[rollei_list] Re: OT: development
- From: Mark Rabiner <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 18:03:53 -0700
On 5/21/05 8:21 AM, "Allen Zak" <azak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> typed:
> Have you looked in on your more venerable negatives lately to see how
> they have fared all these years? How do they compare to those
> previously fixed in a more haphazard way?
>
> I ask because in my most recent inspection of earlier negatives,
> sometimes properly fixed and washed according to different techniques,
> sometimes not, and they look same as ever. I suspect it's hard to mess
> up film fix and wash too badly. Prints are another story.
>
> Allen Zak
>
I used to wash my negs in the 60's in water well below 70f perhaps below 60
nearing 50 and did not use rabid fix (Ammonium Thiosulfite) but regular
powdered fixes which would be Sodium Thiosulfite.
So some of them look like I ran them in Microdol 1:3 when I didn't.
Kind of a tanning brown thing going on.
And of cause they say when you have stuff like that going on all the negs
and prints in the room are inhaling in effect the gasses.
The horror!
But very few.
I just don't trust these powered fixes with the hardeners in them and they
take so long perhaps for that reason. Some of those negs I under washed or
under fixed from the 60's.
But the ideal of using pure Sodium Hyposulfite as a second bath like some
"guys" do is kind of appealing to me you buy a huge truckload of the stuff
and have them dump it in the coal chute right into your basement darkroom.
Then you offer to fix everyone's negs in the whole neighborhood.
But I think you're right it takes a small amount of talent to mess of negs
buy under washing or under fixing I you had not done your homework.
Although you could just loose track of how long your fix had been sitting
there in the bottle. Or not realize how cold your solutions are as you use
them. Which is what happened to me when I was an early teen.
The thing is for me if I "mess up" a print I feel as if I know it right off
as selenium toning or other toning even will show up any residual silver
metals in the print like it's a test for it. And I think it is.
And I tone "in line". I never not tone anything except contact prints which
are RC anyway.
You can selenium tone negs. And Ansel selenium toned Moonrise as it needed a
little extra contrast. And he was hoping hard screw it up and then not have
to print it anymore.
And then you'd know on your negs as well.
I've done that once or twice.
You negs get real soft so if you look at them funny they melt right off the
base.
And the 60's may seem like along time ago especially if you were born in
1984 (and are 21) but trust me. Tomorrow morning you'll wake up and it will
be the year 2525.
Mark Rabiner
Photography
Portland Oregon
http://rabinergroup.com/
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