apartment and am curious as to how to

dispose of d-76, fixer, and other chemicals such as the more toxic

pyro chemicals. Can some, or all, of these just be poured down the

drain? Do I have to store them and then find a facility to take

them? If so, how to contact such a facility?

I live in a rather small apartment and would like to start

developing my own film. I have an air vent in my bathroom but I

would still feel better if I had a mask I could use when working

with the chemicals such as d-76 and rapid fixer. Those wimpy white

dust masks won't do a thing to help and I know that there are some

types of fumes that can get through the carbon filters but I am

unsure if development chemicals are of those types. Would the high

end masks found at Home Depots be adequate or will the fumes go

straight through. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am doing a wedding for a friend of mine (I know, "If you value your friendship DON'T", but I'm doing it anyway). I realize that when doing portraits of one or two people you should have the lens at eye level, but I have also read that when shooting further back and photographing a group the lens should be at the waist. Where is the cutoff point between eye level and waist level or do you slowly bring the tripod down the further away you get? Is there a set focal lenght or distance rule that one should follow. The people I am shooting probably wouldn't care a bit about the difference but want these to be as proffesional as I can make them. Any information or links you can give me about this or even any other aspect of wedding photography such as positions and poses for family would be greatly appreciated.

I have a metal case with Pelican camera foam inside which I have custom made for my Elan 7e, various lenses, flash, and other accesories. I am aware that any tape other than "acid free", or "archival" contain chemicals that can fade pictures or even destroy them over time, but do these same chemicals affect camera EQIPMENT? I would like to tape a ziplock bag to the top of the inside of my case so that I can keep all my manuals and documentation with my camera. The "archival" tape is rather flimsy and I do not think it will hold up but I am unsure if the duct tape is safe even though there will be a layer of foam between it and the equipment. Any answers you might have would be greatly appreciated. Also, is this setup appropriate for long term storage or do I need to put some silica packets or something inside to prevent moisture?

I am familiar with the rule of using the the reciprocal of the lens MM for the shutter speed e.g. 1/125 at 125 focal length. And with the use of mirror lockup and a tripod there shutter speed makes no difference, but how many extra stops of speed will a MONOpod give me? I have looked everywhere on the net and can find no answers. Once again you are my only hope for an answer.

That is the most clear and concise answer to what seemed like a

simple question I have recieved. Thanks.

What is the advantage of the "tulip" lens hoods with the slits down the sides. Wouldn't the slits let light in? Any info or links would be greatly appreciated.

I recently bought a canon 50mm EF 1.8 II and am using an adapter so that I can use my 58mm filters on it. With this in mind what is the best hood to use so that I can get rid of as much glare as possible?

I own a 28-90 f4-5.6 cannon lens and am about to purchase a 75-300 f4 IS. My concern is not with the IS but with the optics of both lenses. I know that portraits are traditionally photographed at around 110mm. My 28-90 does not give me enough zoom and I understand that the 90 end is a little soft, but I also know that the 75-300 IS is not a sharp as other zooms like the 75-200 f4L. My question is which would give a sharper/better image, the 28-90 at 90 or the 75-300 at 110?

What are the advantages/disadvatages between the press T and the Pro T. They are similer in price and I have heard great things about the press T, but the Pro T seems to give more Heigth for the flash, but would it still work if used vertically? Any info would be great.

I recently bought an elan 7e and so far have had great success with it. I have been reluctant, however, to use it in adverse weather conditions such as rain or snow. Since these are often the times when the best photos are taken I would like to start taking it out in the field during storms or other "extreme" conditions. I would love hear some suggestions on how you protect your equipment. The more creative the better. Also, just how much abuse CAN an elan 7e take?

I own an Elan 7e which gives me the option to use second curtain flash sync with my 420EX. This means that the flash fires right before the shutter closes rather than immediatly after it opens. This causes light trails and blur to look more natural. This seems like a great idea. Is there any reason for me to EVER use first curtain sync?

I recently bought a Stofen softbox for my 420EX Speedlight. I used it to photograph a wedding and it works wonderfully. My question is that I keep hearing about a bounce flash card/device that attaches to the flash head. I have heard many people in this forum say how much they love them. My question is how would the effect be different with one of these instead of my softbox and how is it any better than rubber banding an envelope to the head (a poor mans bounce car I've used many times)?

What is the difference between the 50 prime 2.8 USM and the 50 prime 2.8 II (sometimes called Mark Two). I realize that the USM stands for Ultrasonic Motor but the Mark II is also autofocus. Is the picture quality or noise diffent. I can't find differences between them anywhere. Any help you can give would be most appreciated.

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I am about to film a wedding and I am wondering if I should use some

kind of off camera reflector for the close up shots such as a white

sheet or large white cardboard that I can bounce the flash off of to

get a sidelit effect. I have a 420EX, Elan 7E, and a softbox. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also, what is the best black and white film for weddings?

Thanks, you guys were guys were right, it lit up when I actually took

the picture. My old piece of junk flash had the same setup but it

was a thyrister (don't think I spelled that right) flash and thus

didn't need to even be attached to the camera for the light go on.

Thanks for the reasurence though, I almost sent it back defective!

I recently purchased a 420EX from B and H. I works perfect except that when I press the pilot light to send out a test flash the light directly to the right of it NEVER lights up. Is my flash broken or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate all the tips. You'll

probably hear a lot more of me in the coming weeks.