March 2012 Portraits

[Corran]

Here's an experiment I took last week. I shot this with my converted Polaroid 900 with a Schneider Xenotar 135mm lens at f/4, 1/100, on T-Max 100. Developed in Acufine semi-stand for one hour, agitation every 15 minutes. I'm using the BTZS tubes, just filling it up so it covers the sheet instead of just the cap being full. Kinda wastes chemistry I guess but whatever.

[Jay DeFehr]

Looks great, Bryan! Is it my eyes, or are there a few horizontal bands through the image?

[Corran]

Yes that is correct Jay. Those are from my stupid scanner. They show up sometimes, sometimes not. Since 90% of my scanning is simply used to proof before silver printing in my darkroom I don't bother to fix it, and I have access to a V700 if I really need to have that fixed (which has less real resolution than my scanner actually).

Thanks!

[SergeiR]

Here's an experiment I took last week. I shot this with my converted Polaroid 900 with a Schneider Xenotar 135mm lens at f/4, 1/100, on T-Max 100. Developed in Acufine semi-stand for one hour, agitation every 15 minutes. I'm using the BTZS tubes, just filling it up so it covers the sheet instead of just the cap being full. Kinda wastes chemistry I guess but whatever.

Looking good Even with wasted chemistry.

[icanthackit]

I'm just about to get started on a large format portrait project myself, though I've only used large format for landscapes. These monthly threads really help, though I wish I knew more of the technical info, like lens length, shutter speed, and aperture. I start with the first shoot tomorrow...we'll see how it goes! I may post the result, good or bad.

[iml]

Musicians.





Speed Graphic, 127/4.7 Ektar, TXP 320 in 1+1 Xtol

[Jay DeFehr]

Yes that is correct Jay. Those are from my stupid scanner. They show up sometimes, sometimes not. Since 90% of my scanning is simply used to proof before silver printing in my darkroom I don't bother to fix it, and I have access to a V700 if I really need to have that fixed (which has less real resolution than my scanner actually).

Thanks!

Uggh, scanners! I look forward to the day when I finally get a good, clean scan. Thankfully, like you, I don't rely on my scans for output.

[Corran]

In all honesty, if I could figure out how to open the sucker up to clean off the dust on the sensor (apparently that's the issue) I'd be ecstatic with the results. I'm using an Agfa T2500 and it delivers stunning detail and tonal range (on a well-exposed negative...) but that dust issue really kills the usability.

But it still wouldn't replace a real silver print

[Jay DeFehr]

In all honesty, if I could figure out how to open the sucker up to clean off the dust on the sensor (apparently that's the issue) I'd be ecstatic with the results. I'm using an Agfa T2500 and it delivers stunning detail and tonal range (on a well-exposed negative...) but that dust issue really kills the usability.

But it still wouldn't replace a real silver print

Yeah, I have no idea how to do that. I can't imagine opening it up without letting more dust in, unless you have a clean room. Maybe they're not as delicate and vulnerable as I imagine? As prevalent as the issue is, surely there must be a fix?

[Corran]

I would hope, I just couldn't find any screws or whatever to get the thing open. I have opened up and fixed a lot of electronics so I'm confident in my abilities to simply clean it out...but a lot of companies make it almost impossible to do it without special tools and/or knowledge. Maybe I'll have another crack at it.