The Darkroom Cookbook 5th Edition

[Don_ih]

phenidone cannot be preserved in any kind of percent solution

It does not last in alcohol. Maybe it won't last years in anything but it does last a practical amount of time in glycol. As in, I mixed up a bit in glycol about 6 months ago and it's still fine.

 

[titrisol]

If you are using the second edition with the green cover, I would burn it and buy the fifth edition. When I wrote the second edition, I did not realize the importance of having knowledgeable editors and relied on hacks from Focal Press.

I bught the the 2nd ed a long time ago
I'll have to make a good bonfire after receiving the new book, and burn the old one after transferring my side notes

 

[ChrisGalway]

Is there any chance you could persuade DR5 to reveal their B&W Reversal process? It would be such a pity if this dies with the inventor, and despite the superb quality of DR5, the inventor is surely mortal.

 

[mshchem]

Is there any chance you could persuade DR5 to reveal their B&W Reversal process? It would be such a pity if this dies with the inventor, and despite the superb quality of DR5, the inventor is surely mortal.

Yep, I would stand in line to buy a book with that information.

 

[mshchem]

I bught the the 2nd ed a long time ago
I'll have to make a good bonfire after receiving the new book, and burn the old one after transferring my side notes

No book burning!

 

[absalom1951]

Are there any advantages to preordering the book from Amazon?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

My only question would be: is there any reason to buy a new edition of this book if you already have any of the other editions? It seems that any additional information (i.e., not in previous editions) would either be too esoteric or readily available from any number of websites.

It's always benefitial to have the last edition of any book.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

No book burning!

Exactly. You a better off giving it away!

 

[mshchem]

It's always benefitial to have the last edition of any book.

I have both editions of your book.

 

[titrisol]

It's always benefitial to have the last edition of any book.

Mr Anchell's own suggestion
Books are either given away or burnt as a sign of respect
the ones that go to trash are that.... deserve to rot.

 

[mrosenlof]

It does not last in alcohol. Maybe it won't last years in anything but it does last a practical amount of time in glycol. As in, I mixed up a bit in glycol about 6 months ago and it's still fine.

I have used a stock solution of Phenidone in denatured alcohol that lasted at least a year before getting used up. This is multiple trials. I mix 2g in 100ml and it will typically get used up in about a year. I'll admit this an eyeball estimate of activity, I don't own a densitometer.

I can also say confidently that a denatured alcohol solution of Phenidone won't last five years.

 

[Tom Taylor]

Is there any chance you could persuade DR5 to reveal their B&W Reversal process? It would be such a pity if this dies with the inventor, and despite the superb quality of DR5, the inventor is surely mortal.

A DR5 B&W reversal process was published in the 3d Edition of the Cookbook using D-11. Outside of a transcription error, which I reported to Steve, it worked fine.

 

[ChrisGalway]

A DR5 B&W reversal process was published in the 3d Edition of the Cookbook using D-11. Outside of a transcription error, which I reported to Steve, it worked fine.

Thanks for pointing this out!

"a" DR5 or "the" DR5? Is there more than one? I was under the impression that DR5 used a chromographic developer.

 

[Steve Anchell]

Is there any chance you could persuade DR5 to reveal their B&W Reversal process? It would be such a pity if this dies with the inventor, and despite the superb quality of DR5, the inventor is surely mortal.

Thank you for bringing this up, Chris. I arranged with David Wood to publish the complete Dr5 process in the fifth edition. When David finally shared the process with me, I realized it was too advanced for the home darkroom, beside taking up more space than was possible in the book. Even though I hand-processed Ektachrome E3 and E4 in my pro lab in the 1970s, this is a process I would not personally attempt. IMO it is only appropriate for a pro lab, preferably with a dedicated machine processor.

I suggested to David that he should publish it as a stand-alone book, including the schematic for his machine processor, and that I would introduce him to my editor at Focal Press. He declined the offer and I have not heard from him since.

In the meantime, Bill Troop has shown an interest in the process. I recommended he contact David directly and perhaps arrange to include it in the 3rd edition of The Film Developing Cookbook, a far more appropriate venue. I have heard nothing from either of them.

