Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Almost 8 years ago the "Onion" had a headline, "Black Man Gets Worse Job Ever" and there was a photograph of the President Elect Obama. It was shortly after this time that I found myself in a similar sitch-Che-A-tion when Damaso Reyes had started the NYC Meet-Up and somehow handed the responsibility to me before leaving for Spain. Somehow a lazy slacker like me got saddled with responsibility. LOL.
In November, of this Election Year, will be our 8th year of more or less meeting monthly, and in celebration I would like to give back to the group that made me less lazy and really helped me greatly develop as a photographer in so many ways.
First off many thanks to John for stepping up and managing so I could take a break, and also for all his help.
For others: Thanks for getting me a fresh large format printer (Epson 7800) for $100.00; thanks for the honor of giving a Symposium at ICP; thanks for all the expert technical help that help advance my photography; and most of all thanks for being my friends because I know I can be mighty annoying and crazy. LOL.
The amount of support has been so generous, and we truely are great friends. As part of my gratitude I propose the New York City "Slacker Brew Invitational."
Here are the guidelines and the rules: Shoot a roll of 36 exposure Tri-X at 800 ISO and give it to me for processing in Diafine. I say the limit of films given to me has to be capped at 75 rolls of Tri-X which is what typically I can do in a day. Negatives will be return sleeved in a negative file. Sorry no 120 at this time. Also limited only to people who have attended at least one NYC Meet-Up or the one we had in Philly. I am trying not to exclude anyone so other friends from all over the world can participate. Anyways this is an opportunity for say Jerome in Montreal for example, but you must have attended at least one NYC sponsored Meet-Up. BTW I am sure we will make up more rules to keep this fun as we go along. My goal is to have perhaps a November Meet-Up deadline. Also know I will not be keeping track of individual films so expect some chaos and the usual confusion I tend to create. LOL.
Anyways I am kinda gearing up to exploit and further refine my process. Let's do it together. We can learn a lot.
Also I want to dedicate this event to our dear friend Helen Hill who is such an original thinker.
We live in a great city for day and night shooting. Let's keep that sharing going.
This event will kinda jump start my film fever. I already have the gallon kit of Diafine required, but because I'm a lazy slacker it is not mixed. The cost of this processing is actually a few pennies of fixer because the Diafine gets reused. Know that I only use HPLC grade chemically pure water for all my chemistry and stop bath. The lab water is so pure that it is not safe to drink because it is so chemically reactive that it will erode living tissue. Also it has an electrical resistance of over 18 Mega ohms. Pure H-two-O.
Also I will bring to the Meet-Up a GePe light table and an 8X lupe to show you the amazing IQ and that the grain is mucho small almost like Fuji Acros (almost no grain).
Understand that Diafine is a compensating developer that is two parts. The compensating effect is reduced contrast, and understand that Diafine originally was created for night shooting.
In the spirit of Helen's original thinking I kinda threw away the directions and figured out how to make Diafine work for me. I'm a lazy slacker, so it basically is less work. As long as the developer is over 20 degrees "C" or 68 degrees "F" there is no concern for temperature.
Next understand that the development times are short. Then Diafine gets reused saving money and time. The results are sharp fine grained with a rich midrange.
The way Diafine works is kinda interesting. Part A is the developer, but during the recommended 3 minute soak actually no or the tiniest amount of development happens. In slacker mode I reduced aggitation to only two inversions because I found that it makes the grain smaller. A bonus effect is that I kinda get reduced development that further reduces contrast to leave rich midrange of a larger format.
Part A is poured off and saved to be reused. Next is the Part B that actually activates the Part A that is soaked into the negative. Again I minimize aggitation to reduce contrast and minimize grain. Like stand development the highlights get developed and then stop. Really hard to blow the highlights so that endpoint is established, I tend to expose for about 50% grey instead of 30% grey if the lighting is not contrasty or very bright, perhaps a 1/3rd stop more light (IE expose at 650 ISO under diffused lighting).
