Notes On Process
I often receive emails inquiring about my process. Since the shift to digital I suppose a fair amount of people out there have never used film, let alone been in the darkroom. So here it is, for what it’s worth.
Cameras, Film and Processing
Some years ago I started shooting Leica rangefinders. I’m not a Leica freak, I don’t collect cameras. I am notoriously hard on my gear, and I shoot Leicas because, quite frankly, Germans make really good cameras. The glass is razor sharp and the bodies last forever. All the equipment I own is twice as old as I am.
I shoot with Kodak Tri-X 400 film, rated at ISO 320 to give the negs a little more punch. Tri-X has an amazing amount of detail even when printing 20 x 24 inches and larger, as well as a great deal of exposure latitude, which is good since I’m lazy with the light meter and tend to guess. I normally develop with Ilford Ilfosol developer, which has a bit more acutance than Kodak’s standard D-76 developer, keeping the grain nice and sharp.
Enlarger
I’m currently using an Omega D2 variable condenser enlarger with a Nikkor 50mm. The condensers and hot lamp have been removed and replaced with a Zone VI Cold Light head that sits directly above the negative stage. A cold light head produces a very sharp, high contrast print with no filtration, and without the condensers, dust on the negative is less likely to print. Cold heads use a fluorescent tube in a grid pattern, giving perfectly even illumination across the film, eliminating soft corners that often occur with condensers. The light is much more intense than a hot bulb, exposure time is cut nearly in half. I’ve also filed out the negative carriers to print full frame.
Paper and Development
My paper of choice is Oriental-Seagull variable contrast fiber base. Oriental is high contrast, cold tone paper, with rich blacks and a clean white base. Using a cold light head on a variable contrast paper without filtration, I control the contrast and density of the print solely by exposure and development time. My typical recipe for developer is Edwal Ultra Black, a high speed cold tone developer, with an additive of Liquid Orthazite, a restrainer, that cools the image tone even more and cleans up the highlights.
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