"Max Pyro"...now there's a name for a new comic strip or cool retro T-shirt
"Max Pyro"...now there's a name for a new comic strip or cool retro T-shirt
Porno for Pyro= long scale porno?Originally Posted by matthew blais
A wee bit off topic, and off rocker. Damn pyromaniacs!
--Gary
When creating the original ABC+Pyro formula (renamed by B&S to RolloPyro) I based on PMK that I still find as the best Pyro formula for projection negatives. But when I used it on HP5+ film (8x10" on Jobo) for platinum negatives I found some characteristics too weak for my taste. So I did some minor modifications in rising the concentration and adding ascorbic acid for its hyperadditive effect.
What I got that way was better film speed, better densities, better aerial-oxidation stability and better staining with minimum base fog. Now I found it better working for my purpose. I probably made a mistake in renaming it to ABC+Pyro instead of keeping its origin and saying PMK+ or AdvancedPMK - which was my working title for it.
It seems if Mr. Hutchings packed similar characteristics into the new formula - we´ll see.
One who knows the ABC+/Rollo formula best is my dear friend Carl Weese who did the main job in testing and evaluating the formula - thank you Carl!
I´ve made some new innovations if someone is interested:
1. FerA.. a FerrousAscorbat film developer - it´s simple, sharp, straight and non poisonous.
2. Ferric-oxa-citrat..a new sensitizer for alternative ferric processes like platinum/palladium, kallitype, cyanotype, etc.. a chemical chimera of Ferric-oxalate and Ferric-citrate which keeps the good characteristics from both sides: speed, stability, solubility , d-max increase - it´s still in a testing phase but I´m curious if some of the alt-photo people want´s to give it a try (with a free sample).
Harald
just a few examples: http://www.faps.sk/f_index.php?idmember=7
HP5+ does have a few unusual characteristics related to pyro. The advantages of this
film include the "watercolor" grain effect and strong edge effect optimized by Pyro
staining. But to kick the film curve off the toe and obtain the wonderful expanded
midtones this film is capable of, the stain is going to build excessively, and the highlights might not reproduce optimally. I solved this problem in many cases simply
by resorting to unsharp masking, which I routinely do in color work, or by switching to
a film with a longer straight line. But it is still one of my favorite films for 8x10, so I'd
always be interested in a new tweak to simply printing, if in fact this applies to
enlargement work. Contact printers face a somewhat different scenario.
"... just a few examples: http://www.faps.sk/f_index.php?idmember=7"
Which of those images, are made with your developer, and which are Pt/Pd prints ?
A good reason to use Pyrocat-HD instead of PMK, IMO.But to kick the film curve off the toe and obtain the wonderful expanded
midtones this film is capable of, the stain is going to build excessively, and the highlights might not reproduce optimally.
Don Bryant
I try to use the slowest film I can get away as I get the shadow/midtone separation is already built into the film. Of course you have touchy highlights with slower film but thats when the Pyro does its magic and tames them nicely.
The b&w images are printed either in Pt/Pd or enlarged on silvergelatine paper. All of the negatives are developed in ABC+/Rollo Pyro.....but I´m afraid one cannot imagine this in the web...
Harald
I did try Pyrocat HD once but didn't like either the grain structure of the general
tonal range of the print as well as PMK. Obviously, this is quite subjective and I know
several people who prefer Pyrocat. A lot might have to do with the quality of the
enlarger light. For silver gelatin printing I typically use a very powerful Aristo head with
blue-green light, which seemingly responds better to the yellowish stain of PMK than
to the brownish stain of Pyrocat. Someday I'll have to compare results using one of
my color enlargers.
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