 

[Steve Anchell]

No book burning!

The 2nd edition with the green cover is full of mistakes. I allowed Focal Press to provide the editor; he didn't know what he was doing, and I didn't practice due diligence checking his work - my bad. In this case, I would highly suggest burning the second edition.

 

[Steve Anchell]

The 30th Anniversary (5th) edition of DCB is in the final stages of production. If all goes well, it will be available for preorder on December 9 from Amazon and the publisher, Focal Press, The Darkroom Cookbook 30th Anniversary Edition. The book has a lot of new material, and most, if not all, errors found in previous editions have been corrected.

For those involved with alternative processes, I have rewritten the chapter on enlarged digital negatives to make it easy to follow and create negatives the first time. Mark Osterman contributed a chapter on making a silver gelatin emulsion; Ed Buffaloe contributed a chapter on solarization, and a new chapter on master photographers' printing methods. I have written in-depth about the differences between sharpness and fine grain and how to achieve one or the other. There is a section on using LEDs for enlarging and another on split-printing from the out-of-print Variable Contrast Printing Manual, which has also been included. Importantly, there is a revamping of the Formulas, with formulas I feel are no longer of value removed and new formulas included.

If you use the DCB in your work, I recommend that you update to this edition.

 

[Renato Tonelli]

The 4th edition has a chapter on enlarging negatives. In this edition, I have included an updated chapter on making enlarged digital negatives for contact printing.

I spent many years of my career making enlarged negatives in the darkroom. It is one of the most difficult and tedious things to do and hard to get right the first time. I have found enlarged digital negatives to be a much better method.

Thank you.

Looking forward to the new edition.

(Saw the responses only today).

 

[Steve Anchell]

Thank you.

Looking forward to the new edition.

(Saw the responses only today).

Thank you, Renato.

 

[ChrisGalway]

Thank you for bringing this up, Chris. I arranged with David Wood to publish the complete Dr5 process in the fifth edition. When David finally shared the process with me, I realized it was too advanced for the home darkroom, beside taking up more space than was possible in the book. Even though I hand-processed Ektachrome E3 and E4 in my pro lab in the 1970s, this is a process I would not personally attempt. IMO it is only appropriate for a pro lab, preferably with a dedicated machine processor.

I suggested to David that he should publish it as a stand-alone book, including the schematic for his machine processor, and that I would introduce him to my editor at Focal Press. He declined the offer and I have not heard from him since.

In the meantime, Bill Troop has shown an interest in the process. I recommended he contact David directly and perhaps arrange to include it in the 3rd edition of The Film Developing Cookbook, a far more appropriate venue. I have heard nothing from either of them.

Steve, Thanks for your efforts to publish the Dr5 process. From what David Wood has described on his website, the process does use machinery that even a keen amateur would not have.

My whole career was in science (physics), and I still consider myself a scientist in retirement. The methodology of science is to observe and report your results accurately and objectively, so that others can learn from and, more importantly, build upon your results. One day someone, somewhere, makes a huge leap forward which gets all the publicity but their leap forward is always based on the observations and results of many (many) others ... that's how science works.

So I'm sure David Wood feels he has the "best" process, based on his extensive experimentation and experience, but ... if it's like anything else in science ... it can almost certainly be improved or adapted by others in the future. There are a lot of very smart people out there! It would be great to see his work published, that would be a huge contribution by him and the publisher.

One reason for my interest is his possible use of chromogenic development.

 

[moggi1964]

The 30th Anniversary (5th) edition of DCB is in the final stages of production. If all goes well, it will be available for preorder on December 9 from Amazon and the publisher, Focal Press, The Darkroom Cookbook 30th Anniversary Edition. The book has a lot of new material, and most, if not all, errors found in previous editions have been corrected.

