Which Forum??? Film/Developer Q's

[Seaghn]

To which forum would it be best to address film/deveoper questions?

I aplogize in advance it this is posted in the wrong forum! Being a newbie here, let me know, so I can post in the proper place.

Hi,

I am a photojournalist on a voyage of rediscovery. I stopped making
photographs about 10 years ago. I have recently returned to
photography.

My question is this:

I am doing all of my work in available light. I have a project coming up at Burning Man. I will be working exclusively at night.

I would like to find a film/developer combination that will give me a
very hard edged, mean streets feel to my prints.

I have only seen a similar technical style in Robert Frank's "The Americans".

I know Rodinal will probably help me. But, I'm a little iffy on the films.

I would like to carry a high speed film like Neopan 1600 in my bag.
As well as a good, 400 and 100. I would like uniformity across my
film speeds/types.

I have both duffuse and condensor lights in my enlarger. I prefer cold tone Seagull papers.

I apologize, this is the best I can describe what I'm trying to
achieve in my prints.

I am writing in hopes that someone on the forum will know exactly what I
feel but cannot articulate technically.

No one at the camera shops know what I am talking about anymore in
the digital age. They haven't been able to help me. Even the old
timers are a little perplexed why I want incredible sharpness and
grain, too.

I'm trying to spare myself hours and hours of futile experimentation in the darkroom. I'd rather be out taking pictures!

Thank you for whatever help you may be!

Seaghn Higgins

PS I shoot a Hexar AF.

[back alley]

welcome to the forum. i moved the thread to the darkroom section.

sounds like tri-x in rodinal might be what you're looking for.

or delta 3200 rated at 1000 (some like 1600) and developed in ddx.

others here are more proficient in these matters and i expect some to be along soon.

joe

[Seaghn]

Thanks for moving this to the right forum.

In the old days it was always Tri-X and D-76 with a religious fervor.

Kodachrome 25 and Technical Pan are gone. Same with SuperXX. A lot changes in 10 years...

Now, I am trying to get something a little more intense and angry.

Tri-X and Rodinal is the exact perfect choice for most eveything I do.

The complication being that I would prefer to start with a high speed film pulled rather than medium speed pushed. Of course, I could be taking stupid, too.

After, all this, I will need advice on how to transfer this to d-d-d-digital. (Horrors!)

Hence, my post.

What are peoples experience with Neopan 1600 or TMY 3200?

What about some of these traditional emulsions from JandC Photo?

Remember, I am not looking for warm, smooth results. I am looking for hard, angry results.

But, I would very much like a good spread of slow, medium and fast emulsions.
With some resonable uniformity between the three. A lot to ask, I know...

This really is the coolest photo forum in the universe...

Thanks Always,

Seaghn

[Doug]

I haven't used Rodinal, though it's known for sharpness and "full grain"... and low speeds though, even lower than box speeds usually. For night shots and the "mean streets" I'd think of Tri-X pushed like crazy and developed in Acufine, as I think this is one combination favored at the time. Now that there's such nice fast options as Neopan 1600, Delta 3200, etc, those sound worth exploring. Maybe even with Rodinal to keep the grain itself sharp! Or higher dilutions of HC110... You wouldn't want to use a developer with much solvent effect, that softens the grain...

[dkapp]

I may be able to help a little w/ visual examples. I'm currently testing just about every film type out there, and I generally like results like you..gritty and contrasty.

I recently shot some Neopan 1600 & developed in Rodinol 50:1

Neopan 1600 in Rodinol (http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/31739288-L.jpg)
Neopan 1600 in Rodinol (http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/31739286-L.jpg)

You mentioned some JandC film. I'm currently expirementing w/ the Efke 25 & 100

Efke 25 in D76 (http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/30404255-L.jpg)
Efke 25 in D76 (http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/30404244-L.jpg)
Efke 100 in D76 (http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/30511999-L.jpg)
Efke 100 in D76 (http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/30512000-L.jpg)

I'm working on a lot of different film & processing combinations right now, and its actually pretty fun. If you want to see more, look into my Blog Gallery (http://analog.lifekapptured.com/index.php?x=browse) for more ideas. If you see a look you like, I'm more than happy to give you more info on developing & scanning.

I forgot to add that you can just use the drop down menu to select the film type. I have it all pretty organized by film type & camera. If you want to see more of one typlee of film, just let me know. i have a more that never made it to the blog.

Dave