Adox art series to be developed in PMK pyro.

Adox art series CHS 100. ISO 100

It has been a long time since I mentioned that I was going to do a test development using PMK Pyro on Adox  CHS 100 art series. What with the weather being unseasonally wet and other things getting in the way I have not been able to do the test exposures. I prefer to take the pictures outside on a bright day without fast moving clouds. Something that has not been forthcoming. The light level needs to be constant for the eighteen frames it takes to produce three test strips of two F numbers over and two F numbers under the metered reading. 

I'm pleased to say that the other day, weather and time to expose the film coincided which has resulted in a film waiting to be developed. Something that requires a spare four hours to do whether all in one go or over several days. See Agfa test formethod.

Zero pinhole camera Project double take.



Camera Zero 6x9 delux
FP4+ 120 format, 6x6 neg,
 developed in PMK Pyro no afterbath,
Printed on silver proof paper gloss
Developed in Moersch 6 blue tone.

My attitude when using the Zero camera has become very relaxed. My approach is to look at the scene, roughly point the camera at the subject, take a light reading, calculate the exposure and open the shutter for about the right amount of time. Once taken move on to the next one. I'm not sure if this is such a good thing as I'm making a number of double exposures, which have turned out well more from luck than design.

Camera Zero 6x9 delux,
FP4+ 120 format, 6x6 neg,
developed in PMK Pyro with afterbath
printed on silver proof paper matt
 developed in Ilford warm tone

This has led to project double take but lets be honest basing an idea on a set of lucky mistakes does not bode well for the results. But then history is littered  with stumbled upon ideas that have gone well. With this in mind I'm going to carry on with the blindfold method of not winding on. I could be more controlled by making single shots and then combining the negatives in the enlarger to produce a double exposure but  this may take away the element of surprise and randomness to the results. With that said there needs to be some planning to the picture taking, so I'm going to use a location I know quite well in order to make the combination of double exposures easier to plan cutting down time looking for shots. It will be hit and miss anyway with this approach but hopefully not so many misses. The first roll is going to be a bit of an experiment so I'm not expecting many good printable photographs. But in this context what is going to be a good picture I think it will boil down to how well the combinations work together; once the first film is developed I'll be able to refine my method.

I'm setting the zero 6x9 deluxe to 6x6 neg size, loading FP4+ which will be developed in PMK Pyro using my revised method of inverting with an after-bath. I may not continue the bath for subsequent rolls if the photos look to soft. And so the project begins.

Silverproof paper

This is the second run of budget priced paper marketed by Silverprint and has a matt finish. The first run was gloss. I have used the later and was impressed with the photographs it produced. With its grades being limited to two I was not put off.

Ilford FP4+,120 fromat 6x6 negative, Developed
in PMK Pyro and printed on
Silverproof paper Matt.

I originally purchased the gloss paper for contact prints and didn't really take much notice of how well they were being produced until I obtained a 12 x 16 slottie (Nova paper processor. which was the dirtiest bit of kit I have ever purchased second hand, a story for another post). The silver proof paper was the largest sized paper I had on the shelf and I was  impatient to see how well this new piece of kit worked. I was surprised by the tonality of the paper which lead me to make a series of photographs. It is a shame it was a limited retail run. It will missed.

Then a second batch was announced on Matt paper, which is a finish I'm not a fan of, but I'm always happy to try something new. This will also be a limited retail run, so if matt is your preference get some boxes in while you can.

Ilford FP4+ 120 Format 6x6 negative, Developed
in PMK Pyro and Printed on
Silverproof paper Matt.

The paper is completely different from what I'm used to. It is difficult to tell which is the emulsion side in the darkroom but with a little practice, the back has a slight  fibre feel to it which takes a time to get the hang of. First impressions are good, the photographs remind me of the cover page to Black and White Photography magazine in the way it looks and feels but has a depth to it that ink cannot replicate. It also does not have that richness of tone you get with gloss papers. Having said that, I like the difference and  expressiveness  it gives to the pictures it produces.   

Ilford FP4+ 120 format 6x6 negative, Developed
in PMK Pyro and printed on
Slverproof Paper Matt.

