rob_gruber

You really only need a changing bag and some reels and tanks

along with the chemicals. Less than $100 worth of stuff brand

new and siginificantly cheaper used.

I've been processing Tri-X in 120 and 35mm formats in my

apartment using a changing bag for a few years now and it

works great. I recommend getting some Hewes stainless steel

reels in both sizes and a tank, a changing bag and the

chemicals and going for it.

It's not a lot of equipment especially in comparison to printing

and it can all be broken down and stored in a pretty small space.

Just the cost of getting a few rolls done in your search fo a good

lab will probably cost about the same.

I would add Rodinal to the mix if you're talking grain.

Personally I find that I use HC-110 with Tri-X when I want a

puchier, more contrasty negative. When I want to pick up some

sharpness and grain and emphasize the midtones a bit, I go

with Rodinal. This is with Tri-X in 120. Totally non-scientific.

I also find Rodinal very useful in 35mm when I want to really

punch up the grain and contrast by overdeveloping in 1:25 for a

Raph Gibsony look. Gives the pictures a lot of texture but totally

looses shadow detail and midtones.

I haven't tried any of the other developers you mentioned

because I find two developers plenty (I would love to get down to

1) and am very satisfied with the results. I also prefer liquids for

convenience and storage.

Forgive my ignorance but does "+1/2 to +1" mean developed as

if shot at 650 or 800 or exposed at 200?

Thanks for the info. It's similiar to Ralph Gibson's technique but

not quite as radical. Would be interested in knowing if that's

Rodinal also.

The cover of the Sunday New York Times "Fashions of the

Times" section had this really cool grainy photo on it and I was

wondering if anyone who had seen it could venture a guess as

to technique.

I have no idea if it's film or digital or the grain was intrinsic to the

film or added somehow afterward but I really liked the look of it

and was wondering what the technique might be.

They are great. I hightly recommend them. Much better than Patterson once you get

used to them primarily because they don't have to be bone dry.

As other people have mentioned they are well worth the money. I would recommend

sacrificing a roll of film and loading them in the light a few times to get the feel of it.

Zell,

I'm rating it at 125. Acutally I'm using the Sunny 16 rule with the

shutter set at 125 in an old Rolleicord so this might be off but it

works really well for me. Very easy to print, detailed negs.

I find FP4+ is very easy and forgiving to work with and very

similiar to Tri-X which I also love.

I don't like FP4+ with HC-110 as much as I do with Rodinal. It

seems much more contasty with less in the midtones with

HC-110 while Rodinal seems to tame the contrast and bring

these midtones out.

This is totally my non-scientific take but it works for me.

Been shooting a lot of FP4+ in 120 format and developing in

Rodinal 1:50 for 15 minutes and am very pleased with the

results.

As I don't have the book yet, what does page 131 say?

Thanks for everyone's answers. I shot the film last night and

lucked into some front row seats so I'm very excited to develop

the film this evening.

I'm going to give it a shot with Rodinal either at 1:10 or the 1:25

times recommended by The Massive Development Chart, will

post the results or at least as much as I can get from the negs if

anyone is interested. Probably won't print till next week and don't

have a scanner.

Thanks for your reply, Michael.

I have some D-76 but haven't used D-76 in a long time. What's

your time, temp and dilution for it shooting Delta at 3200 or

6400?

Also, I'm shooting it in 120 format, so grain in bigger

enlargements might not be such a problem for me (not sure if

you're shooting 35 or 120). They're really just for my own

personal use but I know the musician so I might see if he has

any interest in them if they come out good.

Thanks for your reply.

I'll be shooting a musician in a club with fairly dim lights.

I don't necessarily want huge grain, but I do like the grain

Rodinal gives so I thought I'd try it. A little grit wouldn't hurt in this

situation. I've been trying to push Tri-X using HC-110 and stand

development but I need something faster, the negatives I've

been getting are barely printable.

Has anyone ever played with Les McLeans technique of

shooting Delta 3200 and developing in Rodinal 1:10?

