Robert Adams' film development technique

Alex Benjamin · Jul 24, 2022

Didn't post this in the other Robert Adams thread, as it is film-development specific.

There's a passage regarding film development in American Silence: The Photographs of Robert Adams that piqued my curiosity. Talking about his apprenticeship with Myron Wood, a student of Edward Weston, the book states: "[Wood] helped Adams with his technique, showing him how to not only evaluate a contact sheet but also master a complicated method for developing negatives that produced smooth skies and delicately articulated clouds." That passage leads to the following footnote: "Adams described Woods method of developing negatives, which involved joining the ends of the film together and lifting it in and out of the developing solution... He noted that by developing his negatives this way, instead of in a tank, he no longer had streaked or mottled skies."

Anybody familiar with this? It somehow ressembles what is called "development by inspection", but I'm not sure if that's actually the case, might be something completely different. I don't know if Adams continued to used that method throughout his career, and couldn't find online the original interview in which he talks about it (Landscape magazine, 1980)

koraks · Jul 24, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
Anybody familiar with this?

No, but sounds like the sort of 'tricks' people resort to when trying to develop film that is prone to unevenness problems. Unless you're using x-ray film, fortunately today's films are much more forgiving.

Alex Benjamin said:
It somehow ressembles what is called "development by inspection"

I don't read the quoted passage that way. I read it as an agitation scheme. I see no reference to inspection being done at this stage, but maybe he also did that.
In my reading of that passage, there's also no relationship between the rendering of the skies/clouds and the agitation method, which apparently mostly is aimed at preventing unevenness. This is a different issue from the tonal relationships between different objects.

Perhaps the original interview would give additional clues, although more often than not, in the journalistic process a lot of the nuance from the original conversation is lost anyway.

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jul 24, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
Didn't post this in the other Robert Adams thread, as it is film-development specific.

There's a passage regarding film development in American Silence: The Photographs of Robert Adams that piqued my curiosity. Talking about his apprenticeship with Myron Wood, a student of Edward Weston, the book states: "[Wood] helped Adams with his technique, showing him how to not only evaluate a contact sheet but also master a complicated method for developing negatives that produced smooth skies and delicately articulated clouds." That passage leads to the following footnote: "Adams described Woods method of developing negatives, which involved joining the ends of the film together and lifting it in and out of the developing solution... He noted that by developing his negatives this way, instead of in a tank, he no longer had streaked or mottled skies."

Anybody familiar with this? It somehow ressembles what is called "development by inspection", but I'm not sure if that's actually the case, might be something completely different. I don't know if Adams continued to used that method throughout his career, and couldn't find online the original interview in which he talks about it (Landscape magazine, 1980)

Could be a variant of the method described in this page:

The roll of film was placed in the dish while keeping hold of one end, the film could then be alternately raised and lowered for agitation. No weight was fixed to the lower end of the film, the natural curl of the film caused it to roll-up when lowered into the dish.

There was a similar two dish developing method for the old Meritol two bath developer. A picture is available on the photo memorabilia site if my memory serves me right.

Alex Benjamin · Jul 24, 2022

Raghu Kuvempunagar said:
Could be a variant of the method described in this page:

The roll of film was placed in the dish while keeping hold of one end, the film could then be alternately raised and lowered for agitation. No weight was fixed to the lower end of the film, the natural curl of the film caused it to roll-up when lowered into the dish.

There was a similar two dish developing method for the old Meritol two bath developer. A picture is available on the photo memorabilia site if my memory serves me right.

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

Nitroplait · Jul 24, 2022

Sky, particularly in medium and large format, poses challenges when trying to achieve even development. Agitation becomes very important - Hiroshi Sugimoto has also talked about these challenges when developing the negatives from his “Seascapes” series.

Patrick Robert James · Jul 24, 2022

I was always under the impression that Adams did a see-saw method to get is negs the way he liked them. In other words, hold on to each end and alternatively go up and down.

ic-racer · Jul 24, 2022

Today's film photographers have their own host of film issues to manage; mottling, bleeding paper backing, camera light leaks, etc.

Alex Benjamin · Jul 24, 2022

Nitroplait said:
Agitation becomes very important

In what way? Can you expand on this?