The pictures that complement this post were developed in a warm tone developer from Ilford with the enlarger set at grade two, initially it was set  at  grade three but I found that the pictures had to much contrast. On hindsight it may have been better to use an un-toned developer, but then I was not planing to use the proof paper for a full print session. I got carried away after the first test prints and I'm pleased I did.

FP4+ developed in PMK Pyro method update

Zero camera, FP4+ developed
in PMK Pyro

The first permanent change is to go from two inversions every twenty seconds to one every fifteen seconds which is a reduction of two per minute. When I did this I wasn't sure if this would make the density of the negative less, as it turns out it has increased it, making for better toned prints. My conclusion is by decreasing the time between each inversion the developer in contact with the film surface is fresher for longer hence the increase in density. 

Zero Camera  FP4+ developed in PMK Pyro
Pelham bridge road Lincoln

I have also used an after-bath  (only with 120 FP4+) which does change the colour of the film base and seems to make them easier to print and at a softer grade. It has been suggested that the bath can reduce the sharpness of the negatives. Is this reduction noticeable? That's an answer you will have to find for yourselves as  I have only been using it so far with the film that's been exposed with the Zero pinhole camera, which is not known for it's ultra-sharp negative production. I will not be introducing it across the range of other makes of film I develop in PMK. I'm happy with the fine toned negatives it produces and see no reason to add the bath. 

Zero Camera FP4+ developed in PMK Pyro

Those of us who like to go against the mainstream will use it for creative or pictorial purposes but you need to be sure that the grain is sharp across the negative, it may add that extra something you are looking for to the final photograph.









Related posts:

PMK Pyro after-bath
PMK Pyro developer part B
PMK Pyro working solution

PMK Pyro after bath.

I have been developing Ilford FP4+ 120 format in PMK Pyro for ten minutes for quite some time, without an afterbath. With my latest use of this developer I decided to change part of the process, instead of inverting the tank every twenty seconds I changed it to every fifteen seconds to see if this increased the density of the negatives. My reasoning is that previous negatives have looked a bit on the thin side. Yes you are right! I could have increased the developing time but wanted to find out how much influence agitation has on the process.

FG 1
Film FP4+

When changing or adapting a method that works well, it is better to change one aspect of it at a time so that it makes it easier to judge whether it is an improvement or not. So what did I do introduce a re-bath of the film in the developer after the fix. The after bath is part of the full process when using PMK pyro that completes the staining. Up to now I have not felt the need to do this but was curious to see how much stain would be added and if it improves the print quality. I did this for the two minutes suggested which I agitated for thirty-seconds at the beginning and ten seconds one minute later.

FG 2
Film FP4+

There has been a marked difference in the density and the colour of the staining on the negatives. The picture marked Fg 1 shows the negatives developed with the afterbath, they have a yellow-brown look to them. Fg 2 shows negatives without the bath and they have a purplish look to them.

These results would suggest that an increase in agitation has just as much effect if not more on the density of the negative than an increase in the process time. The afterbath also produces a significant change in how much stain is deposited which is supposed to help in making these negatives easier to print. I have found that even without the extra staining I have been producing some wonderfully toned photographs. I have not printed this latest set of negatives yet but hope to do so soon.


Related Posts:

FP4+ PMK pyro method update.
PMK Pyro developer part B
PMK Pyro working solution

PMK Pyro solution part B.

As mentioned in this post the developer is divided into two parts as a stock solution. Part B is the larger quantity of the two and suffers from settlement where the powder comes out of suspension and accumulates at the bottom of the bottle. Before use, you should shake the bottle well so that it goes back to a milky colour. It would seem that the larger the crystals in packet B the more drop out there will be. I have not yet found a method that stops this.

400TX: Agfa APX 400 in Prescysol

I came across this post while looking up a friends blog. It is worth a read as Jeffery Smith makes some interesting points. I must say that my use of the newly released Agfa APX 100 with PMK Pyro has not shown the signs of graininess he refers to with the faster film. But then I'm not sure that the new film is of the same make up as the discontinued one. He also did not say whether or not he used an after bath when processed his films.

400TX: Agfa APX 400 in Prescysol

PMK Pyro a working solution

I am no stranger to making up developers from powders into stock solutions. The first thing you notice is the very small amount it makes up. Next, it comes in two parts and last, the powder needs to be mixed into distilled/de-ionised water ( used for car battery top ups ).

