Adox in PMK Pyro results.

Test stips at twenty and ten
Minutes

The results are in! This has turned out to be one of the most exasperating tests to date. There have been problems all along the way from getting the exposures right to developing the film. Having said that there have been some surprises.

As with the Agfa test the film was exposed at box speed ISO 100 in the Nikon F5. This is where the process changes apart from the test method. The PMK Pyro used was one I made from raw material that did not include EDTA disodium in the mix and a reduced amount of Sodium Metaborate in solution B.

Sequence of development:

●         Pre-soak - it makes no difference with this film. It is not prone to air bell/bubbles sticking to the film.

●         Developer - to be made up immediately before use at 21 degrees C.

●         Development times - for this test were 5, 10, and 20 minutes respectively.

●         Tank inversions - continuously for the first minute and then once every fifteen seconds.

●         Stop, Fix and wash - as normal.

●         After bath - was not used and would have made little difference with this mix.

Notes:

Adox CHS 100 PET 35mm is not like other black and white film it has a noticeable thinner film base which is coloured blue. The cassette this film came in was not light tight which almost ruined the test. I only discovered this after the film had been exposed, when removing the film from the cassette it fell to bits. I have read a forum thread saying that the 120 roll film has the same problem. Adox you need to up your game! It is appalling quality control.

Pre-soak water after use

If you use a pre-soak the water will come out blue.

The ten minute development time is the one suggested by Digital truth, which made it the reference time the other test strips were to be judged against.

Results

All the test strips including the one thats a no show.

The test strip to show the best density of negative is the twenty minute one, having said that they are still a bit on the thin side. This does not take away from the fact that they are fully toned and well defined. There is no sign of grain when enlarged to 485 mm (19”) by 340 mm (13.5”). When printing the negatives I'm having to use grade three, normally I would expect to be using grade two, this could be due to the lack of EDTA in the mix of Pyro used. I'm also disappointed that the five minute test strip shows no negatives at all, from previous experience the shorter/half development times have a faint out line. In this case I can only put it down to the faulty film cassette. The ten minute test strip is very thin when compared to the Agfa test strips it is thinner than the half development time. Which suggests that normal development in this case should be greater than twenty minutes.

Over sized enlargment

With all the time and effort put into this test the last thing I was expecting was to be let down by bad manufacture. Of the thirty six exposures on the film around about  ten frames are unaffected by some light damage luckily the majority of these are from the test exposures that put in an appearance. If there was going to be any question marks I was thinking it would be from the developer but it did not disappoint, the only thing to note was when i poured it from the developing tank it was a lovely pink rose colour.

Will I be using the film again? Yes! only because I have a roll of 120 on the shelf if the negatives show any light damage then I will not use it again. How can I say that when I use a lot of out of date film? With out of date film at least you know that the results could be iffy. You don't expect it from new in date stock.

Used PMK Pyro.

Making up PMK Pyro from Raw.

This is the first time I've mixed a developer from scratch. I find when  preparing for something that is new, it seems to take an inordinately long time to set up. This has been no different and I can understand why more people do not mix for themselves.

Before you start.

If you have just purchased new scales it is a good idea to check how accurate they are. First thing to do is place the scales where you plan to make up the mix and zero them.The table that follows is a simple and affective way of checking the accuracy.

These weights came from the royal mint:

Coin test

        ●         1p – 3.56 grams.

●         2p – 7.12 grams.

●         5p – 3.25 grams.

●         10p – 6.5 grams.

●         20p – 3.0 grams.

●         50p – 8.0 grams.

●         £1 – 9.5 grams.

●         £2 – 12 grams.

An alternative to using scales is the Twenty P mix. This is where twenty p coins are used as a counter balance to weighing out the powders. While talking about alternative ways of measuring out you can use measuring spoons. This could be a more reliable way of ensuring that each mix is consistent. If you measure out the chemicals with number of spoons it will not matter that the powders have changed in volume by absorbing moisture or drying out.

With the checks out of the way what next? How much are you going to make up as stock solution? I know from previous use that it will keep for a very long time, even years. I personally prefer only to have small amounts of developer on the shelf ready for use. This is partly because I use several different film and paper developers.  Anchells Darkroom Cookbook  suggests that you make up part A at 750 mls and part B at 1400 mls; well that is a large amount for a first mix not only that what happens if you get it wrong  or heaven forbid it does not work. Luckily Trevor Crone has published the weights for a smaller amount:

Solution A to make 250mls:

●         Metol 2.5 grams

●         Sodium metabisulphite 5.0 grams.

●         Pyrogallol 25.0 grams.

