patrick_mckay

Does anyone have experience with utilizing L.F. enlarger lenses for

shooting purposes? For ex.: I'm interested in picking up a

Rodenstock 240 mm, f/5.6 Rodagon enlarger lens for a great price.

Rodenstock even states "The excellent imaging quality of the Rodagon

enlarging lenses is also utilized for close-up and macro shots."

I'm assuming that this lens isn't optimized for infinity focus, but

with enough stopping down it might provide fairly decent specs, as

many process lenses do.

 

Of course, I'll check S.K. Grimes about shutter mounting, but I was

more immediately interested in anyone who's actually used a lens for

such.

 

Look forward to your responses.

Supporting Jim's comments. On a previous thread, Steve Allen reported that while attending Gordon Hutching's Pyro workshop last year, http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005vbZ ,

that they exclusively used VC paper. The most interesting item of note, was that Gordon is no longer using Ilford film. He has switched to Berrger BPF200(aka. J&C ClassicPan 200) He found that the Bergger stain works much better with the filtration system of the Saunders LPL enlargers that were being used. Apparantly, the stain of HP5+ can sometimes require excessive amounts of filtration for printing. That has certainly been my experience.

 

Lastly, while a densitometer with a blue channel makes reading Pyro negs very quick and reliable, you can also determine correct E.I.'s for film, by using a visual based approach.

So let's see here: Time spent lamenting the uncontrollable comings and goings of consumer products,...or doing maybe one day's worth of some very simple film density testing with the "grey" meter, and set of filters that you will be using over and over.

 

Remember, these tech objects that we all slober over, certainly makes the production of mediocre photographs so much easier, for many more people, than ever before.

 

But the brilliant images that were created over 100 years ago, came about mainly due to one reason, which still applies today; namely superior and flexible Wetware skills, i.e. the soft grey matter between the ears. It ultimately has so little to do with these endlessly improving technical objects.

 

Will you take the blue pill or the red pill?

From Kodak's technical info "To approximate the response of conventional panchromatic films more closely, make exposures through a color-compensating filter such as a KODAK Color Compensating Filter CC40C or CC50C (cyan). With this filter, no exposure compensation is necessary; however, there may be a slight loss in sharpness"

I want to pass along a link to an item that I've recently purchased,

that came up for discussion on Steve Allen's PMK Pyro workshop

(http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005vbZ) this

past summer.

 

Steve at Summitek makes a great multiple sheet film holder, for tray

processing. It's called the "cradle". There're two sizes available:

4x5 - 6 sheets, and 5x7 - 6 sheets. Check it out. I'd like to hear

from any others who are using this item, what they think.

 

http://www.summitek.com/cradle.html

Whew!!! No shortage of responses on this one. No yet mentioned, is using a (self-constructed) "Zone Board" that Gordon Hutchings describes in his "Book of Pyro". It's very easy to build, and one exposure provides you with 11 zones of exposure data. The only catch is that you will need to have access to a transmission densitometer. Many better labs, or pre-press operations will do this service for you, if you ask.

 

Using this zone board, I'm able to peg down all of my N, +/- times, for a given film/dev. combo within a few hours.

 

Good luck

Gabriel; here's the link to Ed Buffaloe's page for Verichrome developers.

 

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Times/VP/vp.html

a/ start by telling everyone what part of the world you live in,...be specific, as this will help us help you.

 

b/ buy a copy of View Camera magazine, and check their advertising.

Thomas Struth is utilizing (with the "washed out sky" look) a stylistic element that has been well established by his teachers, Bernd and Hilla Becher. Have a look at their work sometime, and you'll see what I mean. It keeps the focus on the urban/architechtural content in his scenes.

It's so unfortunate that there's loosers like this guy on ebay. Frankly, Ebay's only interested in one thing - $$$ -! I once complained repeatedly to Ebay about a misleading (photo equip.) illegal seller, and they finally suspended his priveleges,...oh, for a couple of weeks.

 

Peter, I don't know if this was your experience, but this was early-on in my Ebaying days, and if I'd only scrutinized his multiple negative feedbacks, and smelled the coffee, I would never have made the purchase.

 

Better luck next time.

Beau Photo - they're on 6th @ Granville to be precise ;~) Personally, I would recommend purchasing direct from J&C, as you'll save yourself a heap in mark-up costs. That's what I do. Just compare J&C's price for Polywarmtone Classic fibre paper, say in 16x20 glossy, against the identical product listed as Forte by Eight Elm Photo, in Toronto, or Leo's in Vancouver. There's a very significant savings here! (This applies mostly to Canadian buyers)

 

Just be sure NOT to have it shipped by Air/UPS, Express, etc,...as you'll then get dinged for additional Duty/Customs charges at the border. Just get it shipped by Regular Ground Servive, via the U.S. Postal Service. It's the cheapest, a little bit slower, but that way you'll only have to pay for applicable taxes at your local (CDN) postal outlet.

Hey Steve; very glad to hear your feedback, as this was and still is one of my "wishlist" workshops.

