tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post2290063434318957282..comments2024-03-11T08:59:46.846-08:00Comments on FogBlog: 4K Burning MoggieHerman Sheephousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-31809538692744382332016-11-15T11:29:12.664-09:002016-11-15T11:29:12.664-09:00Hi Dave - no idea- not heard from him for a couple...Hi Dave - no idea- not heard from him for a couple of weeks but have just emailed -hopefully an answer in the morning!Herman Sheephousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-22998145242609711832016-11-15T07:57:32.460-09:002016-11-15T07:57:32.460-09:00Not a comment, but an off-topic question -- do you...Not a comment, but an off-topic question -- do you know what has happened to The Online Darkroom blog -- http://www.theonlinedarkroom.com/?<br /><br />Bruce was posting fairly frequently up until a few days ago, but now all I get at his site is a notice that the domain has expired.Dave Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16815756076188881975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-79472714326206159922016-10-08T11:11:36.771-08:002016-10-08T11:11:36.771-08:00Julian - wasn't aware of those - they look atm...Julian - wasn't aware of those - they look atmosphery and VERY soft prints. Not sure if you have it, but can I recommend John Blakemore's Black and White Photography Workshop book - don't pay the rip-off prices on Amazon - I've seen it around quite reasonably. It really gets you into thinking about image and printing, and whilst pretty technical in places, I think it is one of the best printing books I've read.<br />I wouldn't worry about not having a tripod - I think places like that can be shot with more immediacy sometimes, and it lends itself to the atmosphere. Just think to yourself that you don't really want to get below a shutter speed equivalent to your film speed and open up or stop down from there. I've done it and it works, 'course that was with the Leica and Summaron, but you can do it with a TLR too.Herman Sheephousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-16746854229600676952016-10-08T00:23:10.567-08:002016-10-08T00:23:10.567-08:00Thomas Joshua Cooper - he's the chap who did t...Thomas Joshua Cooper - he's the chap who did those famous pictures of Nesscliff. That's just a couple of miles away from here as the crow, or indeed a member of any other of the numerous avian species, flies. <br /><br />Whilst not <i>entirely</i> approving of those who try to reproduce the work of those considered masters rather than seeing for themselves, I have had a go at a few shots there myself. I reckon the trees must have changed sufficiently to inject a little originality into whatever snaps I end up with. What I did get after developing and printing was a sense of <b>how useful a tripod might be</b> next time. Some with shake, some with a softness due to the wide open aperture.Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474089108788967111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-29749778572276077452016-10-07T00:08:57.464-08:002016-10-07T00:08:57.464-08:00Hi Julian - thanks as always for the input.
The d...Hi Julian - thanks as always for the input.<br /><br />The developing stuff - it's pretty easy, but just requires a bit more time and effort - if you want to try out some alternatives, Barry Thornton's old dilute Perceptol writings were what set me on trying different things. There's loads of info about it online, or of course in his two books - definitely worth looking into - you have compensation, very fine grain and a lack of highlight burn-out - all in all, given you can buy a box of the powder and it is simple to mix, a win win situation.<br />Pyrocat does require some effort in mixing but so far seems to suit me fine - this being said the last film I developed was in July, so it might have gorn orff since then due to my poor mixing technique, but who knows!<br /><br />I was at a Scottish photographers meeting back in May - I took along some prints on old Agfa MCC - they looked bloody wonderful. Now the meeting was a little unusual, because along with the usual suspects who are all really nice people, there were a few folk from Glasgow who are trying to rebuild the Scottish Photographers name (a long story, involving a magazine and website . . the meetings I go to, were SP meetings till it sort of fell apart but we all got on and enjoyed it so continued). Anyway, the Glasgow folk - one of whom was a darkroom technician to Thomas Joshua Cooper, whilst they did seem to be impressed with the prints initially, when they asked me what developer I had used, probably expecting me to say Dr Beers or Amidol or one of these highly "arty" (don't mean that in a bad way) developers were utterly flumoxed when i said "bog standard Fotospeed" and lost interest after that . . . some you win, some you lose! The gravitas is definitely there in the prints, however I have produced fibre prints that weren't fit to wipe yer arse with . . so . . who knows!