Critique my process...

Nick_b · Aug 29, 2008

I've only developed two rolls so far and would like to get some advice and guidance.

Here is a sample shot.

Camera: Elan 7E with 35mm 1.4
Film: T-Max 3200
Developer: ID-11
Agitation for the first 30 seconds and 10 seconds every minute after that for the recommended 14 min @ 20 degrees Celsius. I use a rotational agitator tank not a sealed shaker tank.

Water stop bath

Ilford fixer.

Scanned with Epson V500

100% crop of a scan made at 3300 pixels long on the wide side.

I'm just trying to learn as much as I can about the process and would like some feedback and maybe some suggestions for film and developer combination.

I have a few rolls of HP5, any suggestions for a developer? I'm thinking of pushing it to 1600 or 3200 if possible.

Thanks!

pentaxuser · Aug 29, 2008

Looks pretty good to me. ID11 may not be the best developer for TMax3200. It depends on what you want to see in terms of grain. If it's less grain then certainly the Ilford version of a very fine grain developer such as Perceptol and Ilford D3200, the Ilford equivalent of TMax3200, produced less grainy negs for me than D3200 or Tmax3200 in ID11.

Pushing HP5+ to 3200 might be better or worse than sticking with a 3200 film, depending on what you are looking for. In the Ilford range of films DDX seems to be a good combination with most films especially for pushing purposes.

I have John Garrett's book "B&W Photography Masterclass" in which a good number of prints are produced from HP5+ negs as well as Tmax 3200. Might be worth getting the book. His prints from Tmax at 3200 don't look any less grainy than yours. His HP5 prints probably look best at EI 600

pentaxuser

Nick_b · Aug 31, 2008

pentaxuser said:
Looks pretty good to me. ID11 may not be the best developer for TMax3200. It depends on what you want to see in terms of grain. If it's less grain then certainly the Ilford version of a very fine grain developer such as Perceptol and Ilford D3200, the Ilford equivalent of TMax3200, produced less grainy negs for me than D3200 or Tmax3200 in ID11.

Pushing HP5+ to 3200 might be better or worse than sticking with a 3200 film, depending on what you are looking for. In the Ilford range of films DDX seems to be a good combination with most films especially for pushing purposes.

I have John Garrett's book "B&W Photography Masterclass" in which a good number of prints are produced from HP5+ negs as well as Tmax 3200. Might be worth getting the book. His prints from Tmax at 3200 don't look any less grainy than yours. His HP5 prints probably look best at EI 600

pentaxuser

Thanks for info and the book recommendation. I've been thinking of taking a course to learn how to print. I know there are clubs around town with access to darkrooms for printing.

I'm going to try and get my hands on some DDx and push my HP5 as high as it will go.

pentaxuser · Aug 31, 2008

No problem. Incidentally I am surprised that mine was the only answer. There are some great sources of knowledge here and you can normally expect a lot more than one answer. I think that with the volume of traffic these days that if a thread gets overlooked then it quickly moves way down the list and then stays overlooked.

I'd like to suggest that to improve things you might want to (a) introduce yourself to the members as a newcomer and (b) Be more specific in the thread title. If it had mentioned needing advice on specific fast films and suitable developers then it might have brought more response.

Critique on a process is more emotive and people read the title and then shy away if they think that their response in terms of a critique might not be welcome. In fact you were looking for help and advice which is wholly different.

Best of luck

pentaxuser

Critique my process...

Nick_b

pentaxuser

Nick_b

pentaxuser

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