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Water Tower, Lal Lal

Posted: 24 Sep 2018, 15:20
by mark.darragh
Image

Arca-Swiss 8x10, Fujinon 300mm C, Ilford FP4+ EMA development in 510 pryo.
Camera scan and inverted in PS

Re: Water Tower, Lal Lal

Posted: 25 Sep 2018, 11:20
by Maris
So many sweet things in this:
Space on the left for the organic-ness of the tree to counterpoint the hardness of the tower.
That ladder which must be climbed either in the imagination or for real.
The open door letting light in from the other side. A definite walk-through.
I could go on....

This is 8x10 magic delivered by good technique, good camera, good film.

Re: Water Tower, Lal Lal

Posted: 25 Sep 2018, 19:37
by Mick Fagan
I think the framing is perfect, particularly the top front corner framed by the tree limbs.

Perfect lighting for getting fine detail.

Did you climb the ladder? :D

What is EMA developing, I cannot remember ever hearing about this?

Mick.

Re: Water Tower, Lal Lal

Posted: 26 Sep 2018, 04:24
by Walter Glover
Suck a lovely find! It's all well and good for you guys to muse on climbing the ladder. Not likely now that i rely on a walking stick?!?!

Re: Water Tower, Lal Lal

Posted: 27 Sep 2018, 17:28
by mark.darragh
Thank you for your thoughts gentlemen, your comments are always insightful.


Mick, EMA = Extreme Minimal Agitation. In this case not that extreme but after 1 minute continuous, 10 seconds at 4 and 7 minutes for 10 minute total development. I generally shoot a pair of sheets, one to process in normally in XTOL or Rodinal and the other usually in some form of Pryo. Even for scanning the differences in tonality and contrast are often quite significant. The eventually goal for the pyro negs are alt process contact prints.

No, I didn't climb the ladder but the water tower is close to the local school so I suspect it gets plenty of regular ascents!

Re: Water Tower, Lal Lal

Posted: 28 Sep 2018, 14:11
by Mick Fagan
Mark, thank you for the explanation.

Sounds interesting, although I come from a rather different background with regards to agitation. For around 30 years I have developed all of my film in a Jobo processor, B&W E6 and C41, agitation is sort of in my blood, so to speak.

Since it became available, the SP-445 tank has surprised me so much and I have taken to it like a duck to water. I was part of the kickstarter project and since receiving my SP-445 tank and trying it for 10cm x 13cm (4x5"), I have used it exclusively for that format since; it works very well. I find I get virtually identical processing results compared to the Jobo using the intermittent agitation in my SP-445. Constant agitation for the first 30 seconds, then 10 seconds every 30 seconds. I came to this conclusion as according to the flow patterns obtained by the inventor of the SP-445, effective movement of liquid ceases 20 seconds after the last inversion.

With deep tank processing, as in Dip "N" Dunk systems, you almost immediately know if the Nitrogen bursts at 10 second intervals have stopped. The damage to E6 is usually irreparable, C41 is mostly recoverable; agitation is really a big difference.

I have often wondered about pyrogallol and pyrocatechin developing agents, your reply pushed me to catching up with what they do and how, so I consulted my book, "Developing" by Jacobson and Jacobson, eighteenth edition revised July 1976, 1980 reprint; pages 215 to 222.

As I don't have either developing agent, I will forego any experimentation, but one day I may just get some for a try.

Mick.

Footnote: As I was just reading the book, which is about film developing, I thought it amusing that it was printed in Bath, England.