Another suitably moody shot of our little Portstewart, via the 4x5 TiTAN pinhole, some Fomapan 200 and MGV Deluxe paper. Cropped a little as there was a tad too much foreground in the original shot:
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| Portstewart Prom, 2021 |
I've been having 'issues' with my 4x5 development recently. As you might recall, I switched from Uniroller Drum to processing in open trays and the last few times there have been weird white lines appear on the negatives - like there:
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| Strange artefacts on me neg |
My first thought was I've a light leak in the darkroom, since (a) I'm working with open trays for the best part of 20 mins (11mins dev, 1 min stop, 5 mins fix) and (b) it's summer and there's the chance of more light coming in from the door, or window, despite curtains and black-out material. But it's not light leaks, since light on a negative appears black (white on the positive print). That really only leaves a processing error and I'm at a bit of a loss to know what that might be. I'm wondering about uneven agitation but I turn the negatives over every 30seconds for the first 5 minutes (and then once a minute) and with each turn the tray gets rocked a few times so an agitation problem seems unlikely. The lines are too closely spaced and too regular to suggest the negative is not fully immersed in the chemicals. I've already lost quite a few negatives and given the cost if it continues then I'll go back to the Uniroller, which is a lot easier anyway since once the negs are loaded and the tank is closed then the whole thing happens in daylight.
Any suggestions?
I'm afraid I can't help with the developing. But I like the first photo. Have you ever tried colour film in the pinhole camera? Or would that completely break the bank?
ReplyDeleteThanks. Colour? Wash your mouth out young man! I can't see myself ever doing colour in the pinhole...the cost of 4x5 Fuji Provia is about £6 a sheet and then you've got processing on top of that. I think I'd rather go for 8x10 B&W if I had the ££. I've just checked and 8x10 Fomapan is about £2.50 a sheet which I could process myself. Hmm...
DeleteIf 4x5 Provia is too expensive, there's always digital. :) Okay, I'll get the soap . . . .
Delete8x10 film doesn't seem to be available in Korea anymore.
Love the Port Stewart photo
ReplyDeleteThank you Simon A! Appreciated...
DeleteI hope you don’t get this comment twice. I just uploaded something and it flew off into the ether somewhere. I really enjoyed meandering round your blog and looking at you great photos and obvious printing skills. I sympathise with the 5x4 film developing problems. I don’t shoot a lot of it, but doing tray developing drove me round the twist and other proprietary systems all seemed a bit flimsy and expensive. I modified a Patterson tank with two strips of Lego stuck down opposite sides of the tank. You can soup two negs by curving them ( I always do emulsion side out) and slotting them in between the strips of Lego. I’m a bit nervous of aggressive agitation, thinking the negs might pop out of their position, but so far, no problems, although they can be ‘stuck’ to the sides of the tank. I thought this might introduce scratches, but so far, no. I only do gentle agitation, and the tank needs to be really full up with just a bit of air to allow agitation to work. It’s a solution for me anyway, and I’m not going back to tray development!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comments, CDSnapper, mucho appreciated.
DeleteTray developing is pretty hard-core, I agree. I don't like it much. And now my Unicolor drum is leaking like a sieve - I guess the seal has hardened over the (40-odd) years and is no longer effective. Your Lego solution sounds intriguing - well done for getting something that works...in the end, that's all that matters.
Coincidentally just yesterday I came across a new 4x5 insert for the 3-reel Paterson tank. I know there is the Mod54 one already out there, but I hear mixed reviews of it. This new one, QL45-JP, seems to be better from what I have read so far. I'm thinking of adding one to my Santa list and giving it a go.
Forgot to add the link: https://20thcenturycamera.com/products/4x5-6-sheet-quick-load-film-reel
DeleteAnd now I see that if you press the back arrow to get out of the comments, It’s re-publishes it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are getting to grips with Blogger's foibles!
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