Hi all. This is Jay from the Philippines. Joined yesterday, finally. Been reading the posts here for some time now without really enrolling in the forum.
I'm a photographer by profession. Work requirements dictate that I should d***tal, but I always resort to the old methods for personal work. I would say that I'm a hybrid- using both electronic and analogue media to achieve desired ends.
Been shooting for more than 2 decades now. Always liked BW in rangefinders or any of the classic rollfilm, folding, or plate cameras. I believe that film or chemical based imaging is the only way for real BW captures. D***tal may be fine for colour and shots made to please clients but I'd rather please myself with monochrome images captured on film, or even bromide paper loaded in plate holders.
I was weaned on Chinese BW emulsions. Era film had been my staple for years, then Luckypan. However the importer of these films have gone out of business, but there is still one unnamed Chinese-made BW around. Kodak Tri-X can sometimes be seen in the bigger shops too.
Though I like working in the darkroom, realities here (in Manila at least) prevent me from continuing to do so. Darkroom supplies like paper and chemistry are fast disappearing here. My darkroom is still intact, but it hasn't seen much action in the printing. My last wet prints were made on RA4 paper, even the monochrome ones. My Beseler 23CII and the Durst RCP 20 rotary paper processor are waiting to see action again. Now, my negatives are scanned to make the prints. Frontier and inkjets are not exactly what I want, but it's better than not having any prints at all.
I'm thankful that some BW film is still found here. I'd hate to have to order rolls from overseas just to continue shooting on film. The chemicals I use for it are now mostly home-brewed. I've been using a home-brewed paracetamol-based rodinal-like developer. I like what it does. When it was still possible, I made my own D76, DK50 and D23/25 developers. The "ORWO FORMULAE" book (sent to me by ORWO, free, in 1984) was my main recipe book. Thank goodness that it's still easy to get paracetamol from chemists and drugstores
Speaking of chemicals, I had always experimented with developer formulae for paper and film, as well as assorted toners and a bit of "alternative" printing like cyanotypy, gumbrichromates, and saltprints. I even made my own reversal kit for BW slides. The reagents needed to make these are still available here.
Saving up, and hoping to get one of PhotoEngineer's coating blades. It would at least enable me to make some form of sensitive material which I can
use in my plate and rollfilm cameras. I don't mind about using paper-based film- transparency isn't necessary when the negative images are going to be scanned anyway.
Jay
I'm a photographer by profession. Work requirements dictate that I should d***tal, but I always resort to the old methods for personal work. I would say that I'm a hybrid- using both electronic and analogue media to achieve desired ends.
Been shooting for more than 2 decades now. Always liked BW in rangefinders or any of the classic rollfilm, folding, or plate cameras. I believe that film or chemical based imaging is the only way for real BW captures. D***tal may be fine for colour and shots made to please clients but I'd rather please myself with monochrome images captured on film, or even bromide paper loaded in plate holders.
I was weaned on Chinese BW emulsions. Era film had been my staple for years, then Luckypan. However the importer of these films have gone out of business, but there is still one unnamed Chinese-made BW around. Kodak Tri-X can sometimes be seen in the bigger shops too.
Though I like working in the darkroom, realities here (in Manila at least) prevent me from continuing to do so. Darkroom supplies like paper and chemistry are fast disappearing here. My darkroom is still intact, but it hasn't seen much action in the printing. My last wet prints were made on RA4 paper, even the monochrome ones. My Beseler 23CII and the Durst RCP 20 rotary paper processor are waiting to see action again. Now, my negatives are scanned to make the prints. Frontier and inkjets are not exactly what I want, but it's better than not having any prints at all.
I'm thankful that some BW film is still found here. I'd hate to have to order rolls from overseas just to continue shooting on film. The chemicals I use for it are now mostly home-brewed. I've been using a home-brewed paracetamol-based rodinal-like developer. I like what it does. When it was still possible, I made my own D76, DK50 and D23/25 developers. The "ORWO FORMULAE" book (sent to me by ORWO, free, in 1984) was my main recipe book. Thank goodness that it's still easy to get paracetamol from chemists and drugstores
Speaking of chemicals, I had always experimented with developer formulae for paper and film, as well as assorted toners and a bit of "alternative" printing like cyanotypy, gumbrichromates, and saltprints. I even made my own reversal kit for BW slides. The reagents needed to make these are still available here.
Saving up, and hoping to get one of PhotoEngineer's coating blades. It would at least enable me to make some form of sensitive material which I can
use in my plate and rollfilm cameras. I don't mind about using paper-based film- transparency isn't necessary when the negative images are going to be scanned anyway.
Jay