Robert Adams' film development technique

[Alex Benjamin]

I'm clearly being thick but I don't understand how he would lift 'one end' of the loop if he just said the two ends are joined together?

He's talking different "ends" here, the ends of the film and the ends of the loop. First, the two "literal" ends of the film are joined together, forming a loop. But once the process starts, you are holding the film with your two hands spread apart the length of the loop (so half the length of the full film, about 16-17 inches to fit in the 19-inch-long tank), forming two "ends" of the loop—right-side end and left-side end.

At least that's how I read it.

 

[albireo]

It's the "emulsion side out" that I find puzzling. Wouldn't that mean that when in the "the film is left motionless in the tank" part of the process it's the emulsion side that is sitting in the bottom of the tank? That seems strange to me. Or am I reading "emulsion side out" the wrong way?

I had interpreted the text to mean something as follows. The emulsion would be on the outer surface of the ring, and the whole thing is sitting on the film's border, not the film plane. He seems to suggest he then flips this whole thing upside down to place the other border at the bottom of the tray too.

Then again, my interpretation doesn't fully make sense either, because I can't understand how he can do the seesaw if he's using the tape to seal the two ends as pictured.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Emulsion side out makes sense because otherwise the emulsion side of the two halves of the loop would touch each other when the film is sitting in the tank.

 

[Lachlan Young]

I had interpreted the text to mean something as follows. The emulsion would be on the outer surface of the ring, and the whole thing is sitting on the film's border, not the film plane. He seems to suggest he then flips this whole thing upside down to place the other border at the bottom of the tray too.

Then again, my interpretation doesn't fully make sense either, because I can't understand how he can do the seesaw if he's using the tape to seal the two ends as pictured.

View attachment 415595
T

The loop is going to be somewhat ovoid because of the tray shape, but otherwise much as per your sketch.

He's lifting and dropping each end of the loop at a time (a little bit like deep tank cages that are lifted, tilted then put back into the tank), then flipping the whole lot over.

That being said, another valid way would be to clip it into a loop with a single clip in the manner of dip & dunk, or use a longer trough with heavy clips on the ends of the film so it's flat, then agitated like a regular tray (or brush agitated, if that's your preference).

 

[albireo]

The loop is going to be somewhat ovoid because of the tray shape, but otherwise much as per your sketch.

He's lifting and dropping each end of the loop at a time (a little bit like deep tank cages that are lifted, tilted then put back into the tank), then flipping the whole lot over.

Got it thanks. Then I suppose it would be even easier to do if he taped not one but 2 rolls together, because it would give the whole thing an even more ovoid shape, perhaps making it easier to handle.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

I had interpreted the text to mean something as follows. The emulsion would be on the outer surface of the ring, and the whole thing is sitting on the film's border, not the film plane. He seems to suggest he then flips this whole thing upside down to place the other border at the bottom of the tray too.

Then again, my interpretation doesn't fully make sense either, because I can't understand how he can do the seesaw if he's using the tape to seal the two ends as pictured.

View attachment 415595
T

His tank is only 4" wide. I doubt the film sat on the border as you have shown in the figure.

 

[albireo]

His tank is only 4" wide. I doubt the film sat on the border as you have shown in the figure.

It says above his tank is 19'' long, which google tells me is almost 50cm, so one 120 roll looped in an elliptical shape would fit fine.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Emulsion side out makes sense because otherwise the emulsion side of the two halves of the loop would touch each other when the film is sitting in the tank.

Of course ! Silly of me not to realize this. Thank you.

@albireo 's drawing makes more sense than my interpretation.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

It says above his tank is 19'' wide, which google tells me is almost 50cm, so one 120 roll looped in an elliptical shape would fit fine.

Tank is 4" wide, 19" long, and 4 1/2" deep.

 

[albireo]

Tank is 4" wide, 19" long, and 4 1/2" deep.

of course, long sorry - the point remains. It's a rectangular container and he's arranging this film loop in a rectangular fashion making it sit vertically on one border at a time - see Lachlan's post!

 

[Alex Benjamin]

It's a rectangular container and he's arranging this film loop in a rectangular fashion making it sit vertically by the border (s) - see Lachlan's post!

He's lifting and dropping each end of the loop at a time (a little bit like deep tank cages that are lifted, tilted then put back into the tank), then flipping the whole lot over.

Got it !

 

[Saganich]

Is that a see-saw? It sounds as if the entire roll remains quietly submerged in the developer after the first 20 seconds, with one end or the other lifted every 30 seconds. When I hear "see-saw" developing, I think of a continual back and forth movement of the film through the developer.

yea, and a see saw requires a fulcrum, so that analogy is out. The 1st 20 seconds is continuous, then one end out and down for 30 seconds

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

t's a rectangular container and he's arranging this film loop in a rectangular fashion making it sit vertically on one border at a time

Quite possible. Maybe he holds the film loop at both ends with his fingers and maintains that grip throughout development even when lifting.

 

[prado333]

Developing Equipment History

Spiral Loaded Developing Tank History

www.photomemorabilia.co.uk

 

[Arthurwg]

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.

You could also try Gustave Le Gray's method: Shoot two images, one of the sky, the other of the subject, and super-impose them.

 

[Arthurwg]

RA's method: Next time I have something processed I'll ask the lab to do it that way.

 

[Pieter12]

Adams learned the technique from local photographer Myron Wood.