Diafine is known for deep shadow detail so don't be surprise if your 35mm negatives look like medium format. Anyways because of a higher shutter speed expect sharper negatives by that alone, but also know as a developer that Diafine is also sharp.
When in doubt overexpose, otherwise thin negatives will result. Soon I will begin conditioning my batch of Diafine with 25-30 rolls of film. Diafine kinda gets seasoned with use and that usually requires about 25-30 rolls being processed.
Anyways let's blast away.
Cal
In November, of this Election Year, will be our 8th year of more or less meeting monthly, and in celebration I would like to give back to the group that made me less lazy and really helped me greatly develop as a photographer in so many ways.
First off many thanks to John for stepping up and managing so I could take a break, and also for all his help.
For others: Thanks for getting me a fresh large format printer (Epson 7800) for $100.00; thanks for the honor of giving a Symposium at ICP; thanks for all the expert technical help that help advance my photography; and most of all thanks for being my friends because I know I can be mighty annoying and crazy. LOL.
The amount of support has been so generous, and we truely are great friends. As part of my gratitude I propose the New York City "Slacker Brew Invitational."
Here are the guidelines and the rules: Shoot a roll of 36 exposure Tri-X at 800 ISO and give it to me for processing in Diafine. I say the limit of films given to me has to be capped at 75 rolls of Tri-X which is what typically I can do in a day. Negatives will be return sleeved in a negative file. Sorry no 120 at this time. Also limited only to people who have attended at least one NYC Meet-Up or the one we had in Philly. I am trying not to exclude anyone so other friends from all over the world can participate. Anyways this is an opportunity for say Jerome in Montreal for example, but you must have attended at least one NYC sponsored Meet-Up. BTW I am sure we will make up more rules to keep this fun as we go along. My goal is to have perhaps a November Meet-Up deadline. Also know I will not be keeping track of individual films so expect some chaos and the usual confusion I tend to create. LOL.
Anyways I am kinda gearing up to exploit and further refine my process. Let's do it together. We can learn a lot.
Also I want to dedicate this event to our dear friend Helen Hill who is such an original thinker.
We live in a great city for day and night shooting. Let's keep that sharing going.
This event will kinda jump start my film fever. I already have the gallon kit of Diafine required, but because I'm a lazy slacker it is not mixed. The cost of this processing is actually a few pennies of fixer because the Diafine gets reused. Know that I only use HPLC grade chemically pure water for all my chemistry and stop bath. The lab water is so pure that it is not safe to drink because it is so chemically reactive that it will erode living tissue. Also it has an electrical resistance of over 18 Mega ohms. Pure H-two-O.
Also I will bring to the Meet-Up a GePe light table and an 8X lupe to show you the amazing IQ and that the grain is mucho small almost like Fuji Acros (almost no grain).
Understand that Diafine is a compensating developer that is two parts. The compensating effect is reduced contrast, and understand that Diafine originally was created for night shooting.
In the spirit of Helen's original thinking I kinda threw away the directions and figured out how to make Diafine work for me. I'm a lazy slacker, so it basically is less work. As long as the developer is over 20 degrees "C" or 68 degrees "F" there is no concern for temperature.
Next understand that the development times are short. Then Diafine gets reused saving money and time. The results are sharp fine grained with a rich midrange.
The way Diafine works is kinda interesting. Part A is the developer, but during the recommended 3 minute soak actually no or the tiniest amount of development happens. In slacker mode I reduced aggitation to only two inversions because I found that it makes the grain smaller. A bonus effect is that I kinda get reduced development that further reduces contrast to leave rich midrange of a larger format.
Part A is poured off and saved to be reused. Next is the Part B that actually activates the Part A that is soaked into the negative. Again I minimize aggitation to reduce contrast and minimize grain. Like stand development the highlights get developed and then stop. Really hard to blow the highlights so that endpoint is established, I tend to expose for about 50% grey instead of 30% grey if the lighting is not contrasty or very bright, perhaps a 1/3rd stop more light (IE expose at 650 ISO under diffused lighting).