 

Re: the J&C/Bergger film thing, it's the same with their Classic Paper/Forte paper. They're one and the same, even though, oddly enough J&C's web-site says to that you should use Bergger paper as a comparison point.

 

As for the multiple sheet developing tray that you mention Gordon using, it sounds like the one that's offered by Steve Peterson at Summitek. He's got a few very nicely designed items on offer.

 

http://www.summitek.com/cradle.html

 

Regarding the comments made by some who are worryied about (PMK) pyro's inconsistent staining, etc; I had one single roll of 120 with edge streaks, which was permanently remedied by changing/improving my agitation technique. I've yet to encounter any difficulties with my 4x5, which until I purchase the "cradle" from Summitek, is all single sheet development, using a "Rubbermaid" 8X8 rigid clear-gray sealed-lid container. Slosh-on dude!!!

Here in Vancouver :

 

Vancouver Image Works use an Epson 9500 for Hex-tone B+W printing only - http://www.vancouverimageworks.com/

 

G. King Photo use the Epson 10000 printer. - http://www.gkingphoto.com/digital.html

Despite the fact that Polaroid T55 is quite expensive for proofing purposes, the fact remains that this is a unique dual purpose fine grained film. I would suggest that you you either go to your libray, or check used book suppliers for a copy of Ansel Adam's book on Polaroid films from his still emminently useful series of books on Photography.

 

There doesn't have to be any guess work involved when shooting out in the field, as you can make a test print, and then shoot another for the negative. As you may know the effective film speed for a T55 negative is usually about 1 stop slower than for a print. I recently checked(with my equipment) a batch of T55 and found that an E.I. of 25 provided sufficient density for zone I. At this speed though, the print is quite overexposed, but that doesn't matter when you know what speed to shoot the film at.

 

As previously mentioned, "Print File" brand, does supply a 4 sheet neg. holder specifically for 4x5 Polaroids.

 

One other thing, as the T55 negs are extremely delicate, it's recommended that you include a bath in a hardening type fixer such as Kodak's "Kodafix", during the post development treatment. This goes a long way towards keeping all those precious & COSTLY images for future use. Last of all, if it turns out that the negative is a bit flat, you can also give the neg. a treatment in selenium toner for intensification.

That bottle of HC-110 concentrate is still going to be going strong, many moons from now,...as long as you keep the airspace to an absolute minimum.

J & C Photo is the North American distributor for Photo Impex. The products, and especially the prices are great! (And that's from a Canadian dealing with the U.S./CDN exchange rate!!!) For example: The Classic Polywarmtone fibre paper (Triple Weight) is actually Forte paper, and even with the poor exchange rate, on an order for 50 sheets of 16x20, I'm able to save close to $100.00 over what it would cost me to buy it here in Vancouver, B.C. That's a very significant savings.

 

I may try R09, but in the meantime there's no shortage of Rodinal here in town. But I'm definitely going to be purchasing the Classic 200(Forte) sheet film, again for the great cost savings on a decent product.

A sealed-unopened bottle of Rodinal will keep for years, but once open it does begin it's slow inevitable deterioration. This can be noted by the fairly rapid colour shift of the concentrate, after being opened. HC-110, if kept in it's syropy concentrated form, without much air-space in the bottle(s), will stay in top shape for many years. Once HC-110's mixed to "stock solution" strength, it will still last for months, but does have a limited shelf life. Using an infant syringe to extract HC-110 concentrate, per developing session, is a simple way to to utilize one bottle of developer over a very long period of time. I've found that HC-110 gives slightly better speed than Rodinal, but they're both great developers. Have you ever tried your roll-film of choice in Rodinal 1:100 for 15-20 minutes?

 

As for PMK, Mr. Hutchings points out that he keeps a "well-aged" (for years/stoppered brown gallon jug)stock A solution, that he adds in proportion to his fresh Stock A solution. As for the Stock B solution, he notes that it's shelf life is doubtless indefinite.

Jim; I have some laundry with tremendous stains & at this point is fairly "sharp". Does your offer still stand? ;)

I haven't seen any discussions of this product, so I thought that

I'd put the information out there to the community. The link to the

on-line retailer is listed below. Personally I've only tried tech-

pan a few times, with so-so results. I'd be interested in hearing

about anyone's experience with this product. Info states that the

grain structure doesn't become noticable until enlarged more than

50x. While this sounds impressive, as we all know, personal results

may vary. Also, the data doesn't say any thing about the film's

accutance.

 

"Bluefire Police is a high-resolution panchromatic camera film and

developer combination, originally formulated for surveillance

photography and offender identification. It is now available

packaged for 35mm photographers."

 

Comments welcome,...

 

Patrick

There's only two places that I recommend for E-6, when consistent quality, and superb customer service really matter, (and when doesn't it matter???)

a/ The Lab - already mentioned.

b/ Gamma Pro Imaging - http://www.gammapro.com/

 

Third down on the list is G. King Photo, http://www.gkingphoto.com/ I use them for proximity (to my home) and overall good results.

