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Old news...new to me

Dave Swinnard

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Parksville,
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I had a eureka moment in the darkroom today. I was cleaning up after mixing some new printing chemistry when I happened to notice the empty Ilford Fixer bottle (1 litre) that I'd just washed out and put aside looked suspiciously like the Jobo bottle I happened to set it beside.

I needed an extra Jobo bottle the other day and was lucky in having some old ones from an old CPP I'd bought from JDC a few years back when he left Vancouver. But the fact is now filed away for future reference.

Had it dawned on me, I would have searched here and LFF and found this fact had been reported years ago, and not had my moment. But I didn't.

The Ilford bottle has a bit smaller opening (~36mm vs. 42mm for the Jobo), but otherwise it seems about the same - it even fits just as well into the water bath positions of my CPA.

 
IMHO , Square bottles are more ergonomic , I always disliked them. Photography is about continious tones generally and square does not feel good. I loved big round bottles , I dont like square glass bottles also. Ilford bottles looks like milk or juice bottles and they are good for stacking in markets or safer transportation but these two dont interest me.
 
Everyone who's opinion matters knows that you get much better contrast and tonality from developer which is kept in octagonal bottles!


Steve.
 
I've heard that hexagonal bottles give you more shadow detail and prevent the highlights from blocking
 


Straight cut film with rectangular shaped negatives must get you down. Stay away from 6x6 format, the square is particularly tone disrupting.
 
I shoot 6x6, so I have to use chemistry from square bottles, if I use round bottles I get vignetting...
 
You are all wrong! Dodecahedronal bottles produce the smoothest tonal changes of any bottle shape, and are beautiful to just sit and stare at...endlessly...for.....hours....:munch:
 
There's no rational reason to prefer round bottles. I like the square ones. The only thing I don't like is that the Ilford bottle apparently leak air. I lost over half a bottle of Harman WT developer finding that out. Now when I open one I immediately pour into other bottles.

I'd certainly use them for extra tempering bottles for my Jobo though, if I needed any.
 
Rick A said:
You are all wrong! Dodecahedronal bottles produce the smoothest tonal changes of any bottle shape, and are beautiful to just sit and stare at...endlessly...for.....hours....:munch:
Click to expand...

Now that we've completely and needlessly hijacked the OPs thread ... I bet dodechadrenal bottles that are half-full produce better tonal changes and ranges than ones that are half-empty.
 
Shawn Rahman said:
Now that we've completely and needlessly hijacked the OPs thread ... I bet dodechadrenal bottles that are half-full produce better tonal changes and ranges than ones that are half-empty.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I'll have to run the appropriate tests to verify findings.
 
I use special bottles, depending on the chemical and purpose. Also, I just like the looks of them on my shelf. Some have the original contents, but when empty, I remove the lables and lable them with whatever photo chemical I put in them. The bottles supplied with photo chemicals just bore me.
 

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The original Disaronno bottles are particularly good for portraits. It usually takes about half a bottle. The last bottle shown is only for the photographer, and is to be quickly mixed only into a dirty coffee cup from the sink. Watch out for stray cigarette butts, although some people say it improves the developing. Aged is good, but 2014 is a great year!
 
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You're all wrong about which bottle to keep developer in. I find that Klein bottles give the smoothest tones and widest range.
 
Square bottles rarely fall over and roll off of a counter.
 
Steve Smith said:
Everyone who's opinion matters knows that you get much better contrast and tonality from developer which is kept in octagonal bottles!


Steve.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but you're way off. It is common knowledge that the best tones are achieved from an amber coloured cut glass decanter. So refined.
 
Square bottles (aka, "squattles") are sold by bored photo store employees to squares. Thought everybody knew that. How else could they retain any semblance of sanity? You can track your own square to beatnik to hippie to hipster evolution by reviewing your own squattle history, or lack thereof.
 
I thought it was best to use lead crystal with a cubic zirconium stopper.
 
I'm relieved that no one has mentioned wine-bladders yet, though - as is well known - these can help produce wonderful randomly curved cloud definition.
 
Great! An entire thread on "Bottle Bokeh."

I wonder which bottles Ansel Adams used? Joel Peter Witkin must use old formaldehyde containers... How about Weegee (old wine bottles found on the street?), Uelsmann (multiple bottles welded together?), Weston (mescal bottles with the worm left in for his Mexico days, certainly!)??

The list is endless.

Doremus
 
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