starting point for PJ/r gibson look

[avandesande]

I am going to try my hand at photographing a motorcycle desert race and would like to do something along the lines of r gibson overexposed/overdeveloped look. I am looking for some starting points with trix 400.
I don't have access to the lustrum book.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I haven't seen the R. Gibson work, but if you're looking for bulletproof, high-contrast and high density negatives from Tri-X, it should be easy to get them in the desert. Set your meter for, say, EI 100, shoot away, and then give the film normal or N+1 development (say, HC-110 B, 9 1/2 minutes at 68F/20C). Be prepared to stand over your enlarger for a LONG time when printing...

However: I wouldn't recommend shooting important images with anything you haven't previously tried. TEST this before you go out into the desert. Shoot a couple rolls at the local beach, bracketing from, say, IE 400 down to EI 100, take good notes, and give one normal and one N+1 development -- then see which negatives you like.

 

[lee]

Ralph Gibson used to shoot Trix and over rate it and develop it in Rodinal. Then he printed on Grade 6 Agfa Broveria. This was in the early 1970's when I was able to take a workshop from Ralph. It was long about the time of the book Sonamublis. Hope that helps.

lee\c

 

[Jim Chinn]

I have interview with Gibson in an issue of Darkroom Photography from 1989. At that time he was still shooting exclusively Trix and rating it anywhere from 100 to 1000 depending on the subject matter, developing it in Rodinal 1-25. He was using Agfa graded paper and usually printed on grade 3 or 4. He controlled contrast further by varying the dilution and development time in dektol.

One interesting thing was he used a hardener in the fixer because he said he liked the surface it gave the final print.

Another interesting tidbit from the article is that the enlarger he was using at the time was the same Leitz Focomat 1-C that Robert Frank used to print The Americans

Today he still shoots film with a Lieca, (heck, Lieca has a designer MP with his name on it for sale in a limited edition @ $4800) but I think he has moved more and more to printing inkjets.

 

[avandesande]

thanks Jim. I usually do 1/100 semi-stand but I figured this would not be a good combination for overexposed negatives. Did the article talk about agitation?

 

[erikg]

I think I have that same article and this is what I pulled from it: Tri-x developed in Rodinal 1:25 for 11 minutes at 70F. The agitation was 2 inversions every 1'-30". Todays Tri-x is not as grainy as it was in the 70's but I think this still will give you that look, printing with a condenser enlarger will also help.

 

[Jim Chinn]

thanks Jim. I usually do 1/100 semi-stand but I figured this would not be a good combination for overexposed negatives. Did the article talk about agitation?

Not really. He said that he would go through periods where he would change length or the agitation procedures but nothing more then that. I would probably work under the assumption that he was using pretty standard agitation time, processing temps etc. I don't think stand development was a part of his game at the time.