After months of wait I finally have a darkroom in my new home again! :o))) It's tiny (some 4.5 square meters, all in all...), but it's mine. And it's in the same building, finally. Hallelujah...

Now that you shared my joy, I want you to share this private mail I received from a forum member. Having asked for his kind permission I am posting it to publicly contribute my thoughts (which I will post as an immediate answer no. 1) and gather some more opinions from you. Cheers.

Hello,
On greenspun you mentioned the following:
Enjoy the XP-2 and prepare for an amazing experience when printing it on a dedicated b&w baryth paper.
Is the dedicated paper something you use yourself - ie your own developing? Or can it be requested at labs? If you do print yourself why do you use a C-41 film? Don't they fade faster. Sorry for all the questions, but you seemed to know more about this area of BW which I know little about.

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), October 31, 2001

Answers

I was talking about baryth papers such as the Ilford Multigrade FB. There is a variety of tones available, such as cool- or warmtone. I personally prefer the neutral type. As opposed to the RC (resin coated) b&w papers, the baryth papers require longer processing and watering times and a drying ("ironing") procedure which alltogether is costlier than the "plastic", RC way. In exchange you are rewarded by a print of outstanding tonal range, which translates into much more detail in both, highlights and shadows. And, if fixed and watered properly, in an extended life expectancy (5 times as long, roughly speaking). There aren't too many labs offering these (sometimes called "fineart") prints, and if you find one, expect to pay about several times as much per print. So, if you got more time than dough to spend, you better print them by yourself.

On the other hand (and you posted this topic on the forum) there are "chromogenic" C41-process films (I haven't had any fading trouble with Ilfords XP1 or XP2 so far, helas...) which can be developed by 1 hour labs and printed on both, color paper (most probably there), as well as b&w (most probably at home or elsewhere). Expect color paper prints to deliver strong tones, from brownish to greenish to bluish - varying from one printing job to the other. They will be very harsh in contrast, too. B&W prints from chromogenics are generally fine, both on RC and on FB papers (with the forementioned distinctions of course).

The recently released chromogenic Kodak Porta is optimized for printing on Kodak color machines - on a dedicated b&w paper as well as on standard color stock. The negative has an orange masking (same as the color negs), so neutral filtering is much easier to be achieved. I haven't seen results in print so far as neither the film nor the Kodak printing machines are particularly widespread over here (in Switzerland). I have shot some rolls though and scanned a couple of negs. My first impression is that the emulsion has an incredible "forgivingness" (or latitude) with ample reserves in both directions - which translates into a great overall softness in contrast. As the name suggests, this characteristic lends itself to portraiture, if you are looking for pleasing and gentle skin tones. If you are looking for "bite" however, you will be disappointed. In fact I found it really hard to restore some "character" or come at least any near to the vision I have, when I shoot a subject in b&w. For this regard I rather stick to my trusted Ilford Delta Pro 400.

A last word: Try to print by yourself. Try it out in somebody's lab before you invest in time and hardware. If b&w is what you eat, breathe and sleep, you will never want to miss that experience again.

Cheers.

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), October 31, 2001.

I'm adding two shots I did on my first roll of Porta. I've been sweating the scans til I got what I was looking for. I find the fairground snapshot (75 lux, 1.4, 1/15th) quite emblematic, considering the boy's t-shirt and the collective wait for the big bang. It was taken just a week before 09/11...



The other one (50 cron, 5.6, 1/60th), a family trinity, perhaps is what Portra is generally meant for. Cheers.



-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), October 31, 2001.

Sorry, the correct name is: Kodak Portra 400 BW.

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), October 31, 2001.

Lutz:

A really great family portrait. If only the mother had had her head back 1 inch it would have been a classic, IMHO.

Thanks

-- RICHARD ILOMAKI (richardjx@hotmail.com), October 31, 2001.

Congratulations Lutz on your new lab, I am willing to set mine soon too, will be my 9th lab in my short life, I donīt think it will be as "large" as your but hope it is ready soon.

Good luck

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), October 31, 2001.

Lutz:

I have gone through life with makeshift darkrooms which worked well. When we built this house in 1990, we planned a darkroom. It is 12 ft X 12 ft. It has oak storage cabinets, an 8 ft sink, a 3 ft x 3ft washing sink, temperature control, two enlargers, driers, a mounting press, light tight ventilation. etc. Across the hall, I have a twin G4 set up to handle graphics.

It has been used to germinate plants for the garden, raising young chicks and isolating sick cats. It seems that you either have the facilities or the time; never both at once.

Have fun with your darkroom.

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), October 31, 2001.

Art, seems to me like you have a potential dust problem in your darkroom :-)

Cheers, Peter

-- Peter Olsson (peter.olsson@lulebo.se), October 31, 2001.

Lutz,

If you are using FB papers tell me how you wash & dry them satisfactorily at home without expensive and bulky kit and I will consider them, but I use the RC warmtone and in comparison from the FB I think it is as good, just different and sooooo much easier to dry flat and shiny. [I just prop mine up against the skirting around the room when finished....err that's it. For blacknening the windows can I recommend the blackout fabric that you can buy in 2 layers and applied with self adhesive velcro on both window surround and fabric. This has worked fine for me for over 30 on and offs, and yes one day you can sew it all neat and tidy but hey this is a 20 minute solution. I have tried XP2 a number of times cos a lot of people recommend it, yes it is quite contrasty and has plenty of highlight and shadow detail but somehow for me it has no 'soul', I stick to FP4, HP5 and the excellent Fuji 1600 neopan. I don't like delta 400 either so we may have different taste here. If you use the V35 then save your money and get a heiland split grade, it will keep your darkroom time to a minimum and make it a pleasure to experiance; this will allow you time free to take more photos.