For those involved with alternative processes, I have rewritten the chapter on enlarged digital negatives to make it easy to follow and create negatives the first time. Mark Osterman contributed a chapter on making a silver gelatin emulsion; Ed Buffaloe contributed a chapter on solarization, and a new chapter on master photographers' printing methods. I have written in-depth about the differences between sharpness and fine grain and how to achieve one or the other. There is a section on using LEDs for enlarging and another on split-printing from the out-of-print Variable Contrast Printing Manual, which has also been included. Importantly, there is a revamping of the Formulas, with formulas I feel are no longer of value removed and new formulas included.

If you use the DCB in your work, I recommend that you update to this edition.

On my Christmas Wish List. Thank you for your commitment to it Steve.

 

[titrisol]

The 30th Anniversary (5th) edition of DCB is in the final stages of production. If all goes well, it will be available for preorder on December 9 from Amazon and the publisher, Focal Press, The Darkroom Cookbook 30th Anniversary Edition. The book has a lot of new material, and most, if not all, errors found in previous editions have been corrected.

For those involved with alternative processes, I have rewritten the chapter on enlarged digital negatives to make it easy to follow and create negatives the first time. Mark Osterman contributed a chapter on making a silver gelatin emulsion; Ed Buffaloe contributed a chapter on solarization, and a new chapter on master photographers' printing methods. I have written in-depth about the differences between sharpness and fine grain and how to achieve one or the other. There is a section on using LEDs for enlarging and another on split-printing from the out-of-print Variable Contrast Printing Manual, which has also been included. Importantly, there is a revamping of the Formulas, with formulas I feel are no longer of value removed and new formulas included.

If you use the DCB in your work, I recommend that you update to this edition.

SO that is why Amazon told me it was delayed!
Awesome job, looking forward to it

 

[Steve Anchell]

Steve, Thanks for your efforts to publish the Dr5 process. From what David Wood has described on his website, the process does use machinery that even a keen amateur would not have.

My whole career was in science (physics), and I still consider myself a scientist in retirement. The methodology of science is to observe and report your results accurately and objectively, so that others can learn from and, more importantly, build upon your results. One day someone, somewhere, makes a huge leap forward which gets all the publicity but their leap forward is always based on the observations and results of many (many) others ... that's how science works.

So I'm sure David Wood feels he has the "best" process, based on his extensive experimentation and experience, but ... if it's like anything else in science ... it can almost certainly be improved or adapted by others in the future. There are a lot of very smart people out there! It would be great to see his work published, that would be a huge contribution by him and the publisher.

One reason for my interest is his possible use of chromogenic development.

I would very much like to see David's process published in full, but I don't believe the DCB is the place to do it. I hope he will accept my offer of an introduction to my editor at Focal.

 

[Steve Anchell]

On my Christmas Wish List. Thank you for your commitment to it Steve.

The DCB makes a great stocking stuffer for all of your loved ones. What? Your daughter is only 3? Just think how happy she'll be when she turns 16 and realizes she loves photography more than boys and Lo! there's the copy of DCB Dad bought her all those years ago!

 

[Steve Anchell]

SO that is why Amazon told me it was delayed!
Awesome job, looking forward to it

Thank you, Titrisol. You won't be disappointed.

 

[mshchem]

Thank you for bringing this up, Chris. I arranged with David Wood to publish the complete Dr5 process in the fifth edition. When David finally shared the process with me, I realized it was too advanced for the home darkroom, beside taking up more space than was possible in the book. Even though I hand-processed Ektachrome E3 and E4 in my pro lab in the 1970s, this is a process I would not personally attempt. IMO it is only appropriate for a pro lab, preferably with a dedicated machine processor.

I suggested to David that he should publish it as a stand-alone book, including the schematic for his machine processor, and that I would introduce him to my editor at Focal Press. He declined the offer and I have not heard from him since.

In the meantime, Bill Troop has shown an interest in the process. I recommended he contact David directly and perhaps arrange to include it in the 3rd edition of The Film Developing Cookbook, a far more appropriate venue. I have heard nothing from either of them.

This is a bummer. I really hope that the DR5 process can be detailed and archived with photos. Maybe some person could find some grant money. This is definitely a bit of an orphan process.