HP5
Dektol
Ammonia Thiosulfate
Acetic Acid
T-max Developer
Wash Aid
Photo Flo
A&B "Kodalith" type developer
A&B Reducer
Ilford Multigraded FB
409 and liquid soap for cleanup
HP5
Dektol
Ammonia Thiosulfate
Acetic Acid
T-max Developer
Wash Aid
Photo Flo
A&B "Kodalith" type developer
A&B Reducer
Ilford Multigraded FB
409 and liquid soap for cleanup
Films: 320TX and TMY these days
Film Dev: PMK pyro. Used to use lots of others, but this is my standard now.
Kodak Indicator Stop
Ilford Rapid Fixer or Hypam without hardener
Printing Papers (all fiber-base): Adox MCC-110 when available. Slavich Unibrom 160 (I still have some left - love this stuff!), Ilford MG Classic, Fomabrom 111 graded and VC, but not so much; don't like the yellower base (think it's the emulsion color). Missing Seagull G still...
Print Dev: ID-62 or D-72 these days. I tend to like the ID-62 better. Bromophen when I need packaged. Someday I'll get around to Ansco 130, but I've got so many raw chemicals that I need to use up.
I tweak developer with sod. carbonate and BTA when needed.
Kodak Indicator Stop
Ilford Rapid Fixer or Hypam without hardener
Homemade wash aid from sod. sulfite and bisulfite
Potassium ferricyanide and bromide for rehalogenating bleach for prints, SLIMTs and negative bleach-redevelop.
Best,
Doremus
FP4 and HP5 and DD-X
HP5, Adox CHS 100II and FP4, I was a long time Xtol user but I have switched to DDX and FX39II this year after getting two packs of bad Xtol. That cost me a lot in terms of wasted time and film so I won't be going back.
HP5+ , TX320, and Efke PL100 in Rodinal.
HP5+ (120 & 4x5), Pyrocat-HD, TF-4 fixer
Ilford Classic FB & RC (RC for contact sheets and 8x10 work prints only, FB for 11x14 prints), Ilford Multigrade Print Developer, Ilfostop, TF-4
Currently:
HP-5+(thanks, Ralph Barker), FP-4+, Ilford Ortho Plus
Clayton F-76, Ansco 130(thanks, John Nanian)
Fomabrom N111
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
No need to "venture out" unless there's something you don't like about your pictures. Knowing how your materials will respond can give you great confidence in your work. Better to chase new and different images than to wander through the wilds of tech. You can make the mot unlikely combinations of materials work, if experimenting is what interests you. But you'll find that most photographer who produce interesting work keep things simple. (Ansel Adams was a true virtuoso of the medium- but he worked harder and longer than most anyone else to get to his mastery.)
If you do want to experiment, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that! Try changing one and only one thing at a time. That way you'll know what that one change does, and can build upon it if you like.
From personal experience, my early technique was widely scattered (to say the least). I couldn't be bothered with consistency, and it showed. I didn't know where I was going, and I wasn't making good time either. My own pictures got better once I stayed with one film and one developer- and printing those negs led me to choose only two or three types of paper. YRMV of course, and good luck!
Varies, but the basic film/developer right now, FP4+ in PyrocatHD 2:2:100, 74F (120 and 4x5 to 11x14), with Ilford PQ Universal Developer on hand.
Water stop, Alk fixer, no HCA, water, Photo-flo
Printing alt processes (carbon and Pt/pd) with the misc chemicals needed for that (including HCA).
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
HP5 120, 4x5, 8x10 in D76. I like the results that I get with D76, and I like a higher speed black and white. As for Ilford (vs. Kodak), I want them to live long and prosper.
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