 

Downtown is Custom Colour, but I won't use them any more. A couple of times the 120 E-6 came back w/emulsion scratches.

 

While there are a number of other labs around town, "Pro" or otherwise, most of them relie on regular (non-pro) business, and therefore their customer service/committment isn't as high, IMHO, as the aforementioned.

 

Beau Photo - http://www.beauphoto.com/ get my business for film/photo supplies. Great selection, and I like the crew (i.e. service). And since they're not a retail business, you don't have to deal with any commision sales attitude from the staff.

Why beat around the bush, just ask John Wimberley himself. He can be reached by email at: tjwimberley@earthlink.net

 

Let us know what he has to say,...

Henry; I'm located here in Vancouver, and utilize all formats, up to 4x5. I'd have to agree that there aren't many local resources for LF shooters. Practically all of my more advanced LF education has occurred via the internet, proving over and over again what a tremendous resource it is. I'm lucky in that in addition to studying photography (again), I'm also working in the part-time photo program at Langara College. This means I get regular contact with established pros & up and coming students, who have a wide spectrum of visual disciplines & interests.

 

Interestingly, my opinion of the retail outlets is just the opposite. While I have bought a few items from Leo's, including my Technika, it's not a store that I care to patronize, as I find that the staff are not that freindly. I think that their (edgey Granville St. area)location may have something to do with this, and the fact that it's a retail based business. Also, I find them very rigid on the pricing of their used equipment. I used to buy Forte's beautiful Polywarmtone paper from Leo's (only supplier in Van.), but now I order it directly from J & C Photo, online for way, way, way cheaper!

 

On the other hand, I have been buying from Beau Photo for years, and am on a freindly, first name basis with all of the staff. Beau is a wholesale supplier, so the staff aren't working on the commission sales mentality. Most of the staff are, or were photography students, so there's also a genuine enthusiasm for the craft. Beau is also one of the best suppliers, locally, for used LF gear & supplies. Granted, they're not much more flexible on their prices, but's that's more of a regional market supply/demand issue, so usually eveything's overpriced. It's a bit of a joke actually, because everyone has loads of used gear, and the medium & LF just sits there because the prices are way out of the ball-park compared to what's happenning on-line. - Ebay rules, in this regard. (have you check out Dagor77's items? ;~) -

 

Beau carries Oriental paper, Efke & Maco films, and Holgas, and an extensive Polaroid product selection. Their rental department is great too. (renting LF)

 

Technicare, and Flashpoint are two other excellant resources in town.

 

I'd be happy to connect-up with you and other photographers, who share an interest in LF work. My main interest would be to discuss the work, and not so much the gear. The tendency of getting into gearhead discussions is something I'd like to avoid; as it's like a group of writers gathering to discuss what kind of pens & pencils they use.

 

 

Limited discussions on technical matters is always acceptable though. For what it matters, my special interest involves using staining/tanning developers such as Dixactol, PMK Pyro, and Pyrocat-HD, and almost exclusive use of traditional B&W work.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ah Danielle, you seemed to have touched a very sensitive nerve of the darkroom community!!!

 

Here's the skinny: "AP" plastic reels from Spain. (they're purported to actually make Patterson's reels) In fact they're identical to Patterson's with the ingenious addition of what I call "loading ramps" for the film. I can load a roll of 120 in 15-20 seconds flat. Super-duper simple!

 

As mentioned reels must be bone dry; I always load the just used reels onto a hanger in the film drying cabinet.

 

Occasional bleach solution can also be used to remove residual chemical build-up.

I've recently begun using PMK Pyro for 4x5 work. I took Mr.

Hutchings advice to heart regarding "engetic" tray agitation (i.e.

vigorous sloshing) for even development, but found that I'm not

happy with the amount of spill-over occurring during development. To

date, I have been using an 8x10 tray/container temp. bath, holding a

5x7 dev. tray inside; but still with too much spillage into the

larger tray.

 

Recently I spotted a new Rubbermaid food container that looks like

it'll solve this issue. It's not the usual soft/flexible type, but

rather is hard/rigid, clear grey, with a good sealing lid. It's

marketed as their new "Stain Resistant" style. The size I picked-up

is about 8" square, and 3" deep. It appears that this will resolve

the matter perfectly.

 

I would like to hear from others regarding their own

approaches/solutions to this matter.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the "AP" brand plastic reels.(from Spain) They're basically identical to the Pattersons, with the addition of what I'd call "loading ramps" at the entrance. This makes loading 35mm easier, but for 120/220 it's like a hot knife through butter! You just can't mis-load a reel with this one improvement of the Patterson design.

 

Certainly, they need to be bone dry, to prevent buckling, but compared to the better S.S. reels($$$), the A.P.'s are very cheap, so I have lots on hand.

 

I keep a separate lot for use with my tanning/staining developers, to prevent streaks/stains (as when the reels have just been used with conventional developers)