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jul 24, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
Myron Wood, a student of Edward Weston, the book states: "[Wood] helped Adams with his technique, showing him how to not only evaluate a contact sheet but also master a complicated method for developing negatives that produced smooth skies and delicately articulated clouds." That passage leads to the following footnote: "

Surely, Myron Wood knew how to handle the sky and clouds:

Church

Meeting House or Church? The location of this rural structure is unknown. Upon Myron Wood's arrival in Colorado in 1947, he was smitten with "the diamond-hard light... that glows all day-Colorado sunshine." In 1991, Myron Wood selected 1000 prints from his life work for his personal use...

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Northwest Colorado

The clarity and sharpness of this image is typically attributed to large format 8x10 negatives, though Myron Wood utilized small format 35mm cameras predominantly throughout his career. Eastman Kodak provided him film, considered “experimental" at the time, which produced a superfine grain...

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First Time to The Kiva

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AZD · Jul 24, 2022

I have read about this somewhere and understood it as way to get even development across the negative. Adams often included glaring white skies in his images, but not totally devoid of texture. Uneven development would interfere and be more noticeable than the fine tonal variations.

Tray development would avoid overdeveloped surge marks, as well as underdeveloped edges due to insufficient agitation. Many years ago my only 120 tank was one of those awful black plastic things that were so common. I’m sure user error was involved, but I could never get even edge development.

logan2z · Jul 24, 2022

Nitroplait said:
Hiroshi Sugimoto has also talked about these challenges when developing the negatives from his “Seascapes” series.

I recently stumbled upon this video in which he discusses it. Looks like his solution was rotary processing using a Jobo processor.

Nitroplait · Jul 24, 2022

logan2z said:
I recently stumbled upon this video in which he discusses it. Looks like his solution was rotary processing using a Jobo processor.

Alex Benjamin said:
In what way? Can you expand on this?

If you have an interest in an even tonal representation of the sky, you are probably aware of the challenges one faces during development.
Sugimoto has mentioned it several times in Japanese interviews (where the subject of process and equipment talk is not as stigmatised as it appears among art photographers in the West).
The only English mention I know of, is linked above by Logan2z.

Alex Benjamin · Jul 24, 2022

Nitroplait said:
If you have an interest in an even tonal representation of the sky, you are probably aware of the challenges one faces during development.
Sugimoto has mentioned it several times in Japanese interviews (where the subject of process and equipment talk is not as stigmatised as it appears among art photographers in the West).
The only English mention I know of, is linked above by Logan2z.

Thanks both. I've been getting satisfactory results—nothing spectacular—with D-23 and very gentle agitation, but I do wish the subject of agitation and its effects would be discussed more in depth.

sasah zib · Jul 24, 2022

A successful agitation system in deep-tank film processes must cause the solution to move uniformly at a desired energy level and must adequately and uniformly supply fresh solution to the emulsion surface. A theoretical and practical investigation of a film strand moving through a processing solution has shown that the boundary layer between film and solution is laminar for all practical processing speeds. Laboratory tests have indicated that density nonuniformity caused by poor or insufficient agitation can be improved by the proper use of submerged nozzles. This work was made possible by a technique developed in the Kodak Research Laboratories, in which the by-products of development can be observed as they are formed. Hydroquinone sulfonate, a principal by-product of development, fluoresces when excited by ultraviolet light, producing a fluorescent layer of material on the emulsion surface, which visually shows the effect of any disturbance caused by the agitation mechanism.
Published in: Journal of the SMPTE ( Volume: 75, Issue: 10, October 1966)

it used to be a topic of much research. Now, it has moved to the small scale user

sasah zib · Jul 24, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
.... I don't know if Adams continued to used that method throughout his career, and couldn't find online the original interview in which he talks about it (Landscape magazine, 1980)

-- redacted the info about JBJackson's magazine. Landscape Theory, Lustrum Press, 1980 has the specifics of the procedure. It is the first article in the book. --- other's in the thread have pointed to that.
-- all I'm doing now is correcting, cleaning up misdirections.