Diafine is known for deep shadow detail so don't be surprise if your 35mm negatives look like medium format. Anyways because of a higher shutter speed expect sharper negatives by that alone, but also know as a developer that Diafine is also sharp.
When in doubt overexpose, otherwise thin negatives will result. Soon I will begin conditioning my batch of Diafine with 25-30 rolls of film. Diafine kinda gets seasoned with use and that usually requires about 25-30 rolls being processed.
Anyways let's blast away.
Cal
finguanzo
Well-known
This doesn't work for me Cal, I either shoot 20 rolls in a month, or 10 in a year, depending on my emotional state...... 
Although you might get lucky and catch me on an up swing.... I have about 20 rolls for you to develop if it will help you
Missing Sunday, hopefully I'm around after that, this damn house thing keeps you busy, and I haven't started thinking about the darkroom yet..
Although you might get lucky and catch me on an up swing.... I have about 20 rolls for you to develop if it will help you
Missing Sunday, hopefully I'm around after that, this damn house thing keeps you busy, and I haven't started thinking about the darkroom yet..
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
This doesn't work for me Cal, I either shoot 20 rolls in a month, or 10 in a year, depending on my emotional state......
Although you might get lucky and catch me on an up swing.... I have about 20 rolls for you to develop if it will help you
Missing Sunday, hopefully I'm around after that, this damn house thing keeps you busy, and I haven't started thinking about the darkroom yet..
Fidel,
New rule is only one roll per person. LOL.
Cal
finguanzo
Well-known
I tried...
icebear
Veteran
Now you come up with such an idea after I traded all my film M's for a Q.
Guess I should have kept at least one, oh well. I'll stick with SD cards
Guess I should have kept at least one, oh well. I'll stick with SD cards
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Now you come up with such an idea after I traded all my film M's for a Q.
Guess I should have kept at least one, oh well. I'll stick with SD cards
Klaus,
If you need a film body I have mucho. Perhaps too many. LOL.
Anyways part of the legend. LOL.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Fidel,
A typical New Yorker. LOL.
Anyways I'm kinda evaluating to do as much as I can to perhaps get 135 to look like my Monochrom in 13x19.5 prints. If I can do that then maybe I really don't need medium format and all the Nikons and Leicas stay.
I think John is correct. I've been holding out with the medium format for wet printing. Although I have a full darkroom in storage, I don't have the space and maybe never will.
Then there is the best way to exploit my digital printing even more. I actually kinda need a few more 7800 or 7880 "Jersey Barrier" class printers. I want/need a printer set up with a Selenium inkset for that more silver wet print look, and I need a printer that is dedicated to just Gloss Overcoat because if I batch print either the 7 print heads for the blacks or the Gloss Overcoat head gets subjected to the air too much.
With printing times of 41-45 minutes of exposure when printing 20x30's the nozzles are prone to clogs. Cronic cleanings are required. If I had dedicated printers then I could hammer the printers by using them a lot and it would actually be great for extending print head life.
Don't tell "Maggie" I need another big printer or two. LOL.
Anyways I'm thinking of acquiring a few more printers, even if I have to pay for storage. Perhaps my idea is kinda set up a printer junkyard so I have mucho parts and spares. So if you know anyone getting rid of an Epson 7800, 7880, 9800, or 9880 please let me know, even if not working. In the least I think I would like about 4 large format printers to be happy. Know that a 9800 or 9880 is about 6 feet long and weighs 235 pounds and that 7800, 7880, 9800 and 9880's share many of the same parts. These printers are kinda known as the pickup trucks of the printers that Epson made.
To set up a serious studio, maybe as soon as in two years, I would want a warm neutral to selenium split tone that I currently have, a dedicated Selenium for that silver wet print look, a dedicated Gloss Overcoat printer, and a K7 color printer that I would use refillable carts and load with Jon Cone Color pigment inks. Basically I want to set up a print studio if I can.
