Images rich in grey values With Foma 400

Gast · 2005-09-19T16:02:36+00:00

Hallo alle zusammen, habe vor einigen Monaten angefangen meine Filme selber zu entwickeln und neuerdings auch zu printen. Bin ein Freund von sehr grauwertre...

Gast

Hello everyone, I started developing my own film a few months ago and have recently started printing as well. I’m a fan of images with a wide grey-scale range (the same as: soft gradient?) and good balance. I really like the photograph in the second edition of the 2005 Impex catalogue. My question is, what film stock should I use to achieve this look? I’ve tried quite a few films so far (CHM 400, TriX 400, APX 100, 400...) and always developed them with Rodinal. But the results have never really been that impressive. What about the combination of Foma 400 and ATM 49? I believe this is also the combination used for the ‘catalogue image’. I’d be grateful for any tips, Christian.

Wolf_XL

Hello Christian, There’s little point in trying out one combination after another just because you’re not satisfied straight away. The figures on the processing charts should initially be treated as guidelines for achieving reasonably print-worthy results. Then it’s your turn – first work out what isn’t working for you. Then gradually adjust the development time and ISO setting. As a rule, the ISO specifications are very optimistic or can only be achieved with a few combinations. With Rodinal, for example, I would expose a 100 film more like 64 or 80 ASA and shorten the specified development time. And/or try a higher dilution – naturally with a corresponding adjustment to the development time... In general, I would recommend reading up on the subject so that you fully understand the interrelationships involved in the negative process.

Gast

Hi Wolf, Thanks for your reply. I’ve already realised that I’m not getting anywhere with my current approach. So I’m going to get hold of a batch of the same film (Foma 400) and try to get closer to my ideal result using Rodinal or A49. Is it true that 400 film generally has a softer gradient due to the grain size distribution? I’d be very interested to read more about that. What literature can you recommend? Regards, Christian

Wolf_XL

Hi Christian, Well, I can’t really comment on point 1 – I’ve never heard of that before… In principle, though, you can usually develop almost any film to suit your requirements. On the subject of literature: there are a few standard authors, such as A. Adams or Feininger. But you’ll also find what you’re looking for online – for example, on sw-magazin. The most important thing, though, is to change as few parameters as possible when testing. So always use the same thermometer, always the same temperature, always the same agitation rhythm, and so on. If you can make your development process reproducible, you’ve almost won... I reckon the link above will answer most of your questions – good luck...

Roman

Hello! Trying out loads of films and developers doesn’t actually achieve much, particularly in terms of ‘grey-scale distribution’; it’s more useful for assessing grain size and acutance (which is precisely where Rodinal and A49 differ quite significantly). You’d be better off taking Wolf’s advice – it really does make a difference. Realising that the ISO number printed on the box is completely made up for most developers leads to a quantum leap in image quality for most black-and-white beginners. Almost every film has at least 1/3 to 2/3 stop less speed, or even less, in most developers than stated on the box; as a starting point for your own tests, you should generally expose a 100 film at ISO 64 to a maximum of 80, and a 400 film at 250 to a maximum of 320 (if you want particularly balanced negatives, and if you’re also using Rodinal, you might even need to go lower); at the same time, you should reduce the development times by 15–20%. Just give it a go with the films and developers you’ve been using so far, and it’ll be a real eye-opener... ;)

MirkoBoeddecker

Hi Christian, I took the photo in question in February in Florida at 9 o’clock in the morning under cloudy skies. To be on the safe side, I always ensure the exposure for Foma 400 is at ISO 320 – the film was developed here in-house by our lab technician. What I mean is: in this case, what you’re looking for was down more to the subject and less to the film, because I didn’t do anything fancy – I just used a ‘dead ordinary’ combination, so to speak. But it’s true that Fomapan is relatively soft and handles contrasts well. It’s a relatively forgiving film. In Fomadon LQN, it produces particularly soft results and creates negatives that are very easy to print (though unfortunately they are visibly grainier than with the ATM49). Best regards, Mirko

Gast

Hi Mirko, First of all, thanks for your reply. Is the Foma 400 now back in stock in 135 format? If so, I’ll order a batch of 135, 120 and ATM 49 and have a go with them. Many thanks to everyone else for the tips too!! Best regards, Christian.