Tag Archives: black & white film

Black & White, Stand Development.

May 8, 2018 brian solomon 3 Comments

Years ago, when I was a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology, I recall whispers of a non-conventional approach to processing black & white film.

Key to conventional black & white processing is regular agitation of the tank. This keeps the developer from stagnating, minimizes streaking and mottling of the image area, while greatly speeding the development of the film.

Until recently, I’ve always agitated my film, but made a point to minimize this activity, since excessive agitation results in a host of other defects and undesirable characteristics.

Stand processing, as it’s now known, was what I heard in whispers during college.

Basically, you mix a very weak developer solution (approximately one third the concentration of ‘normal’ developer), agitate for about 15 seconds when introducing the solution to the tanks, then leave it to stand for about an hour with NO AGITATION. Then agitate briefly before draining the tanks and continuing process as normal: stop, fix, rinse, etc.

Kodak 120 Tri-X with Stand Processing in a mix of HC110 1 to 100 with water.

By doing this, you use the developer to exhaustion, which is more economical and yields a different result than by working with short times and more concentrated solutions.

This doesn’t work well with 35mm film because bromide salt deposits tend to cluster around the sprockets resulting in streaking.

I made a series of tests using 120-size film, which has no sprockets.

An advantage of stand processing is a very different tonal curve that features extremely rich blacks with great detail in shadows, and broad tonality in the mid-tones. When the mix is just right, the highlight regions should reach an optimal density that allows for excellent detail without loss of data.

Holga 400 120-size film exposed with a Rollei model T. Stand processed.

Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Holga 400 120-size film exposed with a Rollei model T. Stand processed.

Metro-North. Holga 400 120-size film exposed with a Rollei model T. Stand processed.

Westport, Connecticut. Holga 400 120-size film exposed with a Rollei model T. Stand processed.

Key to making the stand process work is controlling chemical fog. Without controlling chemical fog, the shadow areas will gain too much density and there will be an undesirable loss of image data leading to a poor quality negative.

There are other elements of the process that aid in making for more effective negatives, and like any black & white process, these require trial and error refinement to yield the best results.

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Steam on Retropan.

March 23, 2018 brian solomon 3 Comments

On one level, it seems appropriate to make images of steam locomotives and their environment with Retropan. ‘Retro on Retro’ right?

Yet, I know many old-school black & white photographers would object to the essential qualities of Retropan black & white film, which by design is comparatively soft and grainy.

Yes, there are sharper films; and of course there’s colour, not to mention digital, but the reason I chose Foma Retropan for these photos was because of the gritty quality it offers.

Someone might ask why does the RPSI run a steam locomotive, when there are more efficient diesel railcars available?

Connolly Station, exposed on Retropan 18 March 2018.

Ooo! Look an efficient diesel railcar. And it’s on Retropan too! Drumcondra, Dublin.

Locomotive number 4 at Maynooth. Notice the modern signal in the distance and the bright lamps on the locomotive.

Psssst! I also made some colour slides, and a whole bunch of colour digital image on the same day.

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My new book ‘Brian Solomon’s Railway Guide to Europe features RPSI trains in its section on Ireland.

It is due out in May 2018 and may pre-order the book from Kalmbach Books: https://kalmbachhobbystore.com

For details on RPSI and passenger excursions see: https://www.steamtrainsireland.com

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Irish Rail at Glounthaune—Two Views.

October 24, 2017 brian solomon Leave a comment

Earlier this month I made a visit to Cork to present a program on railway photography to the Irish Railway Record Society.

Honer Travers and I spent an afternoon in Glounthaune where I made these photos on Kodak Tri-X using my Nikon N90S with f2.0 35mm lens.

My film processing was very traditional: Kodak D76 (mixed 1 to 1) for 7 minutes 15 seconds at 68F. I agitate very gently to minimize the effect of grain.

