Pyrocat HD semi stand/uneven dev

[RodinalDuchamp]

I have been using a dilute pyrocat HD for semi stand development to good success. My times are 30m with 1 min agitation for first min and another min of agitation halfway through.

For some reason I am now noticing on the last couple of batches some noticeable and image destroying unevenness in the sky areas.

It may have been happening all along but much less noticeable as my other shots had very little to no sky in them.

My dilution is standard. 1:1:250 and my temps have remained constant.

My first instinct is to increase agitation. Possibly to 1:30 at both intervals. However I do not want to lose the great compensating ability of pyrocat as I always pull my film.

Any suggestions? Dirty tap water? Inconsistent agitation? (I doubt this I use a figure 8 always) chemistry contamination?

[Regular Rod]

I have been using a dilute pyrocat HD for semi stand development to good success. My times are 30m with 1 min agitation for first min and another min of agitation halfway through.

For some reason I am now noticing on the last couple of batches some noticeable and image destroying unevenness in the sky areas.

It may have been happening all along but much less noticeable as my other shots had very little to no sky in them.

My dilution is standard. 1:1:250 and my temps have remained constant.

My first instinct is to increase agitation. Possibly to 1:30 at both intervals. However I do not want to lose the great compensating ability of pyrocat as I always pull my film.

Any suggestions? Dirty tap water? Inconsistent agitation? (I doubt this I use a figure 8 always) chemistry contamination?

How is the film positioned? I'm convinced that hanging or clipping film vertically leads to streaks, whereas laying the film down flat (as in a tray) means no streaks. Well none so far for me anyway...

RR

[Steve Sherman]

I have been using a dilute pyrocat HD for semi stand development to good success. My times are 30m with 1 min agitation for first min and another min of agitation halfway through.

For some reason I am now noticing on the last couple of batches some noticeable and image destroying unevenness in the sky areas.

It may have been happening all along but much less noticeable as my other shots had very little to no sky in them.

My dilution is standard. 1:1:250 and my temps have remained constant.

My first instinct is to increase agitation. Possibly to 1:30 at both intervals. However I do not want to lose the great compensating ability of pyrocat as I always pull my film.

Any suggestions? Dirty tap water? Inconsistent agitation? (I doubt this I use a figure 8 always) chemistry contamination?

Greetings, I have done a far amount of this process and in the beginnings of perfecting the process some things just did not work for me, my dilution varies from 1.5 - 1 - 150 to 200 depending on what types of contrast I am trying to control. Less B leads to less fog when using extended development times.

I find going over 200 ml of water to chemistry the density drops and the molting or uneven development in blank areas becomes noticeable. I was never able to get the process regardless of dilution to work in a horizontal orientation, i.e. in a tray. I develop single sheets of film in 3" diameter tubes for 5x7 and 7x17 film with great success albeit one sheet at a time.

I believe your problem stems from insufficient agitation, that is where I had the biggest obstacles to overcome some 10 years ago. My initial agitations are between 1.5 minutes to 3 minutes, again depending on contrast in the scene. I have also gone to a two agitation regime such as 20 seconds divided between 20 - 40 minutes.

My use of the process is much more about controlling huge amounts of contrast swings rather than any increased sharpness, the micro contrast (sharpness) comes with the process even if total development is only 20 minutes.

Hope this is not too confusing, look to increasing your agitation especially the initial agitation time and increasing your dilution. Lastly, the process DOES NOT like over exposure, I use box speed on most films. Also, HP 5 has a few little anomalies that most other films do not suffer from with regard to the Semi - Stand process.

Cheers !

[Robert Langham]

I tried this for the first time this week. 8X10 in trays. 10-10-1000ml for six sheets. Constant agitation. Looked OK but I really don't know anything yet. Thought it might make a difference in the separation on the whites. Does this sound like a dead end? HP5 @ 400 ISO, 8:30 @ 72 degrees, water presoak and stop. Constant agitation taking the bottom sheet off and putting it on the top.

[RodinalDuchamp]

How is the film positioned? I'm convinced that hanging or clipping film vertically leads to streaks, whereas laying the film down flat (as in a tray) means no streaks. Well none so far for me anyway...

RR

Rod,

The film is always emulsion side up in a tray.

[dasBlute]

do the benefits of stand development really outweigh the risks?

[sanking]

do the benefits of stand development really outweigh the risks?

Yes, if you follow the directions of real experts (Steve Sherman for one) who understand what they are doing and know how to refine the procedures to minimize or eliminate the risks.

No, if you follow most directions.

Of course, this does depend on what benefits you want, and if these are reasonable expectations of the process. Stand development is not a magic bullet, though it has interesting and unique potential.

Sandy

[RodinalDuchamp]

do the benefits of stand development really outweigh the risks?

I don't mean to be rude but I am hoping this thread remains about correcting the mottling or uneveness in a pyrocat HD stand process.

Threads tend to get way off course when these questions begin to be raised and there are several threads already outlining the stand process.

[Andrew O'Neill]

It sounds like an agitation issue. I've been utilizing semi-stand for several years now with pyrocat-hd and HP5 8x10 in BTZS tubes (5ml + 5ml + 1200ml). It has taken quite a while and a lot of film to come up with something that works for me. Note, I do semi-stand, not stand. Development time is around a hour, with 2 vigorous agitation cycles, 5 sec each. For each cycle, the film is removed, inverted, and slipped back in. That seems to take care of any bromide drag.
My advice to anyone utilizing stand/semi-stand is to always shoot a backup... just in case.

[RodinalDuchamp]

It sounds like an agitation issue. I've been utilizing semi-stand for several years now with pyrocat-hd and HP5 8x10 in BTZS tubes (5ml + 5ml + 1200ml). It has taken quite a while and a lot of film to come up with something that works for me. Note, I do semi-stand, not stand. Development time is around a hour, with 2 vigorous agitation cycles, 5 sec each. For each cycle, the film is removed, inverted, and slipped back in. That seems to take care of any bromide drag.
My advice to anyone utilizing stand/semi-stand is to always shoot a backup... just in case.

Andrew,

You use 5 seconds of agitation? I'm agitating much more so than that. I have been reading that a standard tray doesn't work as well as a proper slosher cradle. I have one of them on order already BTW.

The mottling is ever so subtle in some frames and much more pronounced in others.

I'm thinking I may need more presoak time. I'm going to extend this to 5 minutes.

Then I'm going to agitate initially for 1:30 followed by 1 minute halfway through.

I wish I had a proper scanner so that I could share the results.