True, but even though I throw it out after a while, never using it for longer than a week, I've never seen it grow fungus or mold.
Wash agents don't last long either.
True, but even though I throw it out after a while, never using it for longer than a week, I've never seen it grow fungus or mold.
I still do not understand Maximum black. I appreciate you guys trying to explain it to me but I absolutely do not understand. Am I supposed to make the blacks in my image reach maximum black? Like you and someone described maximum black is the blackest with no detail in the blacks at all right? Why would I want my shadows to be maximum black? Or any blacks in the image at all to be maximum black? What does maximum black mean? And what's the clear border of the film? The sprockets? This is getting frustrating I've even browsed online other than here on Photrio and I'm still not understanding. Do I want maximum black in my prints? Or no?
I have found the "standard" two minutes simply too short. You can get good results at 2 minutes, but almost all (if not all, all that I've tried anyway) FB papers seem to get richer to some extent with longer development. I standardized on 3 minutes and will go longer before shorter.
Yes I do Ilford Multigrade Filters. What is the grade on papers? Say I'm using a grade 2 paper and then I add a grade 2 filter. Does that turn it to a grade 4 filter look?
Most unfiltered variable contrast papers are about a grade 2. If you add a grade 2 filter, you'll probably see very little difference, or you might. A fun and easy test to try out is to make test strips without a filter, and then with all the different filters. Then lay all the strips down beside each other in order. You will see a big difference in contrast from filter 00 (low contrast) to 5 (high contrast). You will also see that more print exposure will be necessary for some of the filters.
The biggest difference between unfiltered variable contrast paper and using a grade 2 filter is that it will usually be much faster unfiltered. The filters are designed to, at least somewhat, result in matching speed from grade 0 to 3.5 and half that speed for grades 4-5. Of course this can only be true for one specific tone (usually a midtone) since the contrast changes with each different filter. I find it useful, if not exact.
Well, when one first learns about playing a piano, they find out where the very highest and lowest note key is at each extreme end of the scale. But does that mean that every successful tune mandatorily has to include each of these extremes? No.
Can anyone suggest some circumstances under which you would want to underdevelop or overdevelop a print, i.e. develop under or over the time required to develop to completion.
I've run these tests for Ilford filters for a negative of a gray card. Although the exposures are mostly very close, some of them are noticeably off -- too weak/light or too strong/dark. I created a matrix/table/chart so that I can change from one filter to another and add in a correction factor (old time * filter factor) -- which is usually small, very easily.
The minimum time to achieve what is effectively "completion" is what we generally refer to as the "minimum time for maximum black". One can extend that time significantly, and obtain virtually the same results, although some papers will show a slight change in tone - warm to cool or vice versa.
However, extending the time a reasonable amount can have practical benefits, because it makes it easier to ensure print to print consistency. That applies particularly if one is developing multiple prints at the same time - shuffling them through the developer - such as when one is printing for a print exchange or making prints to be given as family gifts.
Extending the time also effectively protects against the effects of gradual developer exhaustion during a printing session.
Any benefits to extending the time of development beyond development to completion other than to even out development of multiple prints in the same tray or when using depleted developer?
A grey card is probably not the tone that the filters are speed matched to. Most likely they are speed matched to a lighter tone - something like a Zone VII, which correspond to a relatively light skinned Caucasian skin tone.
Any benefits to extending the time of development beyond development to completion other than to even out development of multiple prints in the same tray or when using depleted developer?
You might be right. That used some "standard". Mine is a gray card because I want to keep that as my standard. I do not want my mid-tone to get lighter or darker as I change filters.
If you happen to love darkroom work -- like I do -- it gives you an excuse to stay in there longer.
I believe @Nicholas Lindan has written on what the standard is.
You can use a grey card to create the negative. You just need to make the print a different tone than the grey card.
I like darkroom work too, but I tend to lose focus after three or four hours. If I am running a lot of paper through the developer, which is rare for me, I mix fresh developer rather than rely on extending the development time.
I like darkroom work too, but I tend to lose focus after three or four hours. If I am running a lot of paper through the developer, which is rare for me, I mix fresh developer rather than rely on extending the development time.
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