Focusing. Soft prints why!

Ilford FP4+, Iso 125, developed in ID11
Printed on Ilford paper

There are reasons for your photographs to be out of focus. If we assume that the negative was sharp when it was exposed, it could be if you are using a glassless negative carrier that the negative may have popped and requires refocusing. Another cause is vibration, you need to make sure that you are not knocking the enlarger when you are exposing. If the enlarger is mounted on an uneven surface or rickety table this will not help nor will living near a main road with lots of heavy traffic.

If when looking at the photograph it looks  blurred, it has not been focused properly. You can cure this by using a focusing negative. To make one you need a negative of no value as you will have to scratch the emulsion in several places. It is simply a case of placing this negative in the enlarger and focusing until the scratches are razor sharp. Alternatively you can use a special focuser.

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