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Thread: problems w/ blotchy skies

  1. #1

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    Aug 2007
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    problems w/ blotchy skies

    Hi All,
    I shoot w/ a Sinar F2 utilizing lenses from 75mm to 150mm generally w/ a bag bellows. I use Fuji Acros quickloads in a fuji quickload holder. My exposures are longish, from 12 sec to 2 min.
    The work I do is generally shot during civil twilight and I try to keep the skies pretty dark. I have been working on a commission that required me to shoot later in the morning and have brighter skies and thats when I noticed that I have these uneven and blotchy skies. They appear to be shadows and highlights in the skies that are completely clear southern california mornings. I have borrowed other lenses and still seem to have the same problem. Obviously it goes away when full daylight skies blow out to white and when they are extremely dark. Do I have a leaky bellows, is it the holder? Please help.

  2. #2

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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    To me it looks like a processing problem.
    How do you develop your film?

  3. #3

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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    I use a lab to process my negs. They are a small outfit and the guy does all the work by hand. I will have to ask what kind of tanks he uses and how he process' the film.

  4. #4
    Rick Olson's Avatar
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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    Agree ... that's a processing problem.

  5. #5

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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    That's definitely processing.

    I had a similar problem until I started doing a pre-soak and constant agitation for the first 30 seconds. That was with small spiral tanks.

    Your third picture shows an interesting effect where the areas of low density like the palm tree seem to have influenced adjacent areas of higher density, this could indicate exhausted developer and/or insufficient agitation.

  6. #6

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    Dec 2006
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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    Dump the lab, buy a Combi-Plan, or tray process.

  7. #7

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    Apr 2005
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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    Yup. It's not your holder, nor your bellows.

    The strand-pattern is classic of agitation marks - usually excessive agitation in relation to the concentration of the developer for the time that the film is developed.

    One way around it is to try 'presoaking' your film in the Combiplan (Combiplans are fine, but you need to be careful with agitation) for a few minutes in plain tap water for 3 minutes. Then start your development process, and agitate randomly (rather than up and down, or just side-ways - combine uneven movements) for as little as 2 seconds every 30 seconds.

    If you reduce the concentration of your developer and have a semi-standing development with even less agitation, you'll find that the streaks virtually disappear.

    But the overall streaking strand effect is more to do with how you agitate, rather than the concentration or the time or the method of development. Looks like you might need a bit more practice that's all.

    Good luck.

  8. #8

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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    There is some correlation between the building structures and the sky streaks indicating, as Mattq points out, an adjacency effect between high and low density area in the neg. Looks to me like a developer depletion phenomena coupled with a lot of vigorous agitation during film development (tube development maybe?). I also suppose it could be scattered early morning light streaking from adjacent city sources?

    Yes, dump the lab. At least as a test.

    Nate Potter

  9. #9
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Jul 2004
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    Stuck inside of Tucson with the Neverland Blues again...
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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    I'll just chime in with the others; yes, a processing problem in the developing or the lack of a pre-soak. (With stand developing, I don't do a pre-soak, but have 15-30 minute development times. If I'm agitating for a shorter time, yes, a 3-5 minute pre-soak is needed.)
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

  10. #10
    C. D. Keth's Avatar
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    Apr 2006
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    Re: problems w/ blotchy skies

    That looks a lot like when I was just starting and I tried processing one sheet, emulsion up in the bottom of a tray. it streaked up a storm and looked a lot like that.
    -Chris

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