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  1. #1

    Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    Just wondering if anyone that is a View Camera Magazine subscriber has read the preview article in the subscriber section by Gordon Hutchings? Gordon has a new pyro film developer, Max Pyro, that he has just released.

    I am really excited about something that Gordon feels is better than PMK. There was some talk two years ago at the LF Conference and again I heard there was more talk about a new developer from Gordon this year. According to the article, Bostick & Sullivan will be the source for Max Pyro. I cannot find anything on the B&S web site at this time. Has anyone else heard anything?

    B. Dalton

  2. #2

    Join Date
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    763

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    Quote Originally Posted by Blacky Dalton View Post
    Just wondering if anyone that is a View Camera Magazine subscriber has read the preview article in the subscriber section by Gordon Hutchings? Gordon has a new pyro film developer, Max Pyro, that he has just released.

    I am really excited about something that Gordon feels is better than PMK. There was some talk two years ago at the LF Conference and again I heard there was more talk about a new developer from Gordon this year. According to the article, Bostick & Sullivan will be the source for Max Pyro. I cannot find anything on the B&S web site at this time. Has anyone else heard anything?

    B. Dalton
    Well I'm curious

    How is it different to PMK?

    Steve

  3. #3

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Nicholls View Post
    Well I'm curious

    How is it different to PMK?

    Steve
    I know very little other than what I have heard, mostly as rumor. In the article Gordon says, “Despite this success (PMK), I have wanted for some years to develop a formula with less overall stain for the faster films favored by the ULF group and alternative process printers.” It is also suppose to yield full rated film speed.

    I had heard that the new formula is designed to yield near zero base stain. I had also heard that it should be good for those wanting to use HP5+ for alternative process. I am interested just because I was told that Gordon was very excited about the ‘look’ of his silver prints from Max Pyro negatives.

    The article, slated for the Nov/Dec issue of VC Magazine, says the developer should be available from B&S by the time of publication. So I would guess sometime near December we should be able to order some to try.

    B. Dalton

  4. #4

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    Quote Originally Posted by Blacky Dalton View Post
    I know very little other than what I have heard, mostly as rumor. In the article Gordon says, “Despite this success (PMK), I have wanted for some years to develop a formula with less overall stain for the faster films favored by the ULF group and alternative process printers.” It is also suppose to yield full rated film speed.

    I had heard that the new formula is designed to yield near zero base stain. I had also heard that it should be good for those wanting to use HP5+ for alternative process. I am interested just because I was told that Gordon was very excited about the ‘look’ of his silver prints from Max Pyro negatives.

    The article, slated for the Nov/Dec issue of VC Magazine, says the developer should be available from B&S by the time of publication. So I would guess sometime near December we should be able to order some to try.

    B. Dalton
    How does it appear to work with slower films like FP4 and Delta 100/TMX 100?

  5. #5

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    View Camera magazine never came to my town, is it still in production?

  6. #6
    Eric Biggerstaff
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Denver, Colorado
    Posts
    1,327

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    View Camera is still around and published, check their website.

    B&S will be the distributor of Max Pyro but they are not yet ready to market it. I spoke to them last week and they have the formula but are not quite ready to put it on the market.
    Eric Biggerstaff

    www.ericbiggerstaff.com

  7. #7

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    The article I referred to is on the View Camera web site in the Subscriber Section. I don’t want to give away the entire article, but the target criteria that Gordon lists are as follows:

    1. Full ISO speed
    2. Straight line gamma curve
    3. Minimal general fog and fog stain
    4. Controlled image stain
    5. Full contrast potential for platinum and other alternative systems
    6. Rapid development
    7. Any processing method including stainless steel hangers and JOBO

    If he has met all of these, and I have no doubt that he would not, otherwise why release it, I think this would be of great interest to those that are pyro users? I know I am interested in more information.

    B. Dalton

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    751

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    Quote Originally Posted by Blacky Dalton View Post
    The article I referred to is on the View Camera web site in the Subscriber Section. I don’t want to give away the entire article, but the target criteria that Gordon lists are as follows:

    1. Full ISO speed
    2. Straight line gamma curve
    3. Minimal general fog and fog stain
    4. Controlled image stain
    5. Full contrast potential for platinum and other alternative systems
    6. Rapid development
    7. Any processing method including stainless steel hangers and JOBO

    If he has met all of these, and I have no doubt that he would not, otherwise why release it, I think this would be of great interest to those that are pyro users? I know I am interested in more information.

    B. Dalton
    Sounds like pyrocat HD which has been around for quite a bit now.

  9. #9

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    Is Gordon contact printing and/or working with alt processes with his new work? Spending time working on a new developer to assist alt process users and "control" stain when this variable was the rational for its marvelous performance in PMK if one is not "in the mix" is nice of him but at the same time somewhat confusing. I learned a long time ago at the first VC conference that PMK was not the optimal developer for contact printing so maybe that is the incentive.

    I know very few ardent alt process photographers that use HP5 for obvious reasons that do not need to be replicated here.

    It will be interesting to see the formulation.

    Cheers!

  10. #10
    Drew Wiley
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    SF Bay area, CA
    Posts
    18,418

    Re: Max Pyro by Gordon Hutchings

    This must be something intended for very long-scale contact processes like Pt, Pd, or
    possibly Azo. Reducing the stain wouldn't make sense for ordinary silver printing. I've
    tried Pyrocat and similar formulas but personally find them inferior to PMK for my own purposes. In fact, the only film I've tried that doesn't respond well to PMK is Tech Pan.
    But I have developed new tweaks on the PMK premise. Perhaps the most unusual
    involves printing from the pyro stain only, in other words, a conventional silver image wouldn't even be visible in the negative, only the yellow stain. Then I print this through a deep blue filter. The tonal scale has been magnificent in the print, but I've only gotten this odd developer to work with HP5+. Did Gordon mention which kind of prints he had in mind with his new developer?

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