Seeking advice on effective agitation technique with tanks/hangers to achieve even development in really tough areas like clear blue sky. I tried several ideas on my own, but the closet agitation technique I've settled on so far is:
1) lift left to about a 45 degree angle, hold for a few seconds, and then back into developer.
2) lift right to about 45 degree angle, hold for a few seconds, and then back into developer.
3) lift straight up, then back into developer.
4) lift about an inch, then drop to remove any air bubbles.
This is what I call one agitation cycle which takes about 15 secs to complete. When developing, I agitate for the first minute (4 agitation cycles), followed by one agitation cycle each minute thereafter.
As I said, this technique is the best I've found so far, but I can still see slight mottling in the lighter gray of clear blue, sunny southwest skies. I've read that more vigorous agitation will provide more even development, but I've tried that, too, and my experience has not been successful when doing more frequent agitation and/or more vigorous agitation.
If it makes any difference, I'm using 2L and 5L tanks (made by Vinny Walsh) with 8x10 holders or 4-up 4x5 holders.
Any advice/guidance would be very much appreciated.
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