I'm kinda sorry I didn't pick up a clogged 9880 from the Brooklyn Navy yard that was offered for free (thanks Christian). Things like this are now kinda valuable to me. I miss my 84 Jeep Scrambler with the Corvette engine. I kinda need to take things apart and rebuild them again. I need another crazy project to feel like I'm living my life fully.
I have a new motto that goes with aging; Crazy is good.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I got my first roll from Joe.
Cal
Cal
Prest_400
Multiformat
Riff raff of life and forgot that Damaso lives in Barcelona. I went to his exhibition back when I started college. That's 4 years ago, wow.
Treaded to perhaps meet with him but the usual things of life made us not to cross paths.
We could have a NYC meet up in Barcelona, heh. I did miss a RFF wide meet up by a few months margin though.
I do have plans (thanks to the stale labor and academic situation) to get the helluva outta here though. A trip to the tropics is backlogged as well, so if fall passes I may just slack and leave for a month.
That's a great initiative.
Recalling memories, Madhattan at night has a Noir esque ambiance and I saw some work around of pushed B&W with bastante grain and contrast. With all the craze of my visit I didn't have the click of exposing a roll like that. Every once in a while I have the B&W mood but it often fades after a couple rolls.
Canlas recently hyped HP5+3 in MF, I thought it could be a nice low light option... And my lab is currently carrying HP5 cheap. Stocks good until I get to travel around.
Methinks that the holiday resort state that my town has been for the summer does not foster that mood.
<Beamed through Tapatalk relay>
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
J-D,
Since Damaso left New York for Spain, I have run into him incidently about 3-4 times uptown. I think 2-3 times in Spaha, and once on a crosstown bus.
The world is not that big.
I have a new rig for shooting Tri-X at 800 ISO: a Nikon F5 with a 28/1.4 AF-D. I wanted a film body that has a 1/8000 shutter speed so I can kill the amount of light for day shooting. I'm a lazy slacker.
BTW Diafine is fine grain and provides generous mids even in a night shot because it is a compensating developer. When in doubt overexpose to avoid thin negatives.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I am inspired because I just built a film version of a Leica "Q" that is great/ideal for my Slacker's Brew.
The past two days I have been walking to work on the Upper Eastside carrying a Nikon F5 rigged with the rare 28/1.4 AF-D, with a DK-17 magnifier, and AH-4 handstrap. So what it is not so small and light, but 28mm, hyper fast lens, and autofocus makes for a great shooter.
Normally I love my F3P and F3HP for manual focus lenses, but an autofocus 28 is sublime. Add onto that 1/8000 shutter speed so I can shoot at 800 ISO and still kill light and not run out of shutter speed.
Anyways I specifically developed a camera that is specifically created to exploit my Slacker's Brew and to take full advantage of the extra stop of film speed.
The IQ is such that my negatives have full range of tone with great midrange, and also fine grain like Fuji Acros. This is my camera for Day-Into-Night, and the added ballast makes for a steady rig. Most importantly it looks evil. LOL.
Cal
The past two days I have been walking to work on the Upper Eastside carrying a Nikon F5 rigged with the rare 28/1.4 AF-D, with a DK-17 magnifier, and AH-4 handstrap. So what it is not so small and light, but 28mm, hyper fast lens, and autofocus makes for a great shooter.
Normally I love my F3P and F3HP for manual focus lenses, but an autofocus 28 is sublime. Add onto that 1/8000 shutter speed so I can shoot at 800 ISO and still kill light and not run out of shutter speed.
Anyways I specifically developed a camera that is specifically created to exploit my Slacker's Brew and to take full advantage of the extra stop of film speed.
The IQ is such that my negatives have full range of tone with great midrange, and also fine grain like Fuji Acros. This is my camera for Day-Into-Night, and the added ballast makes for a steady rig. Most importantly it looks evil. LOL.
Cal