Ansel Adams collection of Portfolios

On one of the many trips in to London many years ago I found myself strolling down Tottenham court road which meant that a detour into Foils Books Store was on the cards before travelling on. It was a warren of floors dedicated to the written word. A discombobulation of a place for those that did not know where their category of interest was held. Fortunately for me this was the umpteenth visit and I knew which floor I needed. Needless to say that getting there was an endeavour in it's self.

Onward and upward to the art/photography department on arrival I stopped momentarily to catch my breath, take in the smell of new books and wonder at the sight. Shelf upon shelf almost to the ceiling of publications standing like solders side by side. Titles like faces undulating along the shelf's as you pass. 

I had just dropped in for a look, I had no particular book in mind it was a destination in its own way, away from the frantic streets outside. A moment to feed the mind. As I looked through the sections I came across The Portfolios of Ansel Adams. “That interesting I thought” and flicked through the pages looked at the price put it back on the shelf and moved on looking at and replacing a number of books. It is interesting to note that all the time I was looking at other volumes my mind kept coming back to the Ansel Adams book it had left an impression.

A short time later I was back in the mix of hurrying people in the street with a bag containing the Adams book. I cannot remember why I was in London, where I went next or if I had my camera with me. The only thing I can be sure of is that a tube ride would have been part of my getting home. With a chance to get a proper good look at my purchase. 

Recently the book is off the shelf and on the coffee table waiting for me to re-antiquate myself with Mr Adams images. I don't know what others do but I like to kick back on the couch with a cup of coffee or tea and spend time with each image studying it in detail. In this case putting the book down at the end of each portfolio to come back to another day.

According to the write up in the book these reproduction are as close as you can get to the original photographs. This I can vouch for having compared images with the same pictures that appear in Ansel Adams 400 photographs book.

Looking back I was fortunate to happen upon the collected portfolios book as I do not think I will see an original and or one of his prints in the flesh. But never say never.

This article is the copyright of Mitch Fusco 2022 all rights reserved.

Intermittent visit from the mottle crew bad for negatives

 Up until 2012 I had not experienced any problems with my negatives apart from the problem of water marks. The amount of times prints had been ruined because I had missed one of those dam circles. Life went on, I slowly got the hang of checking for these marks and dust.

Around about the time I started to investigate other developers. Among my group of photographer friends a number of them were talking about PMK Pyro and how it produced super fine negatives with it's staining action. I was told it came in powder form and once made up would last for almost ever.

It became my main developer producing some wonderfully smooth toned negatives and some super smooth prints I was over the moon with the results. That is until a roll of FP4+ produced this mottled affect I was stumped to the cause. The next film I developed was clear of it and so it remained for years. Over time trying a number of different developers along the way without the affect. 

Then all of a sudden three film in a row one FP4+ developed in RO9 and two rolls of Fomapan 100 one in RO9 the other Studional. So it had now't to do with the developer but something common to all three. At the time I traced it to contaminated developing tank and spirals with wetting agent and wrote an article on how I traced it. There will be a link to it at the end. 

The up shot of it was I stopped using wetting agent completely leading to negatives that dry twice as fast and with no water marks. I have been using a soft wet leather to wipe the negatives dry with no ill affects for years. The mottling disappeared as well or did it?

Until recently it is back with a vengeance it has appeared on half a dozen rolls of Fomapan 100. All processed one after the other using HC 110 the difference this time is I know it is not the developer or wetting agent contamination. I was put out only in the sense of its unpredictability I have embraced the mottle as a creative tool and like the affect it has on the photographs produced.

The one bit of information missing so far is that all the affected rolls of film have been 120 format. I went to the film cupboard there was a new unopened pack of 10 Fomapan 100. I opened it and pulled out a roll. Took it out of it's rapper ready to load in the Bronica. What is this? It has the same white silky backing paper as Ilford? Slowly the cogs clanked round.

I still had some from the pack I just processed, what's the best before date? 2018. it would seem you are more likely to get the affect the more out of date the film is. It has also become clear that it is the backing paper casing the mottle. from what I can work out it is the papers expanding and contracting at a different rate to the film base bring into sharp focus how you store the film pointing the finger at big swings in temperature say from fridge to room or freezer to room maybe adding to the increased possibility of it happening. 

On further consideration it maybe also be small amounts of moisture caught between the layers causing the large mottle I have experienced over the years along with the film being out of date. The thing that adds to this idea is the insult of the new Foma backing paper having a hole punched in it leaving a circle on the processed negative.

Once I have used up all my 120 Foma I may not replace it as I cannot trust it not to ruin a good negatives in the future. Which will be a shame as I like to use it with my pinhole camera.

I should not have to add this to the article  the copyright of Mitch Fusco 2022 all rights reserved.

Technical data:

Film I have used that's been affected Ilford FP4+, Fomapan 100, Rollei RPX 400, Agfa 400s. 

All images scanned from photographs.

 It could have been the backing paper all the time and not the wetting agent.  

   Wetting agent contamination link