My error then, I learnt something new, I only ever use xray film, thankyou! I have put aside some 4x5 sheet film for a trip next year. It would have been a disaster spending days photographing Canada only to get back and have my film ruined.
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My error then, I learnt something new, I only ever use xray film, thankyou! I have put aside some 4x5 sheet film for a trip next year. It would have been a disaster spending days photographing Canada only to get back and have my film ruined.
After developing about 25 8x10s since this post, a bunch of questions but for the moment is there a recommended paper to contact print? for Delta 100... Archival, fiber, etc? What options are there with Platinum and Palladium. (getting way ahead of everything wont be weeks until purchasing paper, ...).
What options are there for blowing up an 8x10... I imagine there must be some enlargers on the west coast at places you can pay to print? I recall looking into it long ago and it requires a room sized enlarger..... nothing a person could do on their own?
General question how many negatives should you develop in 3 cups worth of solution, 8x10 tray, 15mL Rodinal? I read somewhere it was only a few but people seem to always have multiple opinions/ experience with their processes.
Thank You for the help, as mentioned I have maybe spent 100 hours on here looking at photos in the past couple years.... and reading... mostly the photo forums...
Another question, while my place is about 70 some degrees, even a bit hot, I noticed the water in the trays got very cold. I kept replacing the developer and water (for fear of the developers life/ water temp), but I wonder if its pretty warm in here, why the trays get so cold, and how do people deal with this- or does it not matter? If the stop and fix is cooler.... if someone is developing for hours, how do they keep all trays at temp?
I have also read people developing (?) in Rodinal for anywhere from 5-10 to 20+ minutes (stand), yet I found it took about 30-60 seconds to develop.... lukewarm water 3 cups water 15mL Rd, (trying to conserve resources, and yes I did once try the 100 to 1 ratio but didnt work on the particular negative so I repoured). So, why are people developing so long in Rodinal yet it took me only a few seconds? Using 100 speed film.... Even if they are stand developing, I could have swore I read many saying "nine minutes in Rd" in the image posting threads.... yes I agitated a bit from all four sides.
Thank You.
Does it matter which side you contact print? If you want to retain the reversed Negative....
That's 2 questions.
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For sharpest contact prints emulsion to emulsion is the standard
Under glass aided by thickness, spring pressure or vacumn. THe emulsions must be dry and in tight contact.
Please state your measurements in the same metric. I assume 3 cups is 24 oz, which is close to 700 ml and 15ml added in that is about 1-50. That will work.
Water always FEELS cold at room temp as your body is nearly 100F. Just adjust your water by letting it sir in a jug overnight in your space. It will be room temp which is fine for developing.
Looks up recomended times for deb=velopment, not here, go to the makers of film and developer. THen do it all eacacrly like a recipe for a cake. Follow the directions.
Later you may experiment for the rest of your life.
The reasons for different developing chemicals, time, temps and agitation schedules vary vastly.
You are making great progress, read more old threads and books.
You can contact print with the negative's emulsion side up, but you should use a fairly small distant light source for this. A broad light source can expose under the edges of grain in the negative. When duping or reversing graphic arts negatives, a small light bulb a few feet above the contact printing frame worked even with half-tone negatives and with more than one layer of clear film between the negative and the unexposed emulsion. With a large light source close to a vacuum frame, the two emulsions had to be in intimate contact to preserve half-tone quality.
Any paper will do. Some prefer fiber over RC, some prefer graded over variable contrast, some prefer dedicated contact printing papers (Lodima, Adox Lupex) over enlarging papers, some prefer cold-tone papers over warm-tone - but anything works and any paper can give pleasing results. It all depends on what you want the final print to look and feel like.
Chemistry: mix yourself or buy pre-mixed chemicals from e.g. Bostick & Sullivan.Quote:
What options are there with Platinum and Palladium. (getting way ahead of everything wont be weeks until purchasing paper, ...).
Papers: many papers will work, and some papers are specifically intended for this, but several papers that are originally intended for entirely different purposes (e.g. watercolor, etching) work just as well. Again, it all depends on what you prefer...testing is required if you run across paper you want to use. Not all papers will work, and since paper is usually not specified in the level of detail required to predetermine their suitability for alternative process prints, testing is practically the only way to establish if something suits your purpose.
8x10 enlarger pop up on the second hand market from time to time and given enough space, they can definitely be used at home. But yeah, they're obviously not small enough to fit into a closet.Quote:
What options are there for blowing up an 8x10... I imagine there must be some enlargers on the west coast at places you can pay to print? I recall looking into it long ago and it requires a room sized enlarger..... nothing a person could do on their own?
'Cups' is not a very specific way of measuring. Fine if you're baking bread (although I prefer weights for that as well), not so accurate when you're mixing developer. 3 cups could be anything between 450 and 650ml. This yields a dilution of roughly 1:30 to 1:45, which is not a very unusual dilution for rodinal, although 1:50 and 1:100 are a bit more common.Quote:
General question how many negatives should you develop in 3 cups worth of solution, 8x10 tray, 15mL Rodinal? I read somewhere it was only a few but people seem to always have multiple opinions/ experience with their processes.
If the temperature in the room is equal to or higher than the temperature of the trays with chemicals, the trays will not cool down.Quote:
Another question, while my place is about 70 some degrees, even a bit hot, I noticed the water in the trays got very cold.
A fully fogged sheet will build density quite quickly during development. This time is not representative for the development time of a properly exposed sheet. Secondly, your developer is at a quite strong dilution, so times will be on the short side anyway. Thirdly, you mention 'lukewarm' water. For all we know, this could be anything between roughly 18C and 25C or perhaps even warmer. Note that developer increases in activity as temperature increases, and the effect is quite strong. 'Lukewarm' as a means of temperature measurement/control isn't going to give you consistent results, just like the 'cups' measurement method is problematic.Quote:
I have also read people developing (?) in Rodinal for anywhere from 5-10 to 20+ minutes (stand), yet I found it took about 30-60 seconds to develop.... lukewarm water 3 cups water 15mL Rd
As said, only a contact print where the negative's emulsion is in contact with the paper's emulsion will be tack sharp. Using a collimated light source (e.g. condensor enlarger), sharpness may still be somewhat acceptable if you reverse the negative, but it will never be optimal.Quote:
Does it matter which side you contact print? If you want to retain the reversed Negative....
In short: I recommend being more exact in your measurement and control of chemicals, as you're never going to get consistent results if you just wing it.
It's easy to miss, but this forum is hosted on a site that has articles answering all these questions. Try here to start:
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...om-primer.html
Personally I learn best by reading an overview, trying it myself, and self-evaluating the results and then reading more. Asking generic questions is a last resort. If you are diving headfirst, I would highly recommend Ansel Adams' seminal "The Negative" and then perhaps "The Print" (don't forget "The Camera" if you need a primer on view cameras). Others suggest different books but I read those all back-to-front before even shooting one sheet of film and did not have any issues developing my first negatives. Thousands of sheets later I still refer to them if I need.