Routine operations, such as Irish Rail’s Cork suburban trains, offer great opportunity for creative railway photography. In both of these images, I’ve worked with foreground, middle-ground and background by using shallow depth of field to create a sense of depth.

An Irish Rail 2600-series railcar works toward Glounthaune from Kent Station, Cork.

A Cork-bound railcar accelerates away from its station stop at Glounthaune.

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New England Central—Making the Most of a Sunny Morning.

May 22, 2017 brian solomon 5 Comments

Lately, New England Central’s (NECR) Willimantic-Palmer freight 608 has been running on favorable schedule for photography.

If you’ve been following Tracking the Light lately, you might have gleaned the mistaken impression that New England Central’s northward freight can only be photographed hard out of the sun at Stafford Springs, Connecticut.

In fact on its present schedule there are many nicely lit photographs of the northward run between Willington, Connecticut and Palmer, Massachusetts, this time of year.

And, when the crew turns quickly at Palmer, there can be a host of very nicely lit locations in the southward direction.

It helps to know where and when to go. I’ve been at this a while. Back in Central Vermont Railway days (precursor to New England Central) and before I could drive, I’d chase this line on my bicycle. By the time I was 15 I knew all the best angles.

These views are from one productive morning a few weeks ago. More to come!

Leica view on black & white film—Ilford HP5 rated at 320 ISO, processed in Ilford Perceptol developer and toned with selenium. NECR 608 northbound at Plains Road Willington, Connecticut.

NECR 608 northbound at Plains Road Willington, Connecticut. FujiFIlm X-T1 digital photo using in-camera. Velvia color profile.

NECR 608 northbound at Stafford Springs, Connecticut.

NER 608 about to cross Rt319 north of Stafford Springs.

A few minutes later at Stateline (on the Massachusetts-Connecticut border). Note the passing siding. I’m standing on Route 32 looking southward.

Washington Street in Monson, Massachusetts, near the site of the old Central Vermont Railway Monson Station (gone more than 60 years).

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New England Central at Stafford Springs, Connecticut—Again.

May 16, 2017 brian solomon 4 Comments

Call this ‘Part 2’—More hard light.

A few days ago, I displayed black & white photos I made at Stafford Springs, Connecticut in hard morning sunlight. See: Going Against the Grain.

Where the earlier images used an unusual film type (Foma Retropan), today’s image was made on Ilford HP-5, but with some special processing.

On May 9, 2017, New England Central freight 608 works timetable northward through Stafford Springs, Connecticut. Exposed on Ilford HP-5 using a Leica IIIa fitted with a Nikkor f3.5 35mm lens. Film was processed in Ilford Perceptol developer diluted 1:1 with water; after fixing and rinsing, negatives were toned in a 1:9 selenium solution for six minutes, then rewashed and scanned. The sky area received some localized exposure adjustment in post-processing, while there was some overall contrast adjustment to improve the appearance of the image.

In both posts, black & white photos feature New England Central 608 (a freight that runs between Willimantic, Connecticut and Palmer, Massachusetts) passing downtown Stafford Springs shortly after sunrise.

Today’s image was exposed from Main Street in Stafford on the opposite side of the tracks from the earlier photos, which provides a different perspective on the train and village.

Part of this exercise is aimed at demonstrating black & white photographic technique, however I’m also hoping to show how different angles at the same location can result in significantly different photos.

Also, that it’s possible to make interesting photos in difficult lighting situations, if you apply a creative approach to your photography.

I’m done here yet! To be continued on another day.

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Unexpected Results: My Third Experiment with Retropan.

January 21, 2017 brian solomon 3 Comments

It was a misty January day. I thought, what better time to expose another roll of Foma Retropan 320 black & white film!

I was working with four cameras that day, so these images were just a small portion of my day’s results, but for me by far the most interesting. I was feeling nostalgic and the atmosphere of the moment seemed to lend itself to classic black & white.

The day after I exposed my film, I processed it. Where previously, I’d hand processed Retropan in Paterson tanks, for this roll I used the Jobo (a semi-automatic processing machine).

