...like Agfa 8 and kodak's D-78 ?

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), June 29, 2000

Answers

Go to WWW.jetcity.com/~mrjones, Pat

-- pat krentz (patwandakrentz@aol.com), June 29, 2000.

You might be interested in reading my comments on glycin in my article on Mixing Developers. My site is at unblinkingeye.com. My favorite developer is Ansel Adams' Ansco 130 variant (he left out the hydroquinone, but kept the glycin and metol).

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com), June 30, 2000.

Isn't the Ansco 130 Developer for paper? I just saw a guy on the printing forum who had questions about that developer.

In what way is the Ansel Adams version better in your opinion?

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), June 30, 2000.

Very interesting articles, Ed!

I'm shooting some detail photos of a girl (hands, feet, neck, portraits...) and want to get the most of the skin tones/details on film and later on paper. For some shots I use Tri-X (at 200 Asa) and Efke R50 (orthopanchromatic).

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), June 30, 2000.

In regard to Ansel's version of Ansco 130, it is not nearly as contrasty and gives a slightly different print color--he leaves out the hydroquinone. I use his variant at 1:1 and develop for 3-5 minutes, and in some cases as long as 10 minutes. This developer can reproduce phenomenal detail in things like clouds and fog, particularly with chloride papers.

Early on glycin was used in "fine grain" formulas for film, and since then has mostly seen use in high-acutance developers like FX-2 and FX- 11. I have not experimented with glycin film developers to any useful extent.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com), July 02, 2000.

Patric, it sounds like that might be a good application for a good pyrogallol or pyrocatechin developer like PMK or DiXactol. Very smooth gradations in the highlights are the hallmark of these developers.

-- Jim MacKenzie (photojim@yahoo.com), July 03, 2000.

I just read in a book about "The photographic portrait" by the german expert Dr. Otto Croy in 1958. He wrote that glycin was used for fine grain, but gives bad contrast in the shadows.

Thanks Jim. I will look after more info on that kind of developers!

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), July 03, 2000.

I have read about those "Pyro" developers, but I don't understand fully how they work. Maybe it's because all information is in english. The part I have troubles with is the talk about "staining" the film. I have tried to find information in swedish (yep, I'm a swede), but with no luck. Maybe someone can explain these developers for me? Thanks in advance.

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), July 04, 2000.