Solution B to make 500mls

●         Sodium Metaborate 125 grams.

Stock solution should be made up with distilled/de ionised water. EDTA-disodium is an optional ingredient It adds gold tone to the silver of the film.

Trevor suggests a reduction of 10 grams for solution B to help combat separation when mixed. He has also said that to his knowledge it has not affected the quality of his negatives.  I can confirm the drop out is reduced but I think this is mainly due to the reduction of powder. Although these quantities are more reasonable  I made my batch up at half these weights.

Other bits

Paper cup cake holders are a good idea for pouring the powders into when it comes to measuring out but they will only cope safely with small weights. You can get plastic cups to do the job which maybe a better route to take if you plan to mix all your own chemicals.

Common sense should prevail when it comes to measuring out these powders. Gloves and a breathing mask should be the minimum safety precautions taken. If the powder gets air born it will irritate the lining of your nose. Also if you get it on your hands it  will irritate or burn your skin. So please be sensible.  

Adox CHS 100 Pet ISO 100 35mm flim.
Developed in PMK Pyro,
Printed on silverproof paper,
Developed in Ilford warm tone.

Having purchased all the ingredients to mix it myself, is it more cost affective? The over the counter premixed price of PMK is about £9 for 10 litres. The cost of all the ingredients is around £39. The batch that I made up  was equivalent to ten litres and saved about 50p. Taking every thing into account scales, time, safety etc. etc., it may not be worth all the trouble and money as a one off. There are advantages to this method such as the flexibility of making up the quantities of developer, stop and fix you require and being able to try out other developers you would not normal be able to get from the mainstream. The main purpose for me was to ensure a ready supply of PMK Pyro. Now that I have started down this road as my stop,fix and other developers run out they will probably be replaced with powdered formulas.

Acknowledgements and Thanks to the following:

Paul C, for the royal mint weights. 

Mr S. Nichols for the 20 P mix.

Trevor Crone for the reduced PMK Pyro mix.

The Focus finder.

This is a wonderfully simple piece of darkroom equipment. Basicly it is a magnifying glass and mirror. It provides the user with the optimum sharpness for the enlargement by focusing on the grain of the negative. 

Also known as a grain magnifier it rests on the masking frame where it diverts a small amount of light from the projected negative to your eye as you look through the small magnifying lens. With one hand on the focusing control of the enlarger you gently turn the knob until the grain becomes sharp in the mirror. This translates to a sharp image at easel level; to maintain this accuracy a piece of waste photographic paper should be placed in the masking frame with the magnifier on top. It is easiest to focus on the grain with the enlarging lens set at its widest aperture and then re-checked at the working aperture. To make sure that the focus has not changed. 

Some focus finders can only be used in the central area of the projected image. This is because the angle of the light is more severe at the edges and corners. If you wish to check these areas to make sure that the whole negative is in focus you will need a magnifier that allows for this with a wider mirror and tilting aim.

Post cards from the Humber!

Recently I teamed up with my wifefor a bit of an experiment and road trip. I loaded the Olympus mju compact with a roll of eight years out of date colour film. The idea was to share the camera between us taking pictures as we went along. Once the roll was finished I took it in to be developed at snappy snaps. No special instructions were given. The results speak for themselves. What if the film had been blank? Notch it up to experience and move on. Wouldn't it have been a waste of time and money? No! we still have the memories of an afternoon well spent, plus we had the 'mystery' to look forward too!

 

Light meter.

The weather has been great this past week and not one to pass up such a rare opportunity I have moved my office to the end of the garden where it is shaded  by some silver birch trees. If it was not for the shade I would not be able to see the computer screen.

As you know from previous posts I have become quite smitten with my Zero 6x9 deluxe camera. It's lack of through the lens metering! Your right no lens, I have had to revert to using a hand held one. NO! I'm not going to take another camera with TTL with me. Why load myself down, believe it or not even with a tripod it is lighter than my standard kit. Besides I don't need the light readings to be that spot on especially when needing to account for reciprocity.

While writing this I'm joined by a baby starling. It looks like the one I saved from the jaws of the cat the other day. The bird seems happy for me to be here as he/she walks up to and around the chair I'm sitting in looking for local delicacies. It appears I'm the last thing it needs to worry about.

Two types of hand held light meter

I have two types of meter to choose from they are tried and trusted run of the mill units. The oldest one uses a selenium cell which is a type of photovoltaic / solar cell. When the front of the meter is exposed to the light it produces a small current which moves a needle that indicates how much light there is. This type of meter is batteryless but one of the down sides is in low light situation it requires a certain light level to read accurately.