The Jobo eases processing by keeping all chemistry at a consistent temperature, taking care of agitation by continuously rotating the processing-drum, while simplifying pouring the chemicals in and out of the drum. Also, it makes more efficient use of the chemistry.

With the hand-processed rolls, I had used Retro Special Developer straight (undiluted stock solution) with a 3 minutes 30 second development time. Prior to introducing the primary developer, I pre-soaked in a water bath with a drop of HC110.

For the Jobo-processed roll, I diluted Retro Special Developer 1:1 with water and increased the time to 4 minutes. I also had a pre-bath with a drop of HC110, but like the main developer, this was agitated continuously.

My results were not as I expected.

Misty tracks on the old Rutland near Arlington, Vermont. Exposed on Retropan 320 using a Nikon F3 with f1.8 105mm lens.

My earlier experiments with Retropan demonstrated a fine grain film with broad tonality. But this roll had much coarser grain, and yet even smoother tones. At first, I was shocked by the more intensive grain, but in retrospect I’ve decided it adds a quality to the photos that I may not have obtained through other media.

Exposed on Retropan 320 using a Nikon F3 with f1.4 50mm lens.

For my next experiments, I’ll return to hand-processing and I may skip the presoak bath with HC110.

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Retropan on the Rails; Experiments with My second Roll of Foma’s 320 ISO Black & White film.

January 16, 2017 brian solomon 1 Comment

This is a follow up to my Tracking the Light post of January 11, 2017, which displayed the results of my first roll of Foma Retropan.

For my second roll, I focused on a variety of railway subjects, aiming to see how this film would perform. This one was exposed using a Nikon F3 with various Nikkor lenses, exposure calculated manually with the aid of a handheld light meter.

I made these images in parallel with digital images exposed with my other cameras.

As with the first roll, I exposed the Retropan at ISO 320 and processed it more or less as recommended by Foma.

A view of Girard and Broad in Philadelphia, exposed using a Nikon F3 with 24mm f2.8 wide-angle lens.

A retro streetcar as seen exposed on Retropan 320. Philadelphia’s Route 15 PCC glides along Girard Avenue. Exposed using a Nikon F3 with 24mm f2.8 wide-angle lens. 1/60th of a second.

Another view of a SEPTA PCC car on Girard Avenue, Philadelphia. Exposed using a Nikon F3 with 24mm f2.8 wide-angle lens.

A SEPTA Silverliner IV approaches Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania on the former Pennsylvania Railroad. Exposed using a Nikon F3 with 24mm f2.8 wide-angle lens.

Hard glint at New Brunswick, New Jersey. A Washington DC-bound Acela train zips along at speed. Notice how the film reacts to the tremendous contrast between highlights and shadows. Exposed using a Nikon F3 with 135mm f2.8 telephoto lens.

Exposed using a Nikon F3 with 135mm f2.8 telephoto lens.

Again, for this roll I used the Retro Special Developer with shortened the processing time (I opted for 3 minutes 30 seconds plus a pre-soaked in a water bath with a drop of HC110.

Overall, I was pleased with the tonality and tight grain structure. The film has a softer look than other fast black & white films, such as Ilford’s HP5, and a broad tonal range that holds highlight and shadow detail very well.

I scanned the negatives with an Epson V750 Pro flatbed scanner. These images are essentially unmodified scans, except for necessary scale reduction for internet presentation plus addition of my watermark. I did not alter contrast, exposure, tonality, or perform sharpening.

This test went so well, for my next experiment, I decided to significantly alter my processing of the film. Stay tuned for my bold experiment with Retropan Roll 3! (Sometimes changes produce unexpected consequences).

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Tips and Technique

Retropan 320—My First Experiment.

January 11, 2017 brian solomon 2 Comments

Czech film manufacturer Foma introduced a new black & white film in 2015 called Retropan Soft (ISO 320).

