Mid 70 development and quality issues

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Hi All

It's getting to be summer soon and that means warm weather in New England. I just got back into photography and I have used the temperature of 68 degrees with practiacally all the procesing solutions. This gets tiring since cooling down take a long time and the coldest water is at 72 ro 78 during those times. When it gets this way I use ice cubes in the water before adding the chemistry, then when the temp hits 66 the ice cube comes out, then I draw out some of the water that may have melted, then I pour in the chemical, then reheat the beaker until the extra two degrees is there.

I'm wondering if it is possible to get away with developing in the 72 to 78 degree region and still maintain the quailty of a 68 degree developing time?

Another issue I have is as I have started to get back into photography and mixing carefully and exposing correctly, I'm not getting the right quality when I print. I'm getting sort of a mottled, grainy-patched, uneven tonality, something I never had happen the last time I had processed black and white. Coming from a 120 roll I expected to see smoother tones than this. It's like the consistancy part of processing isn't looking consistent no matter what measures I take to control it.

I'm using tri-x pro 120 rated at 200 with HC-110 dil b at 5:30 at 68F, and ilford paper. Maybe it could be that some of my materials are old, but their not too old and they have been kept in cool places. The only thing that was slightly aged was the dektol, all other solutions were fine. Print development was fast. less than 10 seconds for the image to come up. My prints have ok shadows with detail and ok highlights with detail but they do not look right. I'm on a strict budget and I'll have to work with what I have.

My goal is to be a professional photographer someday and I know this cannot continue like this. I wish I can get the consistancy going again.

Last thing, are there any organizations that aid in artists trying to start up to be a photographer? I haven't found anyplace yet, have been searching in the past but was unlucky.

Thank you all for your time in reading this letter.

Robert D.

-- Robert D. (rjphoto120@aol.com), June 10, 2001

Answers

Robert, There should not be any significant difference if you develop your film at somewhat higher temperatures. Popular belief suggests a slight quality loss--less smooth tonality and increased grain--but in practical terms, if you process at 75 degrees instead of 68, you should not have any problems. Naturally, you have to make the appropriate adjustment in processing times. I use PMK developer in the summer at temps as high as 80 degrees with no apparent repercussions.

My impression, from what you described in your email, is that the cause of your problems may be attributed to old or exhaused fixer. Everything else you described sounds fine to me, so that is where I would look. Try mixing up a new batch of fixer and see if that doesn't correct the problem.

Lastly, I wonder why you've chosen Tri-X Pro? There are so many superior films, I wonder about that choice. Also, while the venerable HC-110 is still a propular developer, there are many choices which produce superior results.

The most propular developer among fine art photographer these days is PMK. I've used it extensively with formats from 35mm to 4x5 and I'm still astounded by the combination of tonality, acutance and fine grain. It's a bit more troublesome to use than the typical commercial developers, but well worth the effort. You can buy PMK from The Photographer's Formulary (http://www.montana.com/formulary/). They sell it in liquid and power kit forms. You should also buy their alkaline fixer, TF-4 if you use PMK. If you want to save money, you can find the PMK formula on the web (http://unblinkingeye.com/) and order the necessary chemicals to mix your own. It is very inexpensive to use--$50 in chemicals should last you years.

As for films, it's tough to beat Ilford's HP5+. Rate it 250-320 and develop it for 12-13 minutes at 70 degrees in PMK. You'll be joyously impressed, I assure you. Ted Kaufman

-- Ted Kaufman (writercrmp@aol.com), June 10, 2001.


You don't say how old your materials are, but I've had subtle quality problems with paper that's even 1-2 years old. Now I try to buy in smaller quantities and more often. Do a complete end-to-end check of your process- thermometers, enlarger illumination and alignment, cleanliness of lenses, light leaks, the works! Email me if you'd like a writeup on the subject. Personally, I'd start out with some HP-5+ or FP-4+ and something like D-76, though HC-110 dil B should be fine too.

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), June 10, 2001.

Im my opinion there is nothing wrong with Tri-X, it is still a great looking film. However, it is even better with PMK! Try it out.

You can process film sucessfully at a wide varity of tempertures. PMK and TMax are generally recommended at 75 degrees. 80 is not out of question for PMK, but I would be wary with others at that temperature. You need to be sure that you are correctly compensating for the temperature changes and that your temperature is not drifting to much during processing.

I agree that you may have fixer problems. Are you toning your prints? This can also cause problems it your fixer is not right. If you make two prints from the same negative, at the same time, do both exhibit the same mottling pattern? Does it match exactly? This will help us narrow the problem.

-- Ed Farmer (photography2k@hotmail.com), June 11, 2001.


I recently developed Tri-X in HC-110 at 80 degrees, and it came out fine. Here in New Orleans tap water hits 90 degrees. Reticulated Tri- X has a very interesting look, but is probably not the best for every situation!

-- John Fleetwood (johnfleetwood@hotmail.com), June 11, 2001.

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