Massive dev chart App

Digital truth have produced an app for all that wonderful film developing time data they have on their site. Called the Massive Dev chart timer. It has different colored screens so it can be used in the darkroom and will recalculate times for different temperatures.   

Now you can get any combination of  film and developer the heart desires at the touch of a button on your phone. It will cost you £5.99 and comes in Android and Apple flavors.

Basic kit for producing Black and white negatives.

For those who are thinking of processing their own film it can be quite daunting for the first time. If you keep things basic by using popular brands like Ilford and Kodak for film and chemicals not much can go wrong. What people don't tell you is that film like FP4+ is quite forgiving and a good place to start processing for the novice, making it quite easy to get good results.

With the advent of digital the darkroom has become a lightroom with the help of a scanner and changing bag. You no longer have to look for a place in the property that is or can be made light tight.

The basic kit:

Changing Bag: looks like a tee-shirt without a hole to put your head through and is double lined to make sure it is light tight. It will take time too get used to and will require some dummy runs to get the feel of it. Developing tank: there are two types, 35mm and universal. The universal tank will allow you to process 120 format as well as 35mm; you will also need to practice loading the film onto the spiral. Oh! before I forget there are two types of spiral plastic and metal each uses a different Technic to load. I would suggest starting with the plastic type first as it easier to get the hang of. Force film washer: is a tube that fits onto the water tap and into the top of the developing tank. It is for putting water into the tank for the wash cycle. Three measuring jugs that will cope with more than 600 mls of fluid, Chemicals: Developer, Stop and Fix, all come as concentrate or powder and will require mixing with water to get the right working strengths. Spirit thermometer: for checking that the chemicals are at 20 degrees C. Storage containers: of a suitable size will be needed to keep diluted chemicals. Wetting agent: by putting a couple of drops in the developing tank after you finish washing the film and a minute before you take the film out helps to prevent drying marks on the film. Film clips times two: so you can hang the film up to dry and if you place one on the bottom it stops the film curling while drying. An alternative is to use Pegs.

On a personal note.

120 negatives.

Welcome to the blog and thank you to all who have taken the time to read it. First of all, Photo Mitch was a phrase that my friends used to shout at me whenever they wanted their picture taken. In those days I was the only one in the group who went out with a half decent camera and interested enough in photography to do so. Now a days everyone is a budding David Bailey. Who is he?

My Dad introduced me to the wonders of Photography and encouraged me with a 120 format Instamatic range finder, this gave me the freedom to take pictures whenever. It was not until my late teens that I was in a position to buy my first SLR camera that turned out to be a Nikon, this improved my picture-taking skills to a level that allowed me to take on commissions. After some years in the doldrums, my wife encouraged me to take a C&G photography course, which re-ignited my interest for photography.

Featured in Black and white
photography magazine

My photography has been influenced over the years by the art world and artists like Dali, Matisse, Picasso, Andy Warhol. As well as photographers like Fox Talbot for his early pictures, William Egglestone for his get it right in one frame of mind, David Bailey for his belligerence,  Paul Fusco, Henri Cartier Bresson for watching and waiting, Roger Hicks for his no nonsense approach and the architecture of the Art Deco movement for its bold lines. Which makes for a bit of an eccentric attitude to picture making. 

Digital

Having been introduced to film at a very young age I still take a large number of pictures in black and white. This does not mean I shun digital, I use it a lot, it's another format that allows me to express my view of the world. 


I hope what you find posted here interesting and helpful, I know it talks about out dated methods that a lot of people feel should be dead and buried; but it is the foundation to the digital age, with many aspects in common.

This picture was taken on
Zero pinhole camera.

From a personal point of view, blog posts that run to thousands of words make my heart sink no matter how interesting or well written they maybe. I believe that posts should be snippets of information; with this in mind my posts will be shortish if that is possible. Subjects that need more explanation will be done over a series of posts.

The time of year will influence my post rate. Put another way, if the suns out so will I.

A bit of a surprise.

There was a new kid on the block, a brash whipper snapper that goes by the name of Fisheye 2. This little fellow punches above his weight with the quality of pictures he produces. I'm not sure why I am surprised at this. I can only think that my view of the toy camera market has been tainted by the snobbery of professionalism! It is a brilliant piece of kit that allows a further string to the creative bow.

Let's be honest it is not my camera. My wife purchased it because she loves the fish bowl effect it produces when printed. She also thinks that the double, triple and many more exposures on a single frame are awesome. But the main thing is ease of use. 

This can lead to a bit of a dispute over who took what, especially when both of us are using it at the same venue! The only rule, once a film is finished we agree that colour or monochrome film is loaded. My wife prefers colour but more black and white film has been exposed.

Basically it is a point and shoot camera with a 170 degree field of view. With a couple of important buttons the most important as far as my wife in concerned is the little one on the back that allows the shutter to be re-primed for multi exposures and the other on the top right front by the shutter release ( which i think is the most important), this controls exposure the; L position locks the shutter so it is not tripped accidentally; N is the standard setting of 1/100 sec @ F8 and B a bulb setting that allows long exposures.

  

I must admit it's good to get away from all those decisions an SLR brings to the picture taking process. Just concentrating on the composition is  unexpectedly liberating knowing that if it all go's wrong it is a minds eye fault and not a technical one! when it comes to multiple exposures where serendipity influences the mix, some are far better than others.  Nevertheless  always interesting. I felt that I had been taken back in time to the excitement and wonder I experienced with my first camera.

It was a surprise when Elizabeth Roberts editor of  Black and White photography magazine got in touch asking if it would be OK to publish some of these pictures in the portfolio section. An unexpected boost to what has been a bad news year.

These pictures were taken in and around Baton upon Humber area, over a number of visits.  They are a mix of pictures  all made playfully exploiting the advantages of the lens. I had not intended to create a series. It just so happens to be an interesting part of the river Humber with its nature reserves, the bridge and foot path that extends to the estuary.

Three makes of film were used Agfa APX @100 ISO, out of date HP5 @400 ISO and out of date Fomapan 200 @200 ISO all developed in ID11. The pictures have been printed on a number of different photographic papers. The ones that appear in the magazine are printed on silverproof matt. Developed in a mix of Moersch SE6 blue and Ilford warmtone.