Sunday, March 21, 2010

Spring is here. The Camellias are blooming!


Thanks to Jim Byers for this beautiful image. The play of contrasts, between the delicacy of the luminous petals and the substance of the velvety leaves, between sharpness and softness, and between detail and void, is so harmoniously composed, I've been staring at it for long periods since Jim sent it, and I'm still discovering it. Jim offered this image as an example of his film/ developer combination, but I see it as an example of a simple subject elevated by Jim's sensitivity and command of his materials. I'm sure Jim could have made this image with any number of developers, but I'm glad he chose 510-Pyro!


Film: Efke 25
EI: 20
Format: 4x5
Developer: 510-Pyro
Dilution: 1:100
Time: 5:06
Temp: 21C/70F
Agitation: Rotary
Presoak: 3 minutes water presoak
Fixer: TF-4

Monday, March 8, 2010

Pyro for Pushers!

Kodak Tri-X Pan, EI 1600




When I started this blog, I hoped it would become both a venue for discussion and repository for data, related to the use of 510-Pyro. Recently, I was contacted by Jim Byers, a 510-Pyro user interested in push processing. Jim told me he wasn't able to find much information here, or elsewhere, and I suggested he find the information he needed by experimentation, which he did. I am impressed by Jim's logical, and dispassionate approach to finding the answers he sought, using his materials and equipment in both real world, and carefully arranged settings, and his intelligent use of his film scanner for analyzing the results of his experiments.

Thank you, Jim, for your contribution.

Jim's comments:

The 510-Pyro/Tri-X combination at EI 1600 produces surprisingly small grain for a two stop push. In addition it held the highlight detail and the shadow detail extremely well. A very effective two stop push is easily attainable with this combination.

Film: Tri-X 400
EI: 1600
Format: 120 Medium Format
Developer: 510-Pyro
Dilution: 1:100
Time: 18:00
Temp: 20C/68F
Agitation: Rotary
Presoak: 3 minutes water presoak
Fixer: TF-4


When pushing to EI 800 the following time and dilution have been working well:

Film: Tri-X 400
EI: 800
Dilution: 1:100
Time: 11:00
Temp: 20C/68F
Agitation: Rotary
Presoak: 3 minutes water presoak
Fixer: TF-4




Saturday, March 6, 2010

A New Scanner!


Julia and I have a new scanner, and she is working diligently to scan our archive of negatives and prints. The scanner is the bottom of the line Epson 4490, retailing for $149. It wil scan 35mm and MF negatives and prints up to 8x10. Julia has never scanned a negative before, so she's a good tester of the scanner's user-friendliness. This image is from Julia's first ever negative scan, and is not cropped, adjusted or edited in any way.

Film: Arista EDU 100
Developer: 510-Pyro
Dilution: 1:100
Time: 7:30
temp: 70F
Agitation: 10 sec/minute

Scanner: Epson 4490
Resolution: 300dpi