Quote Originally Posted by Ken Lee View Post
Walter: Congratulations and thanks ! Your patience and persistence are helping us all.

Sandy: What does the wetting agent do, if it is applied in solution A ? Does it promote absorption of solution A into the film emulsion ?

If that is the case, would a longer pre-soak accomplish the same thing ?

Given that films have dyes which are removed in pre-soak, would it be helpful to perform more than one pre-soak, or to perform pre-soak with a large volume of water ?

What is the difference between a wetting agent (which breaks up surface tension in water), and something that changes the pH of the water ?

Walter - Are you sure the streaking in the first photo, isn't really a rare 'double twister" in the sky ? Also, could you share with us the Zone values for your photo ? I'm very interested in how things play out doing landscape photography. Did you use a filter for separation in the clouds ?
Walter,

Ken,

So far as I know the wetting agent does not promote absorption of Solution A into the emulsion. Rather, it releases the surface tension and allows Solution A to spread over the surface of the negative instead of pooling or streaking in one area as some liquids tend to do after they drain. If Solution A drains in streaks this could result in uneven development because Solution B would come into contact with uneven amounts of Solution A.

And no, I don't believe a longer pre-soak would accomplish the same thing as the wetting agent.

Sandy