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jul 24, 2022

British photographer John Davies, whose work I came to know about recently on another forum thanks to @Ian Grant, generously includes sky in his composition, some times more than half of the frame is filled with sky. His agitation scheme discussed in this article, however, is very simple:

"In a day light tank, agitate the developer by one inversion of the tank every 15 seconds for the first minute and then agitate every 30 seconds for the following 2 minutes and then once every minute for the remaining 5 minutes. In the first stages of development remember to tap the bottom of the tank on the work surface after agitation to dislodge any air bubbles on the film."

AZD · Jul 24, 2022

Think of two extremes: Stand development and constant agitation.

With stand, the developer acting on the film is not refreshed by agitation. Areas of high density will exhaust the developer faster than areas of low density. One effect is lower overall contrast, which can be useful in some cases such as extremely high contrast subjects.

Constant agitation prevents the developer from sitting around long enough to be locally exhausted, so higher contrast can be achieved, which of course can be controlled by varying the time and temperature of the process.

Most people adopt something in between - intermittent agitation, and it seems no two photographers do it exactly the same, which is why trial and error are needed.

Generally you can get what you want by starting with the manufacturer’s instructions, adjusting as needed, and solving problems as they arise. I suppose Adams’ method was an attempt to solve a problem, and he arrived at empirically. You can imagine starting with the elimination of reels then adjusting the rate of film movement and development time to suit the desired negative contrast. Just a guess.

Pieter12 · Jul 24, 2022

I have found mottling in even tones in skies with medium format. Although I have not attempted Mr Wood's technique, switching to rotation vs inversion agitation has improved the negatives immensely.

250swb · Jul 24, 2022

It sounds like Adams used a standard professional lab deep tank probably full of D-76 and instead of having the film on a spiral he joined the ends together. I think the reference to a 'tank' is confusion about a developing tank like a Paterson tank.

juan · Jul 24, 2022

Jim Noel over on large format talks about how, back in the 30s, 40s, they used to hang roll film overnight in deep tanks of D-23 and got wonderful negatives.

Chunga · Jul 24, 2022

One thing he mentioned in the Aperture Photobook Club interview he did was that it took three years of trial and error to find a development technique that worked for him. I still need to pick up a copy of American Silence. Also talk about a perfect title to describe his work. Just an amazing photographer and writer.

logan2z · Jul 24, 2022

Chunga said:
I still need to pick up a copy of American Silence.

Definitely worth picking up a copy. I've got a ton of Adams books and most of the photos in American Silence are covered by other books that I have, but sometimes it's nice to have them in one book for quick access. The print and paper quality is excellent too.

pentaxuser · Jul 24, 2022

250swb said:
It sounds like Adams used a standard professional lab deep tank probably full of D-76 and instead of having the film on a spiral he joined the ends together. I think the reference to a 'tank' is confusion about a developing tank like a Paterson tank.

So AA joined the 2 ends of the MF film together and lifted it in and out of the developer according to the #1 but your interpretation of this is that the film is placed in a deep tank. In that tank what form does the "in and out" bit takes place and what is the frequency of this?

I develop my MF in a reel and tank system and have never noticed the mottling of skies. Have I been lucky or have I not been critical enough about mottling?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Pieter12 · Jul 24, 2022

pentaxuser said:
So AA joined the 2 ends of the MF film together and lifted it in and out of the developer according to the #1 but your interpretation of this is that the film is placed in a deep tank. In that tank what form does the "in and out" bit takes place and what is the frequency of this?

I develop my MF in a reel and tank system and have never noticed the mottling of skies. Have I been lucky or have I not been critical enough about mottling?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Robert Adams, not Ansel.

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jul 24, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
Didn't post this in the other Robert Adams thread, as it is film-development specific.

@Alex Benjamin: there is another thread on this subject:

Robert Adams' roll film developing technique

I was reading an essay by Todd Papgeorge on Robert Adams, and came across this explanation of his film developing technique for "The New West": http://www.americansuburbx.com/2011/07/robert-adams-missing-criticism-what-we.html It involved the use of shallow custom-made trays and required...

www.photrio.com

Quoting from it:

"It involved the use of shallow custom-made trays and required that Adams make a loop of a single roll of film by taping its ends together and then manipulating it through several trays of photographic chemistry, all in pitch blackness. This procedure, requiring thirty-five to forty minutes start to finish"

Robert Adams' film development technique

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