Film Developer Trials

Yesterday I shot a roll of Ilford B&W HP5 (ISO 400) - pushing it to ISO1600 - using my old 35mm Centon camera (50mm lens).

Today I split the film into three different development tanks and processed each film section with the following developers.

Sink taps - Microphen (fine grain)
Wine bottle - Perceptol (speed-enhanced; not recommended)
Kettle - Ilfotec (general purpose)

These images have been scanned from negative as I didn't have time to complete the prints in the darkroom. I think the differences in the results will be clearer on the prints but, looking at the negatives through the eyeglass on the lightbox, i think I like Perceptol best. Although it's not recommended, I am quite partial to the grainy result that it produces. I will confirm my findings after I produce some prints.

From high above.

I absolutely love the work of Masao-Yamamoto. He prints his photographs onto specialised papers and uses dyes and inks to create the images as though they were paintings.

I aim to, eventually, experiment with papers and dyes but for now I am using Photoshop.

This bird was taken from the spare room window and I cropped the image to include only the very top of the tree and then manipulated it in Photoshop to give the following result.



(I am aware that my framing skills will have to improve dramatically!!!)

Pass me the fork 'n' knife!!

I've not really had much time to do anything lately as I've been toiling away with my college work. The type of prints I'm producing are a bit boring, I'd say, but hopefully they meet the brief (lighting, darkroom techniques, etc).

My neighbours must think I'm crazy as I'm usually hanging around the garden taking odd pictures. I had a funny moment when I was lying sprawled on my stomach on the front path, trying to get a contrast shot of the manhole cover in the drive. A neighbourly couple drove past and slowed down the car. I was about to wave until I realised they had looks of disgust and confusion on their face and had slowed down to try to figure out what I was doing.

Sigh!

The scan doesn't really show the print very well but here is an example of a 'full tonal range' print. I took this shot in the garden (as usual), placing a fork on a stack of slabs. It was originally intended to be my 'high contrast' print but my lecturer helped me to tone it down with a yellow filter on the enlarger. I will have to study the resultant prints to see the differences.



My 'high-contrast' print is of a frost-covered picnic bench on the college grounds. I got funny looks taking this picture also and my fingers were freezing. Such is the hard life of a photographer.



Anyway, I hope they'll be good enough to pass and that I'm forming the necessary knowledge and skill to improve my printing to a far superior standard than what I am currently at.

First Darkroom Print!

I've delayed adding to this blog long enough so now I'm going to inundate you with lots of images. I'll try to take it easy on you....

This first image is scanned from my first completed print in the darkroom at college. The image is of the stones by the water feature in the college courtyard, taken on the first film I was given to shoot with - Ilford 100 - on the college camera (details to follow as my memory is bad and I can't find my notes!!).
The paper is Ilford, resin-coated, multi-grade (glossy) and the magenta filter is up full (175 on the enlarger I was using).