Solution A mixes up as follows:

Pour 80 mls of de-ionised water at room temperature into a measure. Open the packet marked A inside there are two sachets, take the smaller one and mix that in until it dissolves, do the same with the second one. It is important that they go in, in the right order. Make the solution up to a 1oo mls once done pour into a small storage container.

Solution B

Pour 160 mls of de-ionised water at room temperature into a measure. Add the contents of packet B slowly to the water stirring all the time until dissolved. Then top up to 200 mls. Again pour into small storage container.

Some notes:

By the time all the powders are mixed in, the amount of top up will be very small. The distilled/de-ionised water helps it to stay fresh and will keep well in partly filled bottles. Solution B has a bit of drop out and will need to be shaken clear before use. Makes up to 10 litres of working developer.

Freshly made PMK Pyro

Making up a working solution:

A normal mix is as follows,

•   One part A + two parts B to One hundred part of water.

e.g: To make 600 mls of working developer. Measure out 500 mls of water add 6 mls of solution A then add 12 mls of solution B and top off to 600 mls and stir. It is important that they go in in this order.

Notes:

•   When you add part B to the water it will turn a straw colour, if this happens it's OK to use.

•   Working temperature should be 20- 21 degrees C depending on which make of film you are using. You can check this with Digital truths massive dev chart.

Used PMK Pyro
developer.You reuse this at the
end of the process to add extra
stain to the negatives.

•   Prepare everything else before you make up the working developer then use it straight away as it oxidises very quickly.

•   When you pour the developer out at the end of the allotted time the solution will be very dark brown.

•   It is a 'use once and throw away' developer.

•   It is not necessary to re-dip the film in the developer after it has been fixed to increase staining.

•   Make working solution up with filtered tap water.

Agfa APX sorting out the test strips for development..

With the test film exposed it's finding the time to process the strips. I have enough equipment that allows me to develop them one after the other. I will need at least a morning for cutting the film into lengths, setting out the chemicals and kit, develop,stop, fix and wash. Not forgetting that PMK Pyro developer can only be mixed in each case just before use.

The film was inserted into a Nikon F5 with automatic load which is a bit of a pain. If it was manual loading you would be able to mark the film before you shut the back and wind on to the first frame. I know from experience that the F5 has about 150 mm (6") lead before the first frame which would be an extra two shot if it was manually loaded making Agfa's APX a forty picture film. Each test strip is five frames long with two blanks to allow for error when cutting it to lengths of 235 mm (9").

This is the first time I have had to use my new darkroom in full black-out as I usually use a changing bag to load film into the process tank. I'm pleased to say there were no light leaks. So I could see where to cut the film in the dark I laid a rule on the work top with two bits of tape attached to it at 150 mm and 235 mm respectively. All I needed to do was pull the film from the cassette and cut to length at the tape marks. It surprised me how well this method worked. The remaining exposed film I wound back into the film holder to be processed later when I know the development time is right.

My working method for producing the test negatives:

• Add Part A of the developer mix to 250 mls of filtered water (tap water will do) and wait till the temperature reads 21 degrees C.
• Pre-soak for 1 minute. I have found that PMK Pyro developer is prone to air bells/bubbles forming on the film that are not always dislodged by taping the tank on the work top.
• Add part B of the developer and make up to 300 mls in doing this it will bring the temperature down to its working level of 20 C. stir and pour into the processing tank.
• Invert continuously for the first minute and tap tank on work top at the end.
• Invert once ever 15 seconds. For 6.5 minutes.
• Stop, fix and wash as normal.
• Repeat the above twice more with developing times of 26 and 13 minutes respectively.

If all goes well you will get a set of beautifully toned negatives.


Related posts:

Test results

What next for PMK Pyro?

This year I decided to push the boundaries of my black and white film photography with a bit of dangerous living; well, flamboyant then!!. By using three makes of film I have not tried before: Agfa's relaunched APX 100 35mm, Adox CHS 100 35mm and 120, Fuji neopane 400 35mm. All of whom are going to be finessed with PMK Pyro staining developer in to reveling their latent images.

