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Mortensen's Glycin Variant

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Could be stored as a 5x or 10x concentrate of this?
 
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That's the stuff I used to stand develop in a tube for several hours in the refrigerator. Stood the tube on end. I got good results with the exception that the negative was dense and requires a long printing time.

I've kept glycin for years by keeping it in a freezer bag in the freezer.
 
Re: the sharpness observation: in all frankness, it looks something's wrong with the Pyrocat negative. Could it be slightly out of focus (camera or scan)?
 
Andy,
I have to tend to agree with koraks on this one. It's hard to believe that Pyrocat-HD could look that unsharp compared to any Glycin developer. I have played with two different film developers that contained Glycin and while they were very good I still prefer Pyrocat-HDC and Xtol-R
 
Not sure why the Pyrocat-HD negative is softer. Both received the same exposure, one after the other. I just scanned it in again, and it's softer than the Glycin negative. I'll do another test in the backyard...
 
Not sure why the Pyrocat-HD negative is softer.

I'm virtually certain it's a focus issue. Perhaps if you look at different spots on the negative you'll find areas that are (more) in focus than the bit you highlighted in the video. In fact, looking at the branches in the background on that snippet it almost looks like those are in better focus than the foreground. Maybe knocked something slightly out of alignment when switching film holders?
 
I'm virtually certain it's a focus issue. Perhaps if you look at different spots on the negative you'll find areas that are (more) in focus than the bit you highlighted in the video. In fact, looking at the branches in the background on that snippet it almost looks like those are in better focus than the foreground. Maybe knocked something slightly out of alignment when switching film holders?

I probably did knock something out. I cannot think of anything else. I'm going to redo the test. After that, I'll re-edit the video.
 
I won't sleep tonight if I just leave it as is...Better get a move on as I've already lost an hour to daylight savings 🙄 I wish they would put that madness to bed!
 
The focus issue aside, I'm not surprised that the glycin developer produce high sharpness. I used the similar "Agfa 8" developer many years ago and was surprised how good it was. Agfa listed the formula as a "portrait and amateur" developer. "Portrait" probably because of the very good midtones. Agfa 8 uses less glycin than the Mortensen formula so it might be more economical.

Sodium sulfite: 12.5g
Glycin: 2g
Potassium carbonate: 25g

You can mix a more concentrated solution that you dilute before use. Some glycin developers were mixed as a paste, like Hübl's formula.
 
The focus issue aside, I'm not surprised that the glycin developer produce high sharpness. I used the similar "Agfa 8" developer many years ago and was surprised how good it was. Agfa listed the formula as a "portrait and amateur" developer. "Portrait" probably because of the very good midtones. Agfa 8 uses less glycin than the Mortensen formula so it might be more economical.

Sodium sulfite: 12.5g
Glycin: 2g
Potassium carbonate: 25g

You can mix a more concentrated solution that you dilute before use. Some glycin developers were mixed as a paste, like Hübl's formula.

I'll try Agfa 8. Thank you!
 
I'll try Agfa 8. Thank you!

If Agfa 8 was formulated before Agfa 9 (Rodinal), then it's from before Mortensen was even born. 🙂 I don't have my notes here, but I remember that glycin-only film developers like ½-1 stop more exposure for the shadows.
 
Some of Mortensen's books are available for free download via the Internet Archive:

Monsters and Madonnas:

Projection Control:

Pictorial Lighting: (read only, no download)

The Model:

Print Finishing:

Outdoor portraiture; problems of face and figure in natural environment: (borrow only)

The New Projection Control:

Be aware the I.A. might bandwidth limit you if you try to download them all at once.

And, try to give them a few bucks for their operational expenses; this "free stuff" costs a lot to maintain...
 
Some of Mortensen's books are available for free download via the Internet Archive:

Monsters and Madonnas:

Projection Control:

Pictorial Lighting: (read only, no download)

The Model:

Print Finishing:

Outdoor portraiture; problems of face and figure in natural environment: (borrow only)

The New Projection Control:

Be aware the I.A. might bandwidth limit you if you try to download them all at once.

And, try to give them a few bucks for their operational expenses; this "free stuff" costs a lot to maintain...

Thank you for the links, Kino!
 
Some of Mortensen's books are available for free download via the Internet Archive:

Monsters and Madonnas:

Projection Control:

Pictorial Lighting: (read only, no download)

The Model:

Print Finishing:

Outdoor portraiture; problems of face and figure in natural environment: (borrow only)

The New Projection Control:

Be aware the I.A. might bandwidth limit you if you try to download them all at once.

And, try to give them a few bucks for their operational expenses; this "free stuff" costs a lot to maintain...

Wow, thanks for this
 
Thank you for the links, Kino!

Andy, I really enjoy these videos! I've got some 80-90 year old Kodak Athenon (Glycin) it looks remarkably well preserved, I need to try sometime. I used Glycin in print developer over 30 years back, I need to think this over.
Best Regards Mike
 
Andy, I really enjoy these videos! I've got some 80-90 year old Kodak Athenon (Glycin) it looks remarkably well preserved, I need to try sometime. I used Glycin in print developer over 30 years back, I need to think this over.
Best Regards Mike

80-90 years old? Let me know what you decide to do with it, and how it went!
 
80-90 years old? Let me know what you decide to do with it, and how it went!

20240325_204616.jpg
 
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