Recent content by takilmaboxer

Here in New Mexico at 7000 feet, I routinely use an 81A because the light is bluer than at sea level.

I just finished test rolls of Kentmere 100 and 400 in 120. I liked them both. The box speed is realistic, unlike Foma, and the grain is finer. They are only slightly inferior to HP5/FP4, and for the price, they are great. I will say, that Foma 100 has a look all its own, despite the grain.

I was frustrated with the price of LPD, which I have used for years, so I bought some Flic Warm Tone Developer. It comes in a pouch and after mixing produced a coffee-colored stock solution. My first printing session showed it to be way under-active compared to LPD. I am again considering print...

XP2 has a strongly S-shaped response curve. At 400 ASA the exposures are more likely to occupy the bottom of the curve, where contrast is quite high. At 100 they are more likely to occupy the upper part of the curve, with lower contrast. I like to make two exposures with XP2 at both speeds, the...

But in today's world, Tmax etc. are available in sheet formats. If they were capable of medium format performance in 1990, they can do even better in large format in 2024. TM100 in 4X5 - I can't even find the grain with my enlarger loupe. I look for a sharp edge and focus on that.

A slight digression- look at the curves in Post 131, which are normalized to one stop per division on both axes. The nearly straight part of the curve is eleven stops long! We are truly spoiled by these modern films!

While a densitometer is the proper tool for measuring film density, you can use a meter to get an idea of a film's curve, as they usually have one third stop resolution. With 6X6 I fill the frame with a smooth even image, like an out of focus grey card, and place the negative directly over the...

These days we see an unfortunate tendency of people getting info off the Net, rather than doing the tedious work of multiple test shots with different times, developers, etc. In my student days I had a view camera, which made things simpler. I could shoot the same scene three times on three...

It is a misconception that some users think that HP5 is less contrasty than FP4. In fact, development time can be adjusted so that they have the same overall contrast. They will, however, have differently shaped curves, and those curves are affected by the developer choice. That's where the...

What I wanna know, is, when are they coming out with AA edibles cannabis?😉

I have had a similar experience with a succession of my favorite Olympus, the Stylus Epic. I've owned several but the auto focus always fails. These plastic cameras simply weren't designed to last 30+ years.

I agree that most of Mapplethorpe's work was art, and I appreciated it as such, but the issue for me was being able to identify people in the photographs. And, that in today's Internet world, people routinely post content on the Net that include identifiable faces who were not asked for photo...

Many years ago i saw a big Mapplethorpe exhibit with a separate viewing room for the controversial shots. My first thought was "porn" and my second thought was "why would anyone pose for a shot like that?" That was long before today's Internet. Mapplethorpe's models gave permission (he was one...

Where does one find a glass negative carrier ( I have a 45MCRX) in today's world?

I own one. Years ago the film advance jammed; $300 to fix it. One week after the warrantee expired, it broke again. Estimate came out at $500, the repair service said parts are unobtainable. Now I use it as a light meter. Don't waste your money. Great lens on a cheap plastic body.