The first of these to receive Pyro's tender kiss is Agfa's APX. I have had a quick look at Digital truth massive dev chart ( thanks guys) and have discovered that the data they hold could be out dated as it is for the original film emulsion. A quick film test (quick! just joking) as described in another post, to check the time and if needed adjust it. I'll be using the suggested dilution formula of 1+2+100 and the 13 minutes as the normal process time for comparison.

It is a fine bright warm day just right to choose a subject and take pictures for the test. Wow! that's the fastest 22 frames I've taken in a long time! So as not to waste the rest of the film I took a walk round the local area to use up the other frames. Film is becoming expensive. Now all I have to do is find the time to process the film.

The results of my first use of PMK Pyro

The results are not faultless. I will come to that later, first I have forgotten to mention that the films being processed are Ilford FP4+, used at ISO 125. 120 format producing a 6x6 negative. Now I'll outline the procedure used.

1. The working solution was made up using filtered tap water at 21 degrees C and poured in straight away.
2. Once the developer was in the tank I agitated it continuously for the first minute.
3. The tank was inverted twice every 20 seconds and tapped to dislodge any bubbles.
4. stopped, fixed and washed as normal.

I did not re-dip the film in the developer after fixing to intensify the staining. This is up to you but I was advised it did not make a noticeable difference.

Whenever I process a film I find that I'm a bit apprehensive as to what the outcome will be, even more so with a new developer! so just before I wash the film I have a little look to see if there is a negative, so far I have not been disappointed.

First impression, once the film was dry I noticed there weren't any water staining marks, that's a bonus. The film base has a slight mauve colour to it which increased in strength slightly with longer development times. The negatives overall were evenly processed. The contact prints revealed that there are dark spots on the neg's which I think may have been caused by air bubbles. I have just processed another film this time I gave it a two-minute pre-soak and there are no black spots on the negs.

To re-cap: Two minute pre-soak, pour developer in and agitate for first minute, then invert tank twice every twenty-seconds, stop,fix and wash as normal. You should get some very very fine grain negs.

I have printed four pictures so far. The first two on Foma 113 variant gloss, F11 grades 2.5 and 3 and they have a cool tone to them. The next two on Ilford multi-grade gloss, F11 grade 2 and 2.5, these have a warmish tone to them. Both papers were developed in Ilford -multi-grade print dev.

The pictures that appear in this post have been scanned from prints and do not convey how well they have printed. These are straight prints with no dodging or burning in. I wanted to show how well the negatives have printed and how evenly they have developed. I will be producing a final print set on FB paper at a later date using a mix of ordinary and warm tone developers.

Will I use Pyro again? Yes! it is likely to become my default film developer. The grain produced by this developer is minut to the point of making it difficult to see when focusing the negative for enlargement. I feel that the twenty-second double inversions of the tank is a bit fraught but I think it will get better the more I get used to it. Without Trevor's advice it may have taken a few more films to get it right. Thanks Trevor!


Other articles from this blog on PMK Pyro

What next?

Agfa test strips.

Working solution

Solution B

After bath

FP4+ development

Adox art 

PMK Pyro raw

Making up PMK Pyro from raw

Adox results

Negative comparison with PMK Pyro

PMK Pyro grain comparison

Rodinal or Pyro which will I use.

I was first introduced to Pyro by Trevor Crone when he mentioned it in a post on the film and darkroom users forum a year or so ago. I purchased a packet of the developer shortly after from my favorite supplier Silverprint. It has sat on the shelf gathering dust waiting for a suitable project.

The worst weather in over a hundred years postponed my trip into London to stock up, leaving me without any of my default developer Ilford ID11. The deluge of snow had revived a project started in the last snows at the beginning of 2010. I was starting to build up a back log of exposed film. I like to develop used film straight away. I had two developers on the shelf that could produce enough developer for the job, Rodinal or Pyro, I plumped for Mister Hutchens PMK pyro partly because it was a staining developer and it may bring something extra to my pictures of the snow.

Related post:

First use of PMK Pyro.

What next for PMK Pyro.

Agfa APX sorting out the test strips

Agfa APX test results

PMK Pyro working Solution

Solution B PMK Pyro

PMK Pyro afterbath