The other light meter is a CdS unit or Cadmium Sulfide cell that has a greater low light sensitivity. This light meter works by regulating the energy in the battery rather than producing a current as in the former. With this type of meter it can suffer from drifting this is where the meter has been shown a bright light temporarily making it blind. The cell has a memory and can fool you into thinking the level of light has not changed. It is a good idea to let the meter read the scene for several seconds to make sure it has read it properly.

Note the starling casting a
critical eye over the
photographs.

Todays meters do not suffer from this they use silicon blue or gallium arsenide photocell coupled to a memory chip  so are unlikely to have a time lag in changing light conditions.

My light meters are general purpose, they read reflective light from a fairly large area of the subject which is about 30 degrees. They round this reading to an average of 18% ( a mid grey) no matter how dark or bright the scene is. This is where the zone system ( See Ansel Adams The Negative for more info) comes into its own or a system of your own to allow for it. I have my own method that works well with a little bit of intuition thrown in. Well! Most of the time.

Since writing this my CdS light meter has passed away. It will be missed.

Pyro PMK Raw what is needed

I have been purchasing PMK Pyro as a set of pre-mixed powders just like ID11 and D76. Two of the most popular mass produced powdered film developers; just add water and away you go. Recently I have needed to replace my stock of PMK developer so went to Silverprint my regular supplier to replenish the stock, only to be told that they no longer did mixed batches for sale over the counter. They advised me they stock all the ingredients for self mixing. This took me aback, several expletives entered my head (which were not expressed) what was I going to do! I have a number of tests planned for developing other makes of film let alone the projects on going.

Raw chemicals to make up PMK Pyro

I raised the question on the film and darkroom forum and after the responses  came back (thank you all) I decided to buy the individual ingredients; it is quite expensive to set up, partly due to the way the powders are sold but should make it cheaper over time. This raised the thought of making up all the chemicals I used in the darkroom from powder, meaning they will be as fresh as possible at the point of use. 

What will you need? To start with a set of scales, they do not have to be that expensive but should be able to read very small amounts. The relevant powdered chemicals which are, Metol, Sodium Bisulphite (Sodium metabisulphite), Pyrogallol, EDTA di-Sodium (optional) and Sodium Metaborate (Kodalk).

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.

Light striped prints

Another printing fault is light pollution known as fog. This is assuming it hasn't happened in the camera.

The dark line you see running up this picture
 it the result of light
getting to the light sensitive material. Fogging .

●         It Could be where stray light from a darkroom not properly blacked out has found its way to the light sensitive side of the the paper you're using.

●         Your safe light is too close to the enlarger and or the wrong colour.

●         It can also happen if your enlarger leaks light when being used.

●         Badly stored and out of date paper can also be fogged.

The causes of these faults, also point to ways of curing them. This post suggests a way of detecting light induced fog.

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.

Processed print faults

Exhausted Developer

With all the processes that need to go well when producing a print in the darkroom it is surprising that faults are not more common. Even so the odd  one comes along to de-rail a good printing session. It does not matter how experienced you are sods law trips us all up!

Exhausred stop

Here are some of the most common faults: 

●         Chemical fingers - this where odd irregular marks appear on the finished print usually at the edges. Make sure your hands are free from chemical contamination and dry before you handle photographic paper.

●         Exhausted developer - fails to produced a full image once it has reached its completion time.

Exhausted Fix

●         Wrongly diluted developer - produces faint grainy image. A bit like the above.

●         Exhausted stop - leads to a purple tone to the white areas of the print.

●         Exhausted fix - the slow brownish toning of the finished print in day light.

Related Posts:

Prints to hard or to soft.

High contrast

What are the signs that a print has been printed to hard? The shadow areas are jet black with no detail and the highlights are blank  (the contrast is to great). Assuming that the negative being printed shows none of these traits then it can be corrected by the following:

●         Use a softer grade of paper.

●         Make sure that the exposure time is correct.

●         The paper is in the developer for the right amount of time.

●         Don't use a high contrast developer.

Low contrast

What signs make a soft print? It looks grey and foggy with little punch. No contrast. In this case it is almost the opposite to the above.

●         Use a harder grade of paper.

●         Increase the developing time. If the development time is to short it may cause cloudy spots.

●         Make sure the developer is not too diluted.

●         Also check that it is not exhausted. 

There are other possibilities:

●         Your darkroom may not be light tight fogging the paper creating an overall grey cast.

●         The paper maybe to old or has not been stored properly. 

Once you establish what the problem is, the cure will speak for it's self.

Related posts:

Evaluating your test strips
Darkroom fog.

Dust, dust and more dust.

