Sam L
30-Nov-2020, 16:20
I am working towards ULF photos on X-Ray film for albumen prints. I've been experimenting with 4x5 before scaling up. I thought it might be helpful to someone in the future to report on the tests so far.
I've chosen 510 Pyro because it is supposed to be good for albumen printing, it is simple to use, has good shelf life, and it is highly dilute so I can reasonably fill a 14x17 tank for one-shot development. I'm using the "updated" recipe with 0.375g Phenidone from here:
http://www.pictorialplanet.com/advanced_photography/510_pyro.html
Mixing it was harder than I expected. I ended up heating it to 150F in a water bath for a few hours, stirring occasionally. I used the sous vide machine that I normally use for color film development and eventually everything went into solution.
At ic-racer's suggestion, I ran an Ansel Adams style ISO test on the x-ray film to start. I shot 6 4x5's of my light box metered for Zone I at ISO 25, 50, 80, 100 and 125. I developed them in a 1+250 dilution for 7.5 min @ 68F. 7.5 min was a guess that came from some previous testing, and it turns out to not be long enough to develop the highlights for albumen prints but I think this is ok because I've read the shadows develop in the first third of the development time. The ISO 50 and 80 films both block 1/3 of a stop more than the base tint of the film when used as a filter for my modern SLR camera. The internet seems to agree that for the zone system, HR-U is about ISO 80, so this is good confirmation. The ISO 100 exposure is completely clear, indicating that the film is not ISO 100 (the other speed you often see for HR-U).
210035
Next up I shot 6 photos of the light box exposed as Zone VIII and developed them for 6.5 min - 11.5 min in one minute increments. I developed them in freshly mixed 510 Pyro @ 1+250 in two batches of 3 negatives on hangers in small vertical tanks. I used 1 minute of agitation followed by 10s every subsequent minute. I sliced these up into a wedge and printed them onto a sheet of albumen paper. I was surprised to find that the "almost white" you would expect for Zone VIII was at or beyond 11:30 of development time (far right).
210034
I also shot and developed a more complex scene at ISO 80 with black, white and gray cards, a sea shell and a decorative pot to see how the above process translated to a real scene. The gray card is on Zone V in this test while the shell and white card are about Zone VII. There are some specular reflections in the pot that are very bright. I developed with the same time range as above and scanned the results with no corrections for comparison. You can see the white card is quite gray at 6:30 (left), the center is at 8:30 and the right is at 11:30. No highlight detail seems lost at 11:30 and the specular area is larger.
210036
Finally, I albumen printed the 8:30 (left) and 11:30 (right) negatives. The 11:30 has better whites but might be a tiny bit blown out in the lightest part of the shell. The gray card is similar in tone between them and I feel like it's too dark for Zone V / middle gray. I'll need to experiment with more real-world scenes but my plan is to use 11:30 as "N" in the zone system to start.
210039
I've chosen 510 Pyro because it is supposed to be good for albumen printing, it is simple to use, has good shelf life, and it is highly dilute so I can reasonably fill a 14x17 tank for one-shot development. I'm using the "updated" recipe with 0.375g Phenidone from here:
http://www.pictorialplanet.com/advanced_photography/510_pyro.html
Mixing it was harder than I expected. I ended up heating it to 150F in a water bath for a few hours, stirring occasionally. I used the sous vide machine that I normally use for color film development and eventually everything went into solution.
At ic-racer's suggestion, I ran an Ansel Adams style ISO test on the x-ray film to start. I shot 6 4x5's of my light box metered for Zone I at ISO 25, 50, 80, 100 and 125. I developed them in a 1+250 dilution for 7.5 min @ 68F. 7.5 min was a guess that came from some previous testing, and it turns out to not be long enough to develop the highlights for albumen prints but I think this is ok because I've read the shadows develop in the first third of the development time. The ISO 50 and 80 films both block 1/3 of a stop more than the base tint of the film when used as a filter for my modern SLR camera. The internet seems to agree that for the zone system, HR-U is about ISO 80, so this is good confirmation. The ISO 100 exposure is completely clear, indicating that the film is not ISO 100 (the other speed you often see for HR-U).
210035
Next up I shot 6 photos of the light box exposed as Zone VIII and developed them for 6.5 min - 11.5 min in one minute increments. I developed them in freshly mixed 510 Pyro @ 1+250 in two batches of 3 negatives on hangers in small vertical tanks. I used 1 minute of agitation followed by 10s every subsequent minute. I sliced these up into a wedge and printed them onto a sheet of albumen paper. I was surprised to find that the "almost white" you would expect for Zone VIII was at or beyond 11:30 of development time (far right).
210034
I also shot and developed a more complex scene at ISO 80 with black, white and gray cards, a sea shell and a decorative pot to see how the above process translated to a real scene. The gray card is on Zone V in this test while the shell and white card are about Zone VII. There are some specular reflections in the pot that are very bright. I developed with the same time range as above and scanned the results with no corrections for comparison. You can see the white card is quite gray at 6:30 (left), the center is at 8:30 and the right is at 11:30. No highlight detail seems lost at 11:30 and the specular area is larger.
210036
Finally, I albumen printed the 8:30 (left) and 11:30 (right) negatives. The 11:30 has better whites but might be a tiny bit blown out in the lightest part of the shell. The gray card is similar in tone between them and I feel like it's too dark for Zone V / middle gray. I'll need to experiment with more real-world scenes but my plan is to use 11:30 as "N" in the zone system to start.
210039