B&W film/processing help

[Chris S]

Hello again, Ok I'm trying to decide on B&W film, chemicals, and type of proccessing.I'm new to 4x5 and have not shot B&W in many years.Last that I did was 35mm with Tri-X, D-76, and stainless inversion tanks.Now with the internet I'm just totally confused as there is an over abundance of information!I ran into this shot at photosig of this dried leaf that was shot with 4x5 APX 100 and developed in PMK Pyro.This is exactally the type of subject matter and look I'm after.For now I will be scanning on my Epson 4990 and printing on my Epson 2400.Since APX is no longer made, what would be a good Film/Developer combination to start out with to get crisp negs to scan like this leaf.Also since a Jobo 3010 drum and CPA are out of my budget I was thinking either BTZS tubes, HP Combi-Plan, or a slosher and 11x14 trays from FF.Any input on that would be great too.The bathroom tub will be my darkroom for now.Thanks a bunch!...............................................Chris

[Eduardo Aigner]

I like the classic TriX + D76 1:1. I develop them on a Jobo CPE-2, not that expensive these days.

You picture has some artifacts on my monitor, different grades of black on the background. Possibly a Photoshop and / or calibration problem.

[steve simmons]

If you are new to large format may I suggest some reading

User's Guide to the View Camera by Jim Stone

Using the View Camera that i wrote

large Format Nature Photography by Jack Dykinga.

Try your library or Amazon.com

also,

there are several articles on our web site

www.viewcamera.com

I am a great fan of PMK. Get and read The Book of Pyro by Gordon Hutchings. Tray processing works well. There is a how-to article on the Free Articles section of the View Camera web site.

steve simmons

[Chris S]

Hi Eduardo, I'm just curious, are you looking at it on an LCD monitor?I noticed similar artifacts at work on our Apple Cinema Display 23" LCD monitor.Here in my home studio I use a Sony Artisan 21" and La Cie Electron Blue 19" both CRT's, and the images look great.I'm thinking I'm going to have to learn a new work flow to get images to look good on both CRT's and LCD's

[Chris S]

Hey Steve, thanks for taking the time to respond!Your book was the first I bought.Was a big help!Also have bought the last couple issues of View Camera and enjoy them a lot!I'm off to order Hutchings book next.Been playing with Type 55 and a 545i holder recently, and am now getting ready to buy regular film and chemistry since its a little less expensive.I just wanted to make sure I get a combo working that does well for scanning.The sample I posted was souped with pyro, and at least on my CRT's seems to look pretty good.

[steve simmons]

Tri-X and FP4+ both work well in PMK.

steve simmons

[Capocheny]

Hi Chris,

Good suggestions by Steve. I highly recommend both the Stone and Dykinga book in addition to Steve's book as well.

I also have a 23" Apple Cinema Display and there is definite artifact on my monitor as well. It shows up just where the leaf is connected to the stem and continues up until the bend. And, there's a straight-edge line running down on the right hand side of the image.

I've just run a gray scale what-cha-ma-call-it on my system and it still shows up as different shades of black and grey.

Nice image though... I like it!

Cheers

[Ron Marshall]

Chris, I hand roll a Jobo 3010 on the Jobo $20 roller base. Reverse direction every two revolutions, 50 rpm. Even, consistent negs, and low chemistry cost. I like FP4 or TMX both in D76 1:1. I plan to try a pyro developer soon.

[Ken Lee]

I have an Apple Powerbook, and I have calibrated it with Gretag Macbeth Eye-One... and the artifacts are quite evident. Given that LCD monitors do a poor job at rendering low values, this suggests that on a calibrated CRT, it should be even more evident.

Another factor to consider for botanical shots of this sort, is lighting. One might argue that while the leaf itself is not particularly attractive, the dramatic lighting and close attention has transformed it into something which conveys deep poetic feeling.

[Chris S]

Hmm.......I have my monitor calibrated with the dedicated Sony puck and artisan color reference system software, and the photo looks great.Maybe my CRT's giving up the ghost, although I do notice when at work on our Cinema Displays alot of images from sites such as photo.net look too harsh and contrasy till I view them at home on my Artisan where they look great.Heck maybe my eyes are going bad Anyway would a slosher be a bad idea for PMK?According to the PMK instructions at FF, they say that when you agitate at first the negs should be clanking against the edge of the tray and you should be spilling a little developer out of the tray if you are doing it right.What about inversion agitation with PMK in a combi-plan?