Small Worlds On Small Bits Of Paper

Morning folks . . . bored yet? 

Well, you shouldn't be.

For all that this strange period is getting extended, and I grant you it isn't financially easy, all the same, to be going off your nut whilst being given the gift of time, seems to me to be strangely sinful.

Been taking many photographs on your daily ration of getting oot and aboot? 

Erm, well, no nether have I, BUT, I have been printing, albeit in a small way. 

I can and should be printing more, however working from home means that this desk-style workstation is always manned.

Allied to this, making this 'ere Blog became harder earlier this year, courtesy of Apple who removed all support for 32-bit programs from their current OS, Catalina. And what did that mean in photographic terms? well, it meant I could no longer easily use my ancient Epson scanner. Yes, I could buy third-party software, but it isn't cheap . . it isn't really even reasonably priced, especially considering I've effectively already bought Epson's own in the first place. 

So where did that leave me? 

Well, in the land of work-around. 

Out came Alec Turnip's old laptop; out came endless hours of getting it right and up to speed again, and finally, out came the scanner sun again. 

So basically, I am scanning with the Epson V300, saving them to a Windows 10 laptop, then transferring them over to this Mac, my main machine. 

It is, as they say around these parts, a total scutter.

Anyway, we got there eventually. 

Where's 'ere Sheepy?

Well, small worlds on small bits of paper.

Coats Please

At this point, Bruce will get confused, so don't mind him as he crouches in the corner clutching his head, but y'see, despite my insisting that I'd been printing 6x4" prints, I've just checked the box and it says 5x7". Oh I know, what's a couple of inches between friends . . but all the same, what an assumption to make. 

Fool that I am.

Anyway, the paper is Tetenal TT Vario RC. yet another of my collection of photographic dinosaur bones, and you know what, as a RC paper goes, it was probably one of the best.

That's a hell of a statement to make, so why? 

Well, unlike the likes of Multigrade RC, you didn't have to print a Grade up with it. 

I don't know about you, but with MGRC I generally always have to print on Grade 3. Grade 2 just doesn't have that slight snap that I like, whereas with the Tetenal, I get snappy on Grade 2.

I've no doubt right now there'll be someone droning on about them being effectively the same emulsion . . . well, not to my eyes or experience matey. They look different.

Anyway, taking that course is like philosophers arguing about the existence of angel's breath, as in, it's a fairly pointless exercise. Like most everything else from the photographic cull of the mid 2000's, Tetenal's TT Vario is as dead as a dodo.

But I've still got some 5x7" so why not use it.

Photographically, this was like cheese and cheese.

Two cameras: 

Leica M2 with the old Canon/Serenar 28mm f3.5

Nikon F with the pre-Ai 24mm f2.8

Film and developer both times was Delta 400 at EI 200 and it was developed in Pyrocat-HD.

They both look pretty different.

I also am wondering whether there's a light leak or something going on with the Nikon, as there's some extra sprocket density which doesn't seem to be apparent on the Leica frames. 

It could of course be occurring when I am printing - I'm using a filed-out carrier on the DeVere so that I can print full-frame. And yes, before you ask, I've used some blacking to get rid of any reflections from the edges of the carrier.

Anyway, it is really hard to say and I suppose I should dedicate some time to finding out what is going on . . . it is very annoying to say the least. 

But anyway, rather than trying to retouch it softwarily, I'll just let it be. 

See what you think.

If you've any thoughts, please chime in. 

Opinions are always welcome around here.

Ok, first up a few from a really tiddly day with a camera - scrounged around the town a bit, hit the pub about 12 had a lovely lunch and got home about 7 - great fun and all exposures guessed.

The camera was the Leica M2/Canon 28mm combo.

Abandoned Car At The Bird House

Lost Building At The Back Of The Murraygate

Coats Please

Sadly no pub pictures were added, because I didn't print them with this session, but here's some hairy scans from the rest of the film.

I suppose they don't look too bad considering.

Tiddly 1

Tiddly 2

Mennies - Quiet Afternoon

Wellcome Foundation Building

Weird Light - Murraygate, Dundee

And now we're onto the Nikon film - I was more careful with this, metering every shot as best I could given the extreme cutting sunshine at a relatively early hour and what with the Big Yellow Thing being closer to the horizon and all that.

Again, these are all prints on Tetenal TT (ta-ta!).

Unknown Location

A Nifty In The V&A

Dundee/Moscow

Hurt

Another Lost Lane

OK - unfortunately this is where the shiitake mushrooms hit the fan, because, in the words of our sponsors:

 "The surge is strong with these Luke!"

Seabraes Bridge

Not That F'ing Thing AGAIN

Dundee Waterfront Trials For Re-Creation Of Led Zeppelin's Presence

Abandoned Lifeboat

Shame eh - I love the light on the Bridge and Presence and the Lifeboat.

Now I suppose most photographic blogs wouldn't wash their dirty pants in public, 

A: because it is pretty gross

and 

B: because they want to prove they're invincible

but not here, oh no - these are Shurgetastic Mate . . . see what I mean.

Weird isn't it.

I've no idea because there doesn't seem to be any extra density on the negatives.

AT THIS POINT YOUR FEARLESS AUTHOR ARGUED HIMSELF INTO SUBMISSION AND:

Anyway, as I was writing this and everything was in one place as it were, I thought, why not check it now and it IS being created in the printing process, as I have just scanned some of the negatives of the above prints and the density is definitely not there.

Och well . . . have to be more careful with my masking . . . not so easy - might have to do some precision taping over the top of the glassless carrier, or use the sliding masks though I always feel you get a sort of penumbra of less density from those. If you have any thoughts on negative masking with printing full frame (and especially on a DeVere) please speak!

Well, I guess that's it really. Nothing much else to report, though I will say I have done something recently photographically which I have never done before, and, you know that stuff they tell you about exposed film needing to be processed as soon as possible? Watch this space.

Take care, stay safe and keep taking the beers. 

Don't know about you, but this whole thing is making me drink more . . at least, that's my excuse.