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Film processing

bladpus

New Member
Am new to 6 x 6 and hope to have my first film ready to develop soon.
I am a Photo-shop user and the way seems to be to have the b/w film processed and transferred to CD for tweaking ?
Would be grateful for advice on best way to do this, I do not want to invest in a scanner at this stage. Are the postal firms OK and,if so, which are the best/cheapest (hopefully both!)
 
I got a refurbished Epson 4490 scanner from the Epson website for under $100 with free shipping a few months ago. It scans at 16 bits/colors. Check it out and see if they have one that meets your needs and budget.

Also check out Nikon for a refurbished 8000 or 9000.

Steve
 
Tom Brown (Bladpus) wrote on January 02:

' 2008 - 7:36 pm,Sorry, should have said I'm UK based'

I do not think that they discriminate.

Check out the sites anyway to see if they have what you want and if it is available in the UK.

Steve
 
G'Day Tom:

Frankly, I think going out to processors is a waste of time and money. There are good ones - but there are more bad ones. It is dead simple to process BW 120, so give that a try first at home. As Stever says, a refurb. Epson will be inexpensive, and the B&W home processing basic kit also about $100. You will spend that on the first couple of batches you send out, by the time you pay postage, and for the work. You will also be at the mercy of too many handlers.

I went out today at 11.30, was back at the house at 3, film developed and drying by 5.00, then dinner, and prints by 8.30. Now I know it isn't digital and instant, but I happen to love the process anyway. You don't need a darkroom, only a dark (bath) room.

Cheers,

Colin

Black Water Cypress Sw&, South Carolina 2 Jan 2008
38812.jpg

503CW, 50mm FLE, Ilford Delta Pro 400, Dev. DD-X 8 mins @ 20c
 
Colin,

I processed my own Black and White for almost 40 years, before switching to color. Great Image, and what a thrill to process your own work. Good luck to you in your Photos.

Richard
 
G'Day:

@Matt
@Richard

Yes, I made my first images 54 years ago with a family Box Brownie 116, and I have been processing ever since then. Started with 6x9 negs in contact frames with POP set out in the sunlight (the UV developed the image). Processed colour also, neg and pos, but have always had a special affinity for BW, including the palladium and other alternative processes. The biggest advantage now with a digital darkroom is the making of precise, large digital negatives for contact printing. I never had an 8x10 LF camera, or a donkey a la Ansel Adams ;-), but that negative size is now available to me. :)

Cheers,

Colin

Traditional Marsh/Sea Grass Basket - Roadside Stall, Charleston SC
38842.jpg

503CW, 150CF, Ext 16, Delta Pro 100, 12s at 20c in DD-X
 
Colin

nice shot here. I started doing my own processing when I was at school. We had a nice little darkroom and I helped produce images for the school magazine. I then went into an ad agency darkroom and studio where I assisted photographers, and I had 24x7 access to the darkroom for my own work. I then started a family and developed my own makeshift darkroom in the spare bathroom. Then I gave all my darkroom gear to my daughters school so their Art Department could include photography. I have only just re-started my love affair with B&W. I have missed the romance and mystery around it all so much after 4 years of digital. Mind you I think using digitals has taught me so much. Now I need to get some gear back, and find a place to convert into a darkroom again. Thanks for your inspiration. Three years ago my life turned upside down, and to celebrate my changes I put on a small exhibition of my photography over a 40 year period, which was in all senses for me alone more than anything else, like a cathartic adventure of healing and new life. Most of these B&W shots here were taken when I was between 17 and 21 years of age. Age now is 50. http://www.mattsuttonphotography.com.au/exhibition/myeyes/

thanks for the good time.
Matt
 
Greas dee Colin

Happy new year to you .

> , but that negative size is now available to me . :) <

95% of my work in the past was B/W and I always wanted to work with 8x10 negatives . But after I once assisted a well known B/W photographer here , shooting with a 8x10 TOYO , I knew , the maximum size I would go for is 4x5 .
I did not have to change my B/W developing process and I bought a LPL 4x5 enlarger .

Here an ex&le of my preferred nature motives .

38848.jpg


ARCA-SWISS 4x5 APO-SIRONAR 5,6/135mm ILFORD DELTA 400 ID11 .

Color got my attraction only with the CFV BACK . But I still prefer B/W and now shoot mostly with FUJI NEOPAN ACROS 100 .
 
Excellent work guys!

