Article on Two-Bath Pyrocat

[sanking]

I have put an article on two-bath Pyrocat on the Pyrocat web site.
http://www.pyrocat-hd.com/html/TwoBathPyrocat.html

My thanks to Ken Lee for his assistance in reviewing the article and placing it on the site. Thanks also to those who sent me film for testing purposes. The results are included in the article as CI charts.

Included with the article are four photographs that were made from negatives developed in two-bath Pyrocat to illustrate the very wide range of tones possible with this simplified method of exposure and development. I would like to add a gallery of work by other photographers using this method and invite you to submit images if you have any, or make any in the next few months. Please include a brief notes about the film, dilution, time of development, and camera or format as you deem appropriate.

Thanks for looking at the article, and I welcome your feedback.

Sandy

[David Karp]

Thank you Sandy. I am going to read it right away!

[TXFZ1]

Very good read, thanks for putting this together.

David

[Kirk Gittings]

Great article thanks. And some wonderful images there too.

[David Karp]

Sandy,

I enjoyed the article and the photographs, especially the first and fourth. Thanks for your contributions in this area.

As you mentioned in the article, it is great to be able to meter the shadows, determine the necessary exposure, and feel confident that you will not lose the highlights. This is a great advantage when working in changing light, and generally makes photographing more about the photograph and less about calculating exposure.

[David Karp]

Sandy, I forgot to add this question: Just to confirm my reading, we follow the same time recommendations for all varieties of Pyrocat?

[sanking]

Sandy, I forgot to add this question: Just to confirm my reading, we follow the same time recommendations for all varieties of Pyrocat?

David,

Yes, same instructions for all of the Pyrocat versions. There may be some slight variations in results but not enough to be significant given the fact that with this methodology we are not aiming for a precise final average gradient.

There may also be slight differences in edge effects between some versions and/or rotary versus intermittent agitation, but the differences are quite subtle.

Sandy

[Lenny Eiger]

Sandy,

Thanks for doing this. I just don't have the time these days to do as much as I'd like to - to figure things out. when someone else does it, I can just follow.... and its great.

I am printing in a platinum look, as you know... I've been using Delta 100 with Xtol 1:1 in the Jobo. I find the Jobo quite convenient, especially the ease at which I can do 10 4x5's at a time..... Xtol has been great, but I am pretty sure your method is even better and I'd like to try it... I have always liked Pyro.

Would you suggest this technique for what I am trying to do, in a Jobo, in your opinion?

Thanks,

Lenny

[Jim Noel]

Sandy,
Thanks for this. I have printed it, read it twice, and put it in my Pyrocat notebook.
I noted with interest that none of the beautiful images shown were developed with a dilution of 1+20. If using this method for Pt/Pd would you think it wise to use 1+10 as a starting point for negatives made of most scenes in similar light?

[Wayne Lambert]

Sandy, very nice work---thank you.

I'm a little more inclined to use a non-staining two-bath developer, and, based on your earlier research on D-23 and Diafine, am I missing out in some important way by not using two-bath pyrocat to provide the advantages of two-bath development?

Wayne

[sanking]

I would think that this method would be close to ideal for you in scanning your negatives and making tonal corrections in PS. And Jobo is similar to the method I use to develop sheet film with two-bath Pyrocat. I develop in print drums on a motor base, but the idea and results are very similar to Jobo. The way you work is similar to what I do.

Unfortunately Delta 100 is not a film I specifically tested, though I would think it would react much like Tmax-100 and Acros.

Sandy

[sanking]

Sandy,
Thanks for this. I have printed it, read it twice, and put it in my Pyrocat notebook.
I noted with interest that none of the beautiful images shown were developed with a dilution of 1+20. If using this method for Pt/Pd would you think it wise to use 1+10 as a starting point for negatives made of most scenes in similar light?

Jim,

Yes, 1+ 10 with 5+5 minutes of development should give enough contrast for Pt/Pd printing. However, if I were developing for Pt/Pd I would probably use the normal 2+2+100 dilution of Pyrocat with about 12-14 minutes of development.

Sandy

[sanking]

Wayne,

Two-bath D-23 works nicely, but two-bath Pyrocat negatives have higher acutance. Two-bath Pyrocat and Diafine give similar acutance, but I don't like using Diafine because it is a proprietary formula and since I don't know what is in there I have no way of understanding how to control the results.

Sandy

[Lenny Eiger]

Unfortunately Delta 100 is not a film I specifically tested, though I would think it would react much like Tmax-100 and Acros.
Sandy

Thanks, I'm gonna try this - this fall....

It's true that Delta reacts very much like TMax. In XTol is a very tiny bit sharper... imperceptible, but let's just say at least as good. I like helping Ilford out, so I went that way...

I'm wondering if you found any benefit in your tests of the Acros over the TMax... I see that it is almost double the cost ($2.85 per sheet vs $1.29-$1.39 for Delta), but as long as I'm going to test.... maybe I should include it... what's your thought on this?

Lenny

[David Karp]

Thanks Sandy.

[Steve Goldstein]

Thanks Sandy. I appreciate that nearly all your curves go up to CI of 0.6 so this article is also of use to optical printers.

[sanking]

"I'm wondering if you found any benefit in your tests of the Acros over the TMax... I see that it is almost double the cost ($2.85 per sheet vs $1.29-$1.39 for Delta), but as long as I'm going to test.... maybe I should include it... what's your thought on this?"

I prefer Acros to any other film because of its reciprocity characteristics. Otherwise it is pretty much a wash comparing Tmax-100, Acros and Delta 100. They are all really good films.

Sandy

[Steve Sherman]

Wonderful article Sandy, I especially enjoyed your imagery!

[Wayne Lambert]

Point taken.

Thanks,
Wayne

[Ed Bray]

Good article Sandy, as you know I have been a 2 bath Pyrocat HD/C convert for 18 months or so, suits me and I won't be changing from it anytime soon. I do have the occasional relapse to Caffenol CL though :)

[Domingo A. Siliceo]

Very interesting article, even I do not plan to change from the full version to the two-bath version. The fact that Pyrocat is an alive and growing developer makes it fascinating. It called my attention the fact you can achieve higher CI with Tri-X than a 100 ISO film, when, if you use the 1:1:100 dilution, it happens the opposite (http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/PCat/PCat4/pcat4.html).

I'm getting my best results since I began to process my film with Pyrocat-HD, so I'm very observant to anything related to it.

Thanks very much for your time and effort, Sandy.