Agitation plan - from Minor White

[Bill Burk]

A German cow photographer friend on Threads, Tanya_Kriel, asked how anyone could bear to develop in D-76 1:3 for 19 minutes.

I swear I had a plan. On a green 3x5 card. Can’t find it anywhere.

It’s bad I can’t remember a key number.

But even worse, I can’t find a reference to support that plan.

Everyone knows “Kodak Agitation”, and a key part of that is to agitate for five seconds on thirty second intervals. I have that in muscle memory.

But my plan has always been after a certain time, I switch over to five seconds on one minute intervals.

I want to say it’s fifteen minutes but it might be thirteen.

Does anyone know a reference for the plan, or should I just call it fifteen minutes?

I found vintage green 3x5 cards with notes. This is the set where I tested TMY2 at EI 64 -- a fabulous speed to shoot it at by the way. But the card I’m looking for isn’t in here.

 

[Bill Burk]

Found it

 

[Bill Burk]

Reference: Zone System Manual - How To Previsualize Your Pictures by Minor White. Morgan & Morgan, Inc., New York. Second Edition 1963 pg. 69

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

I tend to use the twiddling stick with my Paterson tanks with gentle twists to and fro for the first minute and then for ten seconds at the start of each of the remaining minutes on the timer.
I have never had any problems with it.
The same with the stop bath and fixer.
I don't use a pre-soak.

 

[loccdor]

For B&W, I generally do every 2 minute agitations for developments taking longer than 10 minutes, and every 30 second agitations for developments taking less than 5. So this has been matching me, information must have gotten to me somehow.

 

[koraks]

Reference: Zone System Manual - How To Previsualize Your Pictures by Minor White. Morgan & Morgan, Inc., New York. Second Edition 1963 pg. 69

Does he mention the rationales for his various schemes?

I know we can easily all list how we prefer to agitate, but the interesting thing going on here IMO is the differentiation in agitation methods depending on total development time. I can see a couple of reasons why this might be done. I also see many, meany considerations that would make those reasons totally unfounded and irrelevant. So I'm wondering if you peel all that off, what core of potential sensibility might be hidden underneath. If any.

 

[Don_ih]

The only reason I can see for the different schemes depending on developing time is the fact that longer developing times will be the result of more dilute developer. Still don't actually see a good reason for it, though - other than to allow you to move around a bit more freely.

 

[Bill Burk]

Does he mention the rationales for his various schemes?

I know we can easily all list how we prefer to agitate, but the interesting thing going on here IMO is the differentiation in agitation methods depending on total development time. I can see a couple of reasons why this might be done. I also see many, meany considerations that would make those reasons totally unfounded and irrelevant. So I'm wondering if you peel all that off, what core of potential sensibility might be hidden underneath. If any.

He did rationalize that standardized agitation plans are to keep films from streaking and must be followed. “Whether such agitation is continuous, at regular or irregular intervals has an effect on the final density in the negative.”

He assumed you were developing one sheet at a time, so his plan III “every other minute” could apply to the whole time.

I was “forced” to rephrase the plan as stages because I developed 12 sheets at once in a Nikor tank. I had decided it needs three “tip overs”, and I start with all sheets in the tank and pull them out as they finish. So the “four minutes” sheet gets its 30-seconds intervals and later, the time between agitation can spread out.

In the long run I find that agitation every 30 seconds keeps me focused on the task. At one minute I am liable to get distracted and come back after five. So I will continue with the staged plan as I wrote it (or maybe up to 13 minutes at 30 seconds).

Now that I know where I got it from and why I changed it, I can change it again.

The real reason for such a plan is consistency and repeatability.

 

[Paul Howell]

I don't know if I still have my notes taken when I took his zone class in the 60s but I believe he thought that over agitation caused streaking more noticeable with roll film, 35mm with surge streaks through the sprockets cut outs. The weaker the developer the more often the agitation to keep fresh developer next the the film. I use a Unicolor film drum and motor base with 35mm with a somewhat long development times for MCA 100 developer and have never noticed and issues with streaking. Minor White used trays for sheet film, I have always used deep tanks with film holder, I follow Kodak's method, lift and drain 10 seconds every minute.

 

[koraks]

The real reason for such a plan is consistency and repeatability.

But then the question arises, why not just stick to one cycle every minute or every 30 seconds, regardless of development time, and why not keep every agitation cycle identical in its nature (tip-overs vs. rotations vs. tilts vs. swirls or what-have-you)?