conrad_hoffman

Long ago I found Xtol to be great stuff, but every now and then it would go dead suddenly and with no color change or other indication. Maybe that's better understood now. Mine also went dead faster than I could use it. In general, I won't use any commercially made developer, only published formulas (or my own) that I can make from raw chemicals. Not because they have any magic, but because I know what I mix up today will be identical in every way to what I mixed up 20 years ago. With a good scale I can also mix up practical amounts to match how much I shoot.

The 35 mm lens was a favorite of many PJs in days of film, 50 mm being a bit tight, and I find its DX equivalent today to be my most common zoom setting when walking around. Every new photographer wants a big telephoto. In over 40 years I think I've shot exactly one decent photo with anything longer than 105 (ff). Most of what I do these days is macro, so lens choices tend to be a bit different, yet the 55 mm Micro-Nikkor is still my most used.

Carrying generalities to the absurd, perhaps anything shot with a large softbox is deceptive. People, cars and those "protuberances" mentioned above just don't look the same in real life as when lit by a huge source.

I joined this site in 1999 and checked in frequently. My love was B&W in different formats and I've always had a decent darkroom set up. I still have the darkroom, but haven't processed anything in probably a decade or so since going digital. I also notice that my "recent" posts are sometimes years apart. I still love photography (and this site!) and hope someday to play with film again, but I really need to spend more time here and see what people are doing. IMO, some of the work I see here is just fantastic and I think I've fallen far behind. Anyway, just a "hello" from an old timer. :)

There's a fairly well known photo of Truman, Eisenhower or someone of that era, that was of several people. It was cropped, eliminating at least one of them, to suggest a relationship that didn't exist. IMO, many automotive advertising photos are misleading, making everything lower, faster, better fitted and with larger interiors.

<p>We don't have the echo location of bats, but I've suspected that we can sense surrounding walls to some degree by how various sounds are reflected. I haven't been in a darkroom in some years, but when I did it on a regular basis I had little trouble working in total darkness.</p>