mfogiel
Veteran
Being 99% a B&W shooter, I have been inevitably sucked into the eternal quest for "THE" magic combination of film and developer. I find it very interesting to find out at times, that a given photographer, who I admire, is only using this and that combination of film and developer.
Most of the time however, these cases concern mature artists, who have restricted the scope of their photography to a specific subject, specific negative size, and often also a specific format of the output.. An evident example of this is Michael Kenna, who only uses 6x6 Tri X in D76, and ... he only prints 10x10 inches...
If one wants to do more types of photography and uses various formats, the choices get complicated.
So, I would like to initiate this thread, hoping you will contribute with your "Magic Combinations" - this may include the film, developer, film format, lens and even use of specific filters, which in your opinion deliver outstanding results for a specific type of output.
I would like to start with one of my favourite films - AGFA SCALA. Unfortunately, the last labs in southern Europe, stopped developing it last year, and though I still have some rolls left, I develop it myself as negative now.
Scala is a fairly sharp film with a characteristic tonality, and excels in the dramatic look of deep blacks. I find it a film which ideally suits a Ralph Gibson type of subject, without much need for shadow detail. Here is a frame developed as a slide, which illustrates the point - taken with the 50/2 Planar ZM
If you put a red 25A filter on, the resulting rendering becomes even more dramatic - this one taken with the 25/2.8 Biogon ZM
Another fabulous characteristic of this film, is the capacity to render metallic like structures in a very nice way. This one taken with the C Sonnar:
It also can deliver great results in portraiture, although I find it more appropriate for the "character" portraits, than glamour shots. This one taken with the Makro Planar 100/2 ZF and developed in Prescysol EF:
I know some were raving about SCALA in Rodinal - I have only tried it in Prescysol EF, Tanol Speed and Rodinal Special ( the shot below). In most cases, it is better to expose it at EI 100.
I will come back to this thread later, with other examples of combos that work for me, and hope to see many of your favourites too.
Most of the time however, these cases concern mature artists, who have restricted the scope of their photography to a specific subject, specific negative size, and often also a specific format of the output.. An evident example of this is Michael Kenna, who only uses 6x6 Tri X in D76, and ... he only prints 10x10 inches...
If one wants to do more types of photography and uses various formats, the choices get complicated.
So, I would like to initiate this thread, hoping you will contribute with your "Magic Combinations" - this may include the film, developer, film format, lens and even use of specific filters, which in your opinion deliver outstanding results for a specific type of output.
I would like to start with one of my favourite films - AGFA SCALA. Unfortunately, the last labs in southern Europe, stopped developing it last year, and though I still have some rolls left, I develop it myself as negative now.
Scala is a fairly sharp film with a characteristic tonality, and excels in the dramatic look of deep blacks. I find it a film which ideally suits a Ralph Gibson type of subject, without much need for shadow detail. Here is a frame developed as a slide, which illustrates the point - taken with the 50/2 Planar ZM
If you put a red 25A filter on, the resulting rendering becomes even more dramatic - this one taken with the 25/2.8 Biogon ZM
Another fabulous characteristic of this film, is the capacity to render metallic like structures in a very nice way. This one taken with the C Sonnar:
It also can deliver great results in portraiture, although I find it more appropriate for the "character" portraits, than glamour shots. This one taken with the Makro Planar 100/2 ZF and developed in Prescysol EF:
I know some were raving about SCALA in Rodinal - I have only tried it in Prescysol EF, Tanol Speed and Rodinal Special ( the shot below). In most cases, it is better to expose it at EI 100.
I will come back to this thread later, with other examples of combos that work for me, and hope to see many of your favourites too.
