Hi Guys,
Recently I've started developing my own B&W films at home. It's extremally rewarding process but I'm yet to overcome
my 'digital habits' to make my photos look the way I want.
I love shooting high contrast B&W, and so far, I produced the best results using semi-stand development with Rodinal.
I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome, however I'm wondering, If there is any room there left to take my works at the next level. My objective is to expose shots with widest tonal range possible even with the cost of smaller contrast - I want to boost contrast during the post-process.
Can you help me with further exploration of what I need by answering below questions?
1. What's the best combination of developer and film to achieve widest tonal range possible?
2. As per my observation, I'm yielding a bit better results in terms of contrast control and tonality using films like ASA 400 . Are lower sensitivity films worse for my purpose than those of higher ASA? Or it depends on film's brand/technology used?
3. Are there any shortcomings of semi- stand-development? Despite the long dev time, it seems as a perfect process with good results. Is there any reason why I should explore developing in standard timings even If I stick to Rodinal?
I'm attaching on of my recent photo (AGFA APX 100) developed in Rodinal 1:100 in 60 min.
I'll appreciate all your comments and suggestions! Thanks!