This is advertised as a panchromatic, special negative film with ‘fine grain, good resolution and contour sharpness’. Among its features are a ‘wide range of half tones and a wide exposure latitude.

I tried my first roll in early December 2016. I have to admit that I was curious, but skeptical. Could this new b&w film change the way I approach film photography? Might it offer something decidedly different than Kodak Tri-X or Ilford HP5?

Working with an old Nikon F3 and 50mm lens I wandered around Philadelphia with my brother and exposed a variety of gritty urban images that I thought might benefit from the look advertised by ‘Retropan’.

Foma recommended using their specially formulated Retro Special Developer, so I ordered some from Freestyle Photographic Supplies .

I exposed my film at ISO 320, and processed it more or less as recommended using Retro Special Developer, with two small changes:

I shortened the processing time (as I generally find that manufacturer recommended times are too long and lead to excessively dense negatives); plus I pre-soaked the film in a water bath with a drop of HC110 (as described in previous posts).

The negatives scanned well, and I was impressed with the tonality of the photographs. I’ve included a selection below.

Please note, that although I scaled the files and inserted a watermark, I have not cropped them or manipulated contrast, exposure or sharpness. These photos are essentially un-interpreted.

Philadelphia exposed on Foma Retropan Soft and processed in Foma Retro Special Developer.

Philadelphia City Hall. Philadelphia exposed on Foma Retropan Soft and processed in Foma Retro Special Developer.

Evening view from the same street corner as the daylight photo.

Stay tuned for my next Retropan test!

Brian Solomon presents something new on Tracking the Light every day.

photography, Tips and Technique

PCC’s on Girard; Czech it out, American Follow Up on Fomapan.

December 17, 2016 brian solomon Leave a comment

Back in October, I made photos of Tatra’s PCC-derived trams in the Czech Republic using Czech made Fomapan 100 Classic black & white film.

I was pleased with my results, so, I bought more of this film from B&H photo (saves me a trip to Prague). Earlier this month, while wandering in Philadelphia with my brother Sean, I exposed a few photographs of SEPTA PCC’s working the route 15 Trolley line on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia.

Exposed with a Leica 3A fitted with a Nikkor f3.5 35mm screw-mount lens.

Exposed on Fomaran Classic (ISO 100) using a Leica 3A fitted with a Nikkor f3.5 35mm screw-mount lens.

Where trams in Prague run on very tight intervals, often following one another through the city streets, making for a unceasing parade of vehicles to photograph, SEPTA’s Route 15 requires more patience.

I processed the film using the traditional tank method. For this batch, I used Kodak D76 developer 1:1 (with water) for 5 minutes 15 seconds at 69F, preceded by a water-bath presoak with a drop of HC110. After processing I scanned the negatives with a Epson V750 Pro and made minor adjustments to files using Lightroom.

Exposed using a Leica 3A fitted with a Nikkor f3.5 35mm screw-mount lens.

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Great Photo Tricks: Pull a Rabbit out of your hat.

October 5, 2016 brian solomon Leave a comment

—Metaphorically, of course.

Here’s another view I made on Irish Rail’s former Great Northern line at milepost 25 near Mosney. I published a digital colour view of the Grand Hibernian the other day from this same vantage point.

Irish Rail’s 29000-series diesel rail cars are common trains on this route. They do their job well and travel up and down the line all day long. Many photographers ignore them because they are common.

Add in some dull light and tangent track, and the photography threatens to be, well, boring.

Expose on Ilford HP5 using a Nikon F3 with 24mm lens and red filter. Film processed in Kodak HC110 (Dilution B, 1:32 with water) for 3 minutes 30 seconds at 68F (20C).

Here’s what I did to make an interesting image; I worked with the texture of the scene. Rather than make a digital image, I used my old Nikon F3 fitted with a 24mm Nikkor lens and a dark red filter.