<br /><br />Glad to hear you are using fibre though - it can be quite something. If you fancy using older papers, go for a multigrade fibre and filter at Grade 4 or 5 . . it should work against the potential fogging. I've mixed Benzo with normal developer and it didn't work as I thought it would, in fact the prints that were printed a grade harder and developed with normal developer looked a whole lot cleaner.<br />Oh and developer - you know what, I can really recomend Kodak's Polymax print developer - it is a liquid version of Dektol (Sir Ansel's favourite) and is very clean, long-lasting and economical, and it can rescue a poor print's blacks too - I've found that if you are developing a print and the blacks really don't look look like they're coming through enough, a squirt of neat developer into the tray can help things along . . not exactly archival darkroom practice, but it works!<br /><br />Emulsion side - easy peasy. Generally the back of the paper will provide more of a 'whisper' when you rub your thumb back and forth over it in the dark. There's other things too, like smoothness on the emulsion side, but the whisper has proved effective for me over the years, though it isn't always the case.<br /><br />I am not a fan of textured papers really - give me a nice old gloss finish, though this being said the old Kentmere stippled finish was actually not too bad.<br /><br />Coo, that was a lot of typing!Herman Sheephousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-75527292124634385822016-10-06T23:21:27.148-08:002016-10-06T23:21:27.148-08:00I'm still on the nursery slopes of my film dev...I'm still on the nursery slopes of my film developing learning curve so will leave the fancy, blindfolded, fire-juggling, high-wire, upside down, unicycle riding stuff to bold pioneering adventurers such as you. The concept of staining and the effect it can have on contrast does intrigue. As you said there is loads of info on Sandy King's site - three visits on and I'm struggling to assimilate it all.<br /><br />Re your Sheephousian aside:<br />I don't think that the day of the entirely photographic print - that produced by using light and alchemy - is over. It's just that we as photographers / printers have to up our game. <br /><br />In my limited experience, a well produced print of a good image on RC gets a good reception. The same picture on fibre gets people positively rhapsodic. People will always want, for important images, something tangible, something they can hold. Even if they don't know why, they appreciate the quality. Fibre imparts gravitas.<br /><br />Disclaimer: My entire fibre based printing knowledge is from some very old Ilfobrom - it's not branded Galerie , it's that old. I also have a box of 5x7 Ilford MG Art paper which is new, heavily textured and not, in my view, entirely suitable for printing on at such a small size. Good job I only have a box of 50! Even so, it does give a certain something to whatever is printed on it - once you can work out which side has the emulsion! And being new, we don't struggle with fog, lack of contrast and we do get nicer denser blacks.Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474089108788967111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-58314279748999428002016-10-03T05:51:27.429-08:002016-10-03T05:51:27.429-08:00Hi Julian -well it had to be done - I started wri...Hi Julian -well it had to be done - I started writing this one back in July!<br />Basically, Pyrocat HD doesn't burn out your highlights so, say in a very dark house, I was able to expose for the shadow detail on the wall, capture that on film and also the bright area from the window didn't just turn to a white burn-out with no detail which it sort of would have with most developers. . it is a partial staining developer - if you go to Sandy King's site, there's loads of info there.Herman Sheephousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-51288916985482343612016-10-03T05:25:48.215-08:002016-10-03T05:25:48.215-08:00Another post so soon, Mr Sheephouse? You are spoil...Another post so soon, Mr Sheephouse? You are spoiling us. <br /><br />Picture me, young and innocent but prematurely grizzled by your revelations concerning high definition hot pussy.<br /><br />An aside of my own, I like the way developer is called revelateur or such like in foreign lingo as spoken by those chaps from across the water. I think I also like the sound of it in German: "entwickler".<br /><br />I'm not quite understanding what's going on here. Is it the visual equivalent of audio compression? Restricting the highlights whilst boosting the shadows?<br />Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474089108788967111noreply@blogger.com