Black & White film processing

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I am interested in beginning to learn how to develop my own black and white photos. I have been reading about film processing, but have many questions. What I am interested in starting with is 35mm B&W shots of landscapes and architectural structures. I would like to know what would be a good place to start regarding types of film, paper (fiber-based or RC), developer, stop bath and fixer to use. All specifics are greatly appreciated.

What are your thoughts on using AFGApan 100?

Thanks for your help!

-- John Han (Johnhan@webtv.net), August 04, 2001

Answers

APX100 is a very good film to start. Develop it in Xtol 1:1 and observe the results.(rodinal 1:50 is not bad too, but for 35mm I like XTOL more). For architectural purposes, I'd recommend Ilford's Delta 100 (it's sharper, but less contrast), also in XTOL 1:1. Paper: I like FB more, but it's more tricky to handle, but easier to tone. Use for starters Ilford's MG IV (RC), M44 (pearl matte).

I uniformly develop my prints in Agfa Neutol WA. I use a citric acid signal stopbad, and Agfa Agefix Rapid fix. Otherwise follow the link I posted 2 threads below, "Beginner"

good luck

-- Marc Leest (mmm@n2photography.com), August 04, 2001.


The easiest and in my opinion the best developer for Agfapan 100 is Agfa's own Rodinal (sometimes Xtol fails completely without notice). Use it at 1:50 dilution. It lasts for years in the original bottle.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), August 04, 2001.

Film and paper recommendation depends on what kind of image you want. For my personal preference (rich shadow and bright midtone and highlight contrast) I recommend TMX in Ilford Microphen 1+1. I use Agfa Multicontrast Premium most of the time. In contrasty scene, you may have to burn in a lot, but you'll get good local contrast and rich details in both shadow and highlights.

One of the previous post mentioned that FB papers tone better. That's generally true but this Agfa MCP tones very well.

Another reason I like Agfa MCP is its very bright paper base. Excellent for landscapes, although not ideal for some portraits. (However, I like it for portraits with some toning, although toning won't change the base color.)

I don't recommend citric acid stop bath. Citric acid has fairly strong acidity, and if you make it weak to prevent pH from going too low, then the bath dies quickly. For film, use fresh plain water and agitate well for 1 min. For paper, use either acetic acid + sodium acetate buffered stop bath (like Sprint Block stop bath) or boric acid stop bath (50g boric acid in 1 liter of water - it may need warm water or long time to dissolve). Boric acid is a bit more costly but gives off no odor.

I strongly recommend Ilford Multigrade Rapid Fixer. Excellent stable process in short time, good processing capacity, easy to wash off fixer, good availability, low cost, low odor, etc. It smells but not as much as most other fixers. Unopend bottles are good for a few years so stock up if your local stores don't carry it.

More details can be found in my earlier postings in this forum.

Finally, these are what I use after some years of personal research and experiment, so not just "a good place to start" but also choices you might like and stick with for years (although film, film developer and paper strongly depend on your preference of image qualities).

-- Ryuji Suzuki (rsuzuki@rs.cncdsl.com), August 05, 2001.


For a complete neophyte, my recommendation would be:1)Take a basic photo class from your local high school or college. Your learning curve will be greatly increased, and you will have a good foundation for going further. 2) Pick one good film (it doesn't matter what it is, just don't change it till you are sure you know how to get it to perform to your satisfaction.) Any of the major manufacturers produce marvelous film. 3)Pick a Standard developer from one of the majors, and use it till you know its characteristics. The same goes for darkroom chemistry, papers, etc., etc. Everyone has his/her own opinion, but learning to use what you have, or know will result in better work and more satisfaction overall. It doesn't matter what you use.

-- Carl Crosby (humminboid@aol.com), August 06, 2001.

I highly recomend the response previous to mine. I took a class at the community college in my area concernig B & W photography and got utterly hooked! I loved it, and there were soooo many different things to learn. Taking a class helped me to sort out the details, and not only learn to process my own film and prints, but helped me to take better pictures.

I recomend the Kodak products, film, processing chemicals and paper, as I have found them to be most consistent in quaility. I've tried Ilford, and Forte papers, and they seem to be a bit trickier to work with. I like them now, but as a beginner, it is easiest to pick one brand, get used to it, and get good at it, before you wander into other varieties.

-- Jamie Leonhard (jambilee@juno.com), August 24, 2001.



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