The red filter alters the way the film interprets the colours in the scene. Specifically, it allows for better detail in the sky, while darkening the greenery.

I also added a sense of depth by including the vines growing along the bridge parapet. This is a little trick I’ve used on many occasions in Ireland, and it helps to have a wide angle lens to make it work.

So while the train isn’t the most exciting on the rails in Ireland, I’ve used these old-school methods and created an interesting scene by working with the natural textures.

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Worcester, Gone Retro.

September 1, 2016 brian solomon Leave a comment

It was dull mid-August day at Worcester, Massachusetts. I had my Leica 3A loaded with Ilford Pan F (ISO 50) and made a few exposures.

This hasn’t been my usual film choice. More typically, when working in black & white, I’d use Ilford HP5 or Fuji Acros 100.

I’ve found that difficult light can be a better measure of materials than clear bright morning. And flat summer light is about as difficult as it gets.

For this trial, I processed the film using a Jobo with Ilford Ilfosol 3 developer.

This was a crap shoot, as I’d only used this film/developer combination once before.

Exposed using a Leica 3A fitted with a Nikkor 35mm lens.

I opted for a 1:9 dilution, but scaled back my process time from the recommended amount to just 3 minutes 45 seconds. As is often the situation, I intentionally over-expose my black & white film and then under-process to obtain a greater range of tonality.

Once processed my negatives looked pretty good, but these still required a bit of contrast control using Lightroom. While my end results look ok, I’ll need to refine my chemical process for Ilford Pan F (ISO 50) if I expect this film to perform as well as Fuji Acros 100.

Also, I was hoping that the Pan F would approach the results I used to get with Kodak Panatomic X (ISO 32) back in the 1980s, but so far I’ve not achieved that goal.

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Railway Preservation Society Ireland: 071 Connolly Station, 21 April 2014.

November 26, 2015 brian solomon 2 Comments

On the day, steam locomotive 461 had done the honors for the paying passengers.

After the train arrived back at Connolly, freshly painted Irish Rail 071 (class leader) tied onto the empty carriages to bring them across to Inchicore.

Irish Rail class 071 at Connolly Station with the RPSI empty Cravens on 21 April 2014. Exposed on Fuji Acros 100 film.

I exposed this view at the end of the day using my Nikon F3 with 24mm lens. Using my perfected chemical recipe, I processed the Fuji Acros 100 film in Kodak HC110 then toned the negatives with selenium solution. Finally, I scanned them and made minor adjustments in Lightroom (mostly to remove dust spots).

Why black & white? Why film?

Why not?

I’ve always exposed film, and while digital photography tends to dominate my image making, I still expose the occasional roll of B&W or color slide film.

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Negative and Positive; the Black & White Experience.

March 10, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

For many years, a crucial part of my photographic process was quite literally the chemical processing of my black & white negatives.

Having loaded film onto reels in darkness, and spent 25 minutes to an hour pouring fluids into and out of tanks, there would be a moment of truth . . .

Often the film will have held latent image from expeditions far and wide. Here were moments captured on silver halide, but until this second never before seen.

As I opened the tanks, I’d be wondering, ‘What was on the film?’

Did I capture what I was hoping too? Were my exposures correct?

I peel off the film from the reels dripping wet and hold them to the light.

The negatives would tell me in an instant what I wanted to know.

The image that I'd see dripping from wash water was something like this. Did I have it? Was this worth printing? Maybe . . . — The image that I’d see dripping from wash water was something like this. Did I have it? Was this worth printing? Maybe . . .

Then came the arduous, but necessary steps of drying, sleeving, and then, if I got to it, printing the negatives.

Sun streams through the clouds as an eastward SBB train glides through the station at Visp, Switzerland in June 2001. Exposed on 120 size black & white film using a Rolleiflex Model T.

Learn more about how I processed film: Black & White revisited; Old Tech for a New Era part 2—Secrets Revealed!

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Tag Archives: black & white film

Black & White, Stand Development.

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