Looking for examples of pyrocat stand development

**Mark McCarvill** · 13-Oct-2005, 10:25

I've heard great things about pyrocat producing ultrasharp negatives using standing / minimal agitation development but my searches for sample images (i.e. images developed with regular versus standing development) have turned up nothing. Any links would be appreciated. Thanks!

**Steve Hamley** · 13-Oct-2005, 10:27

I'm not where I can lay my hands on it, but there was an issue of View Camera not long ago (1-3 issues?) with just such an article and examples.

Steve

**Scott Davis** · 13-Oct-2005, 11:22

It was a two-part article in the march/april and the july/august issues from this year if I'm not mistaken on the months. The technique works also with other staining developers (PMK, ABC, WD2D, etc) but it is my understanding that Pyrocat HD works best. Steve Sherman gave an excellent (and highly persuasive) presentation about it at the View Camera Conference. He posts here and on APUG, you might want to ping him for some scans from his samples he showed at the presentation.

**Jim_3565** · 13-Oct-2005, 13:12

http://www.steve-sherman.com

**John Berry ( Roadkill )** · 13-Oct-2005, 15:10

After reading the article I tried it and haven't looked back. As per Sandy Kings recomendation when I took his carbon printing workshop last summer in Montana, I use a 1.5:1:200 dilution. 23 min semi-stand development. That lets me look at the negs with my night vision goggles (NGV) to see if any are to be pulled for N-. I do them all together. With fp-4 you can watch emulyion side, with acros you have to watch base side as in regular DBI. Negs are keyed to new #2 Azo, DR1.6 I have learned there is, and I'm still on it, a learning curve to a packard shutter. That lets me see and pull a neg that my squeeze was a little slow. Pyrocat is a surface developer, so there is less migration, so the edges gives sharper neg. If you do regular DBI you can use a brighter light than normal as pyrocat desensitizes the film in development. Sandy has some great info on the Azo site and the unblinking eye. View camera article has the best info I have seen so far for reduced agitation developing.

**Mark McCarvill** · 13-Oct-2005, 16:09

Thanks to all for the info.

I e-mailed Steve and he very kindly e-mailed me his March / April View Camera article and said he would either e-mail me some scans showing the difference semi-stand development makes or (more likely) post them on his web site in the near future.

**Wayne Crider** · 14-Oct-2005, 08:48

Recently I had been experimenting with the stand, not semi-stand process, using some Efke 100 and Tri-X in 4x5. It is suggested btw to vertical process the film.The Pyrocat solution I use is the sodium sulfite one and I diluted it with 400ml of water using Sandy's 1:5:94 recommendation. The process overall for me was a little too long and my temps shifted so I had to watch the bath water. I came in around (from what I remember now) 30 minutes minimum, with times around 40-45 minutes being better. I think that I would start with semi-stand developing and try getting the process down to a shorter time. As concerns the negs having highlited edge effects, (wish I could scan a picture) for me personally it was no big deal. I would prefer the shorter standard developing times as I often shoot two speeds and develop.