Divided Pyrocat HD, the magic bullet?

I used Divided Pyrocat HD as I wanted to see if the Compensatory Action would prevent the whites being completely blown out which is normally what happens with this type of image. This actually worked better than expected and I actually had to add a little contrast to give it a slight lift. I metered using my Minolta Spotmeter F from the shadow area in which I wished to retain some detail and then closed down 3 stops from that to get my taking exposure.

5"x7" Fomapan 400 @ ISO250, 1/8 sec @ f32, Divided Pyrocat HD 6 minutes both solution A+B at 25° C. Wollensak WA Raptor 6.25inch f9 (80+ year old non-coated lens)

Steps, Avon River, Devon. by Ed Bray, on Flickr

Would you mind educating me on the "compensatory action" and what that means exactly? Is this supposed to be for specifically Dividend Pyro or any of the pyro devs?

As I understand it the compensatory action gives a full range of tones in the negative in a higher than normal contrast situation.

Don't know if it works with other developers, I just use this one.

There is a good thread on the Large Format Photography Forum search for 'divided' there is also one on here (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Here's one I tried previously which kept details in the highlights whilst also retaining full details in the shadows.

Redundant Pressure Filters (Tottiford Water Treatment Works) by Ed Bray, on Flickr

And in the one below the contrast between the outside through the window and the detail in the building was huge.

Window, Old Filter House, Tottiford by Ed Bray, on Flickr

The thought behind compensation is that as density grows in the highlight areas the developer gets used up and at a certain point even exhausts itself, it is thought to be a local effect with the hope that it affects just the most dense parts of the negative. It s designed to allow easier printing, a straight print with no (at least less) burn, dodge, ... Stand developing has the same intent. This is also one of the intents of staining developers.

Mathematically the way it can be graphed/visualized on the film curve is as a manipulation of the shoulder, bending it over sooner/flattening it out sooner/shortening the curve more, than with non-compensating methods.

The shorter film curve gets more detail into the papers printable range and get you "some more" detail, but there is no free lunch and this is not a magic bullet, as the OP found local contrast is affected and contrast adjustments are normally required to get things looking right.

It isn't a matter of "if you have to adjust" it is a matter of "how, where, and when".

Photography is a dance between paper and scene and there are lots of ways to get from a to b in this dance. Each path has its own advantages and failings.

One of the alternatives is printing a normally developed negative and using a bit of burning. Burning in the highlights from a normal negative has the advantage of its highlights being at normal contrast so typically the paper grade can remain constant.

Other ways of manipulating this are by choosing different film stocks say FP 4 instead of Delta 100, or you can print for the highlights then bleach the dark tones back a bit in the print, or ...

The link leads to a page with a great darkroom video.

Ed Bray said:

5"x7" Fomapan 400 @ ISO250, 1/8 sec @ f32, Divided Pyrocat HD 6 minutes both solution A+B at 25° C.

Click to expand...

Ed,
A couple of question if you do not mind:
which concentration of the A and of the B solution did you use?
Rotary or hand?
I am usually within range with HP5 and Pyrocat HD but you could always use a little bit more range from time to time


Cheers,

Luc

Thanks for the info Mark.

lbenac said:

Ed,
A couple of question if you do not mind:
which concentration of the A and of the B solution did you use?
Rotary or hand?
I am usually within range with HP5 and Pyrocat HD but you could always use a little bit more range from time to time


Cheers,

Luc

Click to expand...

I use 1+20, typically I make up 900mls distilled water with 45mls of Pyrocat A for Solution A and I do 900mls water with 45 grams of Sodium Carbonate (Anhydrous) for solution B.

Rotary processed in Expert Drums (3006 or 3010) on a CPP2 for 6 minutes each solution

The best range I actually managed was on the internal shot of the Window, Old Filter House looking out of the window, the marks shown in the top of the window are from the skylight best seen in the Redundant Filters Image above it. The dynamic range of the grating inside to the outside was amazing and with most other developers would certainly have been too much for them to handle.

I have used this as well a few times. Indeed, it holds highlights and shadows extremely well. Care must be taken when using this though, because a normal scene might become difficult to print. (there was a url link here which no longer exists) that was using pyrocat in an almost completely dark Kiva.

Ed Bray said:

I use 1+20, typically I make up 900mls distilled water with 45mls of Pyrocat A for Solution A and I do 900mls water with 45 grams of Sodium Carbonate (Anhydrous) for solution B.
Rotary processed in Expert Drums (3006 or 3010) on a CPP2 for 6 minutes each solution

Click to expand...

Thanks Ed. It 's going in my notebook. I have switched some time ago to 3010 with Unicolor for more even development so that is perfect.

Cheers,

Luc

lbenac said:

Thanks Ed. It 's going in my notebook. I have switched some time ago to 3010 with Unicolor for more even development so that is perfect.

Cheers,

Luc

Click to expand...

Don't forget to add a few drops of a Photoflo like chemical to Solution A or you will experience streaking in areas of the negative.

Ed Bray said:

Don't forget to add a few drops of a Photoflo like chemical to Solution A or you will experience streaking in areas of the negative.

Click to expand...

Doesn't photo flo cause development issues? That's why you don't put it directly into the tank....


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

Ed Bray said:

Don't forget to add a few drops of a Photoflo like chemical to Solution A or you will experience streaking in areas of the negative.

Click to expand...

Oddly, although I used to have issues with PMK, I still haven't had streaking issues with Pyrocat, whether divided or not.

I use and like Pyrocat HD in both tray and Jobo. I have tried it divided and find it is another in the list of "Silver Bullets."
Divided D-23 and AB-55 are the first two which come to mind. Divided D-76 was looked at in the same way at one time. All have worked, but none have been the "Silver Bullet."

I'm not sure of the need to use divided Pyrocat in these conditions, I have no problems with negatives processed in Pyrocat HD 1+1+100 in harsher lighting, and never had a problem with Xtol (replenished) or Rodinal either.

Ian

There is no "magic bullet" or "holy grail" in photography. One of the things you learn is that there is always a price to pay for any particular advantage in photography.

Gerald C Koch said:

There is no "magic bullet" or "holy grail" in photography. One of the things you learn is that there is always a price to pay for any particular advantage in photography.

Click to expand...

Rodinal... Hehe


~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

Gerald C Koch said:

There is no "magic bullet" or "holy grail" in photography. One of the things you learn is that there is always a price to pay for any particular advantage in photography.

Click to expand...

I will attest to this. 95% of any photographer's success has to do with technique and knowledge of HOW to use our materials, not what materials we use. The only magic is between your ears, and how you use it.

Now, if you're like Bob Carnie and you like solarized negatives, for example, just any developer will not do. I get that. Special purpose stuff.

Gerald C Koch said:

There is no "magic bullet" or "holy grail" in photography. One of the things you learn is that there is always a price to pay for any particular advantage in photography.

Click to expand...

There is a magic bullet it's called "Craft" and it's what Thomas is saying above. Know your craft and you control the results that you achieve.

Ian