I'm sure it's grainy but he really likes the grain it produces. In his

Creative Photography book (which I only flipped through in

Barnes and Noble) he gives times for 3200, 6400 and 25000

and I was wondering if anyone had done it.

Anyone know where I can get some Delta 3200 in 120 in New

York City? B and H is out of stock currently.

Thanks

How does Pan F compare to FP4 with regard to tonality and

grain. I'd assume smaller grain (not really a problem in medium

format anyway), but is it similiar in tonality? Basically whaddya

get for the sacrifice in speed?

Rob

I've been shooting some FP 4+ in my Rolleicord and developing

in Rodinal 1:50 for 15 minutes and it works well for me.

This is a dumb question but are you sure you have enough

developer in the tank?

I've had similiar problems but with plastic tanks when I didn't

use enough developer or put that stupid plastic thing that goes in

the middle of Patterson tanks into the tank the wrong way.

I have had much less problems with stainless steel than plastic

in this respect. In fact I just did some push processing with

HC-110 in stainless steel which I only agitated for 10 seconds at

the very begining and let sit for 20 minutes with minimal streaks.

This was with Hewes reels if that makes a difference.

Travis,

I just did a roll for 20 minutes at 30 degrees celsius and found a

bunch of crap on my negs. I think the warm tap water tends to

have more stuff in it (New York City). Does this technique work

with room temperature water as well (you seemed to suggest

that). I'd love to try my next roll with distilled water.

Thanks again for the technique.

Someone here posted this tip about using HC-110 with Tri-X for

1600/3200. I don't know who it was but I just did a roll at 1600

and the negs look great:

"try pushing triX400 to 1600 with HC110. 1+100 29 Degress C

for 14 mins with NO agitation to bring out the shadow details via

compensating effect. Agitate only for the first 10 secs and that's

all you do.

3200

1+100 hc110 19mins 30 degress Celcius. Minimal agitation. "

I'm going to try a roll at 3200 this evening.

Whoever posted these tips (I couldn't locate it in the archive)

thanks so much.

If you can, I would develop it yourself. Just get a changing bag,

some tanks reels and chemicals. You will quickly get better

results than a lab and have much more control.

Rodinal as a one shot developer is easy to use and keeps well.

Thanks.<br>

<br>

This piece of Palm software looks interesting as well:<br>

<br>

<a href="http://home.eznet.net/%7Erlmsmw/">Go Pix</a><br>

<br>

Might be time to buy a Palm to go with my Rolleicord, a nice

combination of old and new.

How do you get it to turn your enlarger on and off? What type of

input cables do enlargers take? (I've never had my own digitial

timer only used them in rental darkrooms).

That would be really cool. A cheap palm is cheaper than a digital

timer and it would record your times too, I suppose.

I've been told the 400 and 1600 versions of Neopan are quite

similiar and I bet that shooting at 100 and developing for 400

would probably work.

Try it.

I shoot mostly 120 as well and would be interested to know how

it goes.

I think you could get this effect by overexposing and

overdeveloping.<br>

<br>

Here is one shot on neopan 1600 at 400 and developed at 1600:

<br>

<a

href="http://www.marginalcontent.com/photos/lara_deanne.jpg">

http://www.marginalcontent.com/photos/lara_deanne.jpg</a>

Buy a Hewes stainless steel reel. They are very easy to use.

They have little hooks which grab the sprocket holes of the film.

They cost about $20 but will save you lots of time and frustration

and probably some rolls of film. Also marketed under the "King

Concept" brand by B and H.

Good Luck.

You might want to use a 30 second bath in water between your

developer and fixer as a stop. It will keep your developer out of

your fixer and make it last longer.

I generally use water for stop while developing and only use real

stop bath when printing.

Not familiar with T-Max developer but both HC-110 (1:31 from

concentrate) and Rodinal (1:25 or 1:50) make good, inexpensive

one shot developers.

Developer seems to have a pretty big effect on how your film

turns out. Try a few to find what you like and then stick with one

for consistancy. Differenet film and developer combinations yield

different results.

Mike Johnson, a photo writer for many publications, said after

experimenting with developers for a 10 year period that he went

back to D-76 because he didnt' really find anything significantly

better.