obtaining higher density

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Teus

Thijs Deschildre
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I've broken out the bulk roll of Polypan again, I want to snap some photos on cheap film again. I used a lot last year and I have issues obtaining a high density. I bracketed a roll of film, the results were good. But when I compare to other film, the overall image is underdeveloped. Darks don't really go dark and there are no highlights.

I'm developing with fresh XTOL 1:1 with the right time and temperature (8min for Pan F 1:1, stock dilution is 8 minutes). I've extended the development time before and it didn't help much. This might be the nature of the film.

Any pointers on this?
 
There has to be something wrong with that film ... those images are as flat as anything I've ever seen! I messed around with one in my post software and you can get some contrast but at the expense of shadow detail.


teus_M09_052_28.jpg
 
thanks. I got some good other photos from last summer, but technically they are flat as well.

I will now try my old bottle of HC110, supposedly it lasts forever. It should give snappy blacks and vivid highlights.
 
okay, HC110 looks a bit better I think.
still, my max density is too low. the highlights are too dull and the blacks are too bright. how can I increase contrast through developing?

prolonged development won't get me snappy blacks. maybe I should agitate more?
 
If you increase developing time, the density in the highlights will increase,
but the density in the shadows will remain (more or less) unaltered. That
is, the contrast (the difference in density between shadows and highlights)
will increase. And I think that that's what you want.

Probably you need to bracket developing times, try something like 10% or 15%
more till you get something you like. Don't be worried if it takes longer than what
other people says. There are many variables involved.

Best,
Pau
 
Thanks pau.
How do you adjust the density of the shadows?

I know you can use the compensating effect by lower agitation. Maybe a higher agitation with shorter dev time obtains similar highlights, but less dense darks?

I developed in HC110 B at 24degrees, agitation every 15sec, 30sec longer than calculated. This was pretty brutal but the highlight densities are getting there 🙂
 
Soaking the negative in selenium will add density. Adams used a formula of 1:2 . I have not used this method for years but do recall that it does work. Some fine detail can be lost if "overdone". Google for more info. 5 min soak then re-fix is what I recall .
 
Teus, density in the shadows is controlled by the exposition, and depends on the
speed of the film, which you should rate in advance, in order to expose properly.
Then, you control the highlights during development (mainly, time).

I suggest that you bracket several shots of the same scene, not too contrasty, not too flat (five stops of difference between shadows and highlights), at halfs or thirds of stop, around the nominal iso of the film, and then develop with the recomended developing time. Look then at the shadows. Choose the iso that suits you best. Then, adjust developing time in order to place the highlights where you want. Otherwise, you can
use a densitometer, or, even better, wet printing to inspect both shadows and highlights.

Best,
Pau
 
I will keep that in mind Pau. I do scan everything, I don't print.

Here's my scans:

old photo on TMAX100, scanned with vuescan. minor white adjustment in postprocessing

teus_100706-0001.jpg



exposed today for sunny f/16, so exposed for the highlights!
minor highlight adjustment as well

XTOL 1:1
http://satsuki.nl/teus/photos/tech/polypanF/dev/teus_100706-0003.jpg

HC110 dilution E
http://satsuki.nl/teus/photos/tech/polypanF/dev/teus_100706-0004.jpg

HC110 dilution E, exposure +1
http://satsuki.nl/teus/photos/tech/polypanF/dev/teus_100706-0005.jpg

HC110 dilution B, overdeveloped 30-45sec
http://satsuki.nl/teus/photos/tech/polypanF/dev/teus_100706-0007.jpg

HC110 dilution B, overdeveloped 30-45sec, exposure +1
http://satsuki.nl/teus/photos/tech/polypanF/dev/teus_100706-0008.jpg

 I'm booking results, these images are workeable... but keep in mind this film was never meant to be the best 😉

I'll now try a roll, soup it in dilution B and overexpose here and there 1stop. Please contribute your thoughts, tonality still seems to be a bit weird to me.
 
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you need to increase your film speed to get some blacks in the shadows and also increase development by around 25 to 30%.

The shadows are controlled by film speed/exposure and the highlights by development. When you increase film speed by itself that will make the highlights less bright so you must increase development too just to keep them where they were and even more if they were not bright enough to begin with.
 
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