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maris_rusis

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maris_rusis last won the day on October 6 2010

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  1. Yes! I have an air-conditioner and I set it at 24c (75F) and let the film processing chemistry and wash water stabilise at that temperature. For example my Xtol-R developing time of 11m 15s at 68F goes to 7m 40s at 75F. Easy to do, stable, and reproducible. And the air-con is also very nice for the photographer especially on a day like today topping out at 39C.
  2. In my darkroom one litre of working strength Dektol mixed at 1+2 from the concentrate will develop 12 Ilford Multigrade Classic FB prints in the 11X14 inch size. In theory the use of the factorial development technique could extend this number of prints. In practice I get too tired after making a dozen good 11X14s so I call it a day and discard the used Dektol.
  3. I use replenished Xtol stock solution for all films. Replenishment rate for me is 90ml per film which gives a cost of about 30 cents per film. This batch of Xtol was first started in November 2021 and is still working perfectly. I find developing time for medium contrast with nearly all films is 11 minutes 15 seconds at 20 Celcius.
  4. Just checked out Shanghai GP3 film to find it is available in 127 format. The listing I saw offered a brick of 10 rolls for $140. I've shot this film in 220 format and it is not bad when exposed at EI = 25 according to my tests.
  5. Here's an example of Ilford Delta 3200 shot at E.I. 1000 and given 3 stops extra to compensate for the red filter. The high speed film was needed for hand held work while maintaining good detail and permitting small f-stops for adequate depth of field. Near Cardrona, NZ Gelatin-silver photograph on Ilford Classic VC FB photographic paper, image size 16.3cm X 21.5cm, from a 68 format Ilford Delta 3200 negative exposed in a Fuji GSW680 camera fitted with a #25 red filter.
  6. To get good head and shoulders portraits out of the Rolleiflex system without being too close to the subject and thereby avoiding big noses and small ears: The best way ($$$) is to use a Tele-Rollei with its 135mm lenses. Second best ($$$) is to attach the Mutar 1.5X equipment. Third best ($$$) is to install the Rolleikin 35mm equipment. The standard Rolleiflex lens becomes a portrait focal length on the 35mm format. Fourth best and cheapest is photograph from 1.5 metres away and just crop. The negative will be more than good enough. Those portraits of Jacob Israel Avedon were controversial at the time for their harshness and sadness and do include some distortion because of the close camera position.
  7. I've shot hundreds of sheets of Fomapan 100 in 4x5 and 8x10 formats and faced with your scene my exposure would have been 1/30 @ f16. No need to use a light meter for this very familiar lighting arrangement. In difficult lighting where I do use a spot meter I set Fomapan 100 at an exposure index of 50, read the darkest shadow where a trace of detail is wanted, and give two stops less than the meter reading. This enables the darkest shadow detail to fall on Zone III where it should be, I think. My developer is Xtol replenished but it's activity is not radically different to Rodinal. Adequate exposure (or a trace more) is good for Fomapan 100.
  8. I've had this with Paterson reels and tanks and beat it by increasing the volume of developer and fixer so that foam layer that forms on processing solutions during agitation is well above the top edge of film. It's those little bubbles that hold back developer contact with the film that cause the spots. Reels contaminated with a trace of wetting agent (eg PhotoFlo) are often the thing that provokes bubble formation. The developer volume for a 120 format roll film is specified as 500ml but I'll give 550ml at least. I use XTOL replenished so the extra developer volume returns to the stock bottle not down the drain. Curiously, I found that putting a loaded reel down into a tank with my right hand inverts the film with respect to the way the film went through the camera. Hence the spots at the top of the picture. With the left hand the spots were at the bottom of the picture. Problem solved years ago and never to recur. I hope.
  9. The classic and best bellows repair tape is 3M type 850 Black Polyester Tape. It's very black, very thin, with a strong non-creep, non-bleed adhesive. It is is expensive.
  10. I've tried several variable neutral density filters based on the principle of contra-rotating polarisers and they all have limitations: Polarisation efficiency is not the same for all wavelengths of light. As the filter is adjusted to maximum density colour casts appear. Polarisation efficiency is compromised by oblique rays not being polarised the same as normal (straight through) rays. Fully crossed polarisers seen from a distance might look uniformly dark but up close, like when screwed onto a lens, the dreaded "dark cross effect" appears. The ND effect is not uniform over the field of view. The slightest strain, mechanical or thermal for example, introduces a twist in the plane of polarisation somewhere in the filter (usually near the edge) and again non-uniform ND is the result. All of these problems are most severe at or near maximum ND. For example I tested a Variable ND filter marketed as a ND1000 (about 10 stops) and it was useable up to about 5 stops. That's when I bought a solid 10 stop ND filter...works perfectly.
  11. It could be a valid proposition that the picture was never a photograph; merely looked like one. Except for the visually naive, and I fear the judges of the "prestigious photo award" may be (unfairly?) counted among their number, it takes about 2 seconds to see the picture is a product of AI. Look at the hand of the figure at the back. That hand is impossibly distorted and is a signal that AI was at work. AI just doesn't do hands properly for a number of reasons including too small a data base, "hands are complicated", and human sensitivity to "wrong hands". AI may be entertaining but it is just the latest gotcha that will deceive a cohort of victims who work on the basis "looks like" means "same as".
  12. I agree with c_watson1 that Henri Cartier-Bresson was the scion of a very rich family. He never had to work and lived an indulged and privileged life. How does a young man who has never done a tap of paid employment start photography with an expensive Leica camera that would cost a labourer half a years wages? One precaution in studying the career of Henri Cartier-Bresson is to cautiously discount everything he said or wrote about himself or his activities. I see the hagiography by je ne regrette rien as not a convincing guide to the real Henri Cartier-Bresson.
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