Quote Originally Posted by Certain Exposures View Post
What's a CliffsNotes description of his method (if possible)?

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'm reading and considering.
One agitation cycle consists of: up to right or left with about 45 degree tilt, down, up opposite direction of first with tilt (I should mention that you want to let the chemistry drain for a couple of seconds on both tilts), down, then straight up and down. I add a twist at the end whereby I pick the holders up an inch or two, then let them drop to mitigate bubbles.

Nothing wrong with tray development, once you've mastered the technique. This was the only way I developed 4x5 and 8x10 for about 20 years, but then I got a Jobo and Expert Drums. As Sal intimated to, at that point is when I discovered how unevenly my sheet film was being developed. I used one tray size larger than my film, as many recommend, but still got higher density along one or more edges. Never remember getting any scratches so I must have had that part of the technique nailed. The only reason the Jobo is not my only method of film development is because one cannot employ techniques such as minimal or stand agitation. I really like the results I get with Pyrocat-HD agitated every 3 - 4 minutes; negatives with such pronounced edge effects that you should be careful handling them in fear of cuts!