On a rainy Saturday, it's my family's custom to hie ourselves to a Barnes and Noble about 20 miles from our home to drink coffee and read. (The seven year old happily curls up in the children's section...but has no coffee that we know of.) I like to catch up on all the photography magazines to which I don't subscribe and will usually buy the ones that offer something worth taking home.
Today, in the May/June issue of Phototechniques, I came across an exceedingly forthright essay by Howard Bond titled: "Pyro Investigation: Pyro's Benefits May Not Be Worth Its Costs" in which he compares the results of several negatives of the same subject developed in D76 and PMK Pyro and the consequent prints including one coupled with an unsharp mask. His conclusion seems to be that the "meager benefits" that might be detected by use of pyro are significantly compromised by it's inherent health hazards, and certainly don't hold a candle to the benefits of unsharp masking in terms of sharpness. He writes: "A biochemist friend told me that the pyro molecule is similar to the pesticide molecule that has been giving Canadian farmers Parkinson's disease (not proof, but a red flag). Anecdotes don't prove anything, but it is interesting that the most famous pyro user, Edward Weston, died of Parkinson's disease." He further states in a subsequent paragraph: "Granted, I am not aware of any proof that long-term low-level exposure to pyro causes a specific health problem. On the other hand, the only evidence a pyro enthusiast can offer for the safety of its use is "Nothing has happened to me yet."
So...though I've bought the "Book of Pyro" and the PMK kit that comes from Bostick and Sullivan, it shall remain unopened until I am sure beyond any reasonable doubt that it is safe...including the remote consequences of inadvertant exposure by accident.
Many on this site seem to be enamored of the stuff. I'd like to suggest a discussion that offers an alternative view or corroborates Howard Bond's assesment.
Today, in the May/June issue of Phototechniques, I came across an exceedingly forthright essay by Howard Bond titled: "Pyro Investigation: Pyro's Benefits May Not Be Worth Its Costs" in which he compares the results of several negatives of the same subject developed in D76 and PMK Pyro and the consequent prints including one coupled with an unsharp mask. His conclusion seems to be that the "meager benefits" that might be detected by use of pyro are significantly compromised by it's inherent health hazards, and certainly don't hold a candle to the benefits of unsharp masking in terms of sharpness. He writes: "A biochemist friend told me that the pyro molecule is similar to the pesticide molecule that has been giving Canadian farmers Parkinson's disease (not proof, but a red flag). Anecdotes don't prove anything, but it is interesting that the most famous pyro user, Edward Weston, died of Parkinson's disease." He further states in a subsequent paragraph: "Granted, I am not aware of any proof that long-term low-level exposure to pyro causes a specific health problem. On the other hand, the only evidence a pyro enthusiast can offer for the safety of its use is "Nothing has happened to me yet."
So...though I've bought the "Book of Pyro" and the PMK kit that comes from Bostick and Sullivan, it shall remain unopened until I am sure beyond any reasonable doubt that it is safe...including the remote consequences of inadvertant exposure by accident.
Many on this site seem to be enamored of the stuff. I'd like to suggest a discussion that offers an alternative view or corroborates Howard Bond's assesment.