Matt,

I looked through your portfolio with interest.
Looking at the image of the shed an idea from Jürgen came to my mind again.
To make a calendar with old houses or buildings that could function as a house.
In an older thread we had some inspiring s&les from other members of the forum as well.
Now that we just started a new year there is time to work out this idea.
 
G'day:

@ Matt. Nice retrospective! I will study these in greater detail, as I have just glanced through them.

@ Jurgen. Agreed. The 8x10 is a beast. I tried a 5x7 once which was a nice format, but still too bulky.

I prefer now to use MF film and then after scanning make digital negatives up to 8x10 or so, even bigger sometimes, by a detailed process of printing via the R2400 onto Pictorico or similar media. Then a contact print in a frame, for any process. But especially the Palladium/Platinum process, although this is time consuming work. I think I love doing this for the 'meditative' benefits. But contact prints on the silver papers do look great, too.

@ Paul. I'm "in" for the Calendar if we are going to do it for 2009. We could use maybe 15 or so images - a cover, a back cover, 12 months, and an introduction page. But it can't be done "by committee" I think. I think if Jurgen is going to do it, he should be editor in chief, and designer, and all. Perhaps each selected contributor has to contribute x Euros to assist, and then all interested in the Forum can also pay a little to buy a calendar, and pay postage.? I'll go with whatever Jurgen says.

Cheers,

Colin
 
Colin,

Thank you for a simple and effective "Aussie" approach for the calendar project.

Jürgen is quite good with calendars.
I happen to have a s&le of his scrapyard calendar in my office.
What can I say, the German expression is "Nur vom Feinsten" meaning only the best will do.
Images, layout and print are very very good.

Lets see what Jürgen thinks of this idea and if he is interested to be editor and gofer for this calendar.
It will mean a lot of work.

Of course the edition can be made larger so all who are interested can have more than one calendar to give to relatives and friends.

Paul
 
Have you seen "Victor," the magazine published by Hasselblad? The print quality is extraordinary. Several decades ago, there were a few publications here in the US that were of the same quality, but they had short lives. It's great to see that the art and craft of high-quality printing still exists in the world.

Wouldn't it be great to publish a calendar with that quality?
 
G'Day:

@ Ken. Don't start me on "Victor" :) I have years and years of "Forum", and along comes "Victor" - and it will not stand (bound) in any shelf of my library, or even flat on the library book stand in lieu of an atlas. Grrrr.
z04_motzer.gif


@ Manu. Agreed. Lenswork IS excellent. I am a subscriber. Nice SMALL format hasn't hurt it, either.
wink.gif


@ Paul. Yes, Jurgen will be a great uber-editor and uber- und unter- gofer.

Cheers,

Colin

PS Paul. I didn't get the Scrapyard calendar - even though I sent a dozen wine to that address for him which you gave me ... can't figure why you said not to send it to the German address though.

z04_Flucht.gif
 
G'day Jurgen:

Fine image of the waterfall, in many ways. Delta 400/ID11. I must try the Neopan Acros 100. Good words about it in many places. Do you use ID11 with Acros?

Cheers,

Colin
 
I subscribed to "Lenswork" for a couple of years, and the quality is good, but not up to "Camera" magazine, published in Switzerland in the '70s... and, in my humble opinion, not as richly printed as "Victor."

Colin... "Victor" fits the bottom of a parakeet cage almost perfectly.
wink.gif
 
Colin

The NEOPAN ACROS 100 in sheetfilm 4x5 is hard to get here .
I usually develop the film in ID11 1+1 for landscape images .

When the image is more technical , I use KODAK X-TOL .

The waterfall is called the ZWERIBACH WASSERFALL and it is quite difficult to get to that waterfall . Its situated in the south of BLACK FOREST .

Send me your address per private E-MAIL and I will send you lots of scrap
happy.gif

I am not kidding .

Jürgen

I am ready to work on the calendar project . I will post my ideas and thoughts by tomorrow .

Here a s&le of my initial design for the COSY HOME CALENDAR from last year .
The image can in no way represent the quality of the print . Its taken with a little digicam and you will see some reflecting light .

38851.jpg


13 Photographers is the number I picked , because I thought : 12 month + a tiltle page .
More than 14/15 pages does not make sense , due to the binding .

Please have a look to the binding . I can not do wider images (A3 small side) because of the "holepuncher" can't take bigger formats .
Then , as the number of holes is even , I had to punch an extra hole . All handwork . If the number would have been odd , the middle hole could have been used as the "hangerhole" .

Any ideas for the project are very welcome .

Jürgen
 
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