Getting back into it..

Hi, I'm new to posting here- although I have been checking this site for years..

I shot 8x10 for about a year before moving to a place where I barely had room to sleep, let alone have a darkroom. At the time I put photography on hold, I was using Efke 50 or 100, developing with Sandy's pyrocat-HD in a Jobo CPP2, and contact printing with AZO.. I was getting fairly decent results, but had a long way to go. So now that I've been out of it for 2 years, I'm a little intimidated to just take up using my old Developer/paper combo.. So my question is this, what other combinations would be helpful in getting some technique back and where can I find info??

I can handle the Efke and pyro I believe.. But amidol and Azo is kind of a jump for a born again super-newbie.. Sorry about the muddled post, but I've been confused for a week now :rolleyes:

Azo, sadly, is gone. You'll have to find another paper. I'd recommend picking something from Ilford, maybe. Something common to get started again. When you've decided what you don't like about it, you'll know what to look for in a change. I like Ansco 130 for a good, long-lasting paper developer. YMMV.
juan

Thanks for the recommendation. As far as contact printing on VC paper, I'm having trouble finding filters that will cover 8x10 paper/film..

If you have an enlarger, you can, of course, use that as the light source for your contact prints on conventional papers (as opposed to papers that require UV-rich light), and use the VC filters appropriate for the enlarger. Ilford also makes graded papers, although the selection isn't quite as great as it was years ago.

I've never owned an unlarger unfortunately.. I guess graded is the way to go

If you want to use VC papers, a small 35mm or medium format enlarger is all that would be needed to project VC-filtered light over a large enough area to do your contacts. Considering what they're selling for these days, that could be a reasonably-inexpensive solution. An old Durst M300 or M600, for example, would do the trick, and can be easily dismantled for convenient storage between printing sessions (they are designed to do that).