Dust! Don't you just love the way it manages to settle on to your equipment just as you make that all important exposure? The more you fiddle about picking every speck off, those bits 'standing in the wings' charge in at increasing speed  towards  your lens, negative and light sensor; so begins a  never ending battle fought everyday over the same territory! Should someone   come up  with a device that will send those particles packing you'll feel your prayers have been answered.

 

Welcome the Zerostat gun! one shot and those pesky particles are de-charged and falling from your lens etc. But come on! Can this really be true? Well No! after a few days of using this device I discovered that it attracted more dust than ever before! It was a nice idea while it lasted. Needless to say that this pistol has been consigned to history.

Really the only way to keep these little white specks from appearing on your final pictures is to be methodical in your approach. Checking your camera, lenses and enlarger regularly. But before you start this process it is a good idea to de-charge yourself by touching something that is earthed this will take the static out of your body and stop to some extent the static building up in the item you are trying to de-dust. Whatever you do don't use a cloth to clean your film strip, the static this induces will attract every bit of hair and dust in the universe turning it into a hair ball. If this happens its time to find another negative to print. I find that a puffer brush and a Kinetronice antistatic whisk brush work the best- in most cases removing the particle/s and hair in one go without a lot of fuss. Less fuss means more pictures printed with less spotting once the photograph is dry.

 

Remember never touch the bristle of your brush with bare fingers this will transfer microscopic particles of grease which will then be deposited to whatever you are trying to clear, making the job more difficult and in the case of old lenses will attack the coating.

A favorite photograph.

Taken at the grand Prix de I'A.C.F.

Like a lot of people I enjoy watching the Grand Prix. By coincidence one of my favorite pictures is by the turn of the century french photographer Jacques-henri Lartigue.

He took this picture while he was still quite young. It is one in a series of a 169 shots taken at the Grand Prix de I'A.C.F. using the comparatively large Ica reflex camera with Zeiss 1:4.5 150mm lens onto a 3 1/2" x 4 1/4" glass negative it had a top mounted focusing screen and a focal plan shutter, it is this set up that accounts for the elliptical shape of the wheel. For me it is the feature that conveys the excessive speed the car is travelling more than his panning of this heavy camera to emphasize the rate of progress.. Originally he thought this picture was a failure because he had not been able to capture the whole car in the frame. This is the other part of the composition that adds to the sense of great speed. It is one picture I do not get tired of looking at, I always wonder what it would have been like to stand there as these early cars thundered by.

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

Deliberate distortion.

The enlarger is not there just to correct distortion but to add it as a compositional tool, in some cases to comic effect. The most obvious way of producing this is to bend the paper by clamping it between two blocks in a convex or concave shape. Double curves are possible. Remember the effect  aperture has on the depth of field and allow for it by using a larger F number to compensate and don't lose sight of the fact you will need to use dodgers to adjust the relative exposure.

This is Johnny from Fifth gear doing his piece to camera
about the re-launch of the Larda 4x4.

Agfa APX, iso 100, developed in PMK Pyro,
printed on Ilford paper 

Schaimpflug's rule.

This is the rule on tilting the easel and carries on from my last post.  The most accurate way of correcting distortion is to use Scheimpflug's principle: This states that you should tilt the negative as well as the baseboard and that they need to be canted over in opposite directions to each other. Additionally the incline should be such that the plane of the negative and the plane of the baseboard should meet in the plane of the aperture to give maximum sharpness over the whole image. 

You will find that the more expensive enlargers allow the plane of the negative to be tilted, add a tilting easel to the mix and the results produced can be remarkable.

Related posts:

Tilting the easel.

Tilting the easel

Is mainly used for correcting those converging verticals in pictures of buildings. The reason you get sloping upright lines is because the camera has not been held vertical to the view.  View cameras (large format) are the only cameras that can keep the film plane vertical and look slightly upwards at the same time with out this distortion. You can buy a shift lens which has the same ability or do it in Photoshop.

When enlarging you negative you can correct this by using a tiling easel.  Simply lift the easel by the appropriate amount and rest it on a block. Remember that you need to lift the easel on the side that has the converging lines. When doing this you should set the smallest possible aperture providing the greatest depth of field. When making the enlargement, part of the picture may be lost, it is just a case of cropping the picture to make it square. After processing the exposure may be different between the top and bottom this can be corrected by dodging to even up the overall exposure.

Related posts:

Scheimpflug's rule.

Mirror -image reversal

This is where the film is placed in the negative carrier with the emulsion side upper most obtaining a left right inversion, a mirror image. Negatives suited to this treatment cannot have any writing in them otherwise it gives the game away.

Which one of these images has been reversed?