One final note I had some excellent mouns made recently for my 8x12 prints in a 30x40 cm frame, they were cut to exactly my size with a black backed card that gives a black line around the print on the cut edge without faffing around with an oversize negative carrier, and they cost about a quid each. Let me know if anyone is interested and I will post the companies details here.

-- Richard Palmer (Richard@designblue.co.uk), November 01, 2001.

Richard,

If you are using FB papers tell me how you wash & dry them satisfactorily at home without expensive and bulky kit and I will consider them,

Well, washing just takes time, water and a washing agent called Lavaquick from TETENAL. Cuts down washing times to a third. My favourite drying procedure is the following: I print on glossy paper. After watering I squeeze the excess water out with the help of a window wiper. Then I put the prints with their back on old newspaper. I let them dry for about 12 hours. Then I heat up an older dedicated 50x60cm photo paper press (I found it used, it was actually given away), let it become very hot, then I put on the prints, back on the press, photo facing the cloth(!), for just 15 seconds to give them a flash of ironing. When I take them out I bend them gently to prevent curling. This way the prints aren't glossy as a mirror but much easier to handle and to retouch. Might sound more complicated than it is. For me it has become second nature.

But I use the RC warmtone and in comparison from the FB I think it is as good, just different and sooooo much
easier to dry flat and shiny.

Well, while I do agree on the later statement, I don't on the first. Apart from its superior longevity FB has more soul, IMHO. But, hey, we could as well argue about camera brands...;o) In the end it all depends on what you are after and what you feel most comfortable with in order to achieve it, right?

I have tried XP2 a number of times cos a lot of people recommend it, yes it is quite contrasty and has plenty of highlight and shadow detail but somehow for me it has no 'soul',

<grin>See what I mean...? But I can second you on this one. Great forgivingness (err... latitude), great ease of processing (just hand it over to any 1-hour-lab), great detail for its nominal speed - but no "bite", no "edge". Great moods or stunning graphical results have to be sweated in either darkroom or scanning processes.

I stick to FP4, HP5 and the excellent Fuji 1600 neopan. I don't like delta 400 either so we may have different taste here.

FP4 - Great character: contrasty and detailed. A bit slow for my subjects, nowadays. My main film 25 to 15 years ago.
HP5 - Too much grain for my likings, too contrasty.
Haven't tried the Neopan yet.
400 Delta Pro - higher sensibility than the FP4, almost as much detail, a bit smoother in contrast, less grainy than the HP5, more punch than the chromogenics, a no-brainer for developping with steady results - for my likings: perfect.

If you use the V35 then save yourmoney and get a heiland split grade, it will keep your darkroom time to a minimum and make it a pleasure to experiance; thiswill allow you time free to take more photos.

I'm very thankful that you made me curious  about the Heiland Splitgrade in one of your earlier posts. Jürgen Heiland is an adorable person. he offered me to test-ride one of these ingenious printing analizers/ computers/timers of his. I did. And he is always available to discuss details and give you a hand. Great customer service! As for the product, the Splitgrade is fascinating, yes. Since I do not have any of the enlargers it is compatible with I tested the "manual" version. While it might be slightly less comfortable it works as well and is less expensive, too. You just get an analizing, timing tool with a computer and change two filters per print manually - not a great deal when you fix them rotatable just below the enlarger lens. While having to calibrate my enlarger light and to find out for the perfect corrections of the preset parameters I invested some time just to come near my former completely "unassisted" results. All in all, it might save some time on the longer run for mass printing (the one type of darkroom sessions which, in fact, I abhorred in the past...) - for more demanding, artistic printing of single negs, including multiple exposures, masking, etc. I'm not quite sure it helps more than it demands in overriding...

One final note I had some excellent mouns made recently for my 8x12 prints in a 30x40 cm frame, they were cut to exactly my
size with a black backed card that gives a black line around the print on the cut edge without faffing around with an oversize
negative carrier, and they cost about a quid each. Let me know if anyone is interested and I will post the companies details here.

I am, yes. Do they have a website, price list? Thanks for sharing and keep your fingers wet! ;o)

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), November 02, 2001.

Sorry for littering... Here's the better HTML of the second half of my previous post...

I'm very thankful that you made me curious  about the Heiland Splitgrade in one of your earlier posts. Jürgen Heiland is an adorable person. he offered me to test-ride one of these ingenious printing analizers/ computers/timers of his. I did. And he is always available to discuss details and give you a hand. Great customer service! As for the product, the Splitgrade is fascinating, yes. Since I do not have any of the enlargers it is compatible with I tested the "manual" version. While it might be slightly less comfortable it works as well and is less expensive, too. You just get an analizing, timing tool with a computer and change two filters per print manually - not a great deal when you fix them rotatable just below the enlarger lens. While having to calibrate my enlarger light and to find out for the perfect corrections of the preset parameters I invested some time just to come near my former completely "unassisted" results. All in all, it might save some time on the longer run for mass printing (the one type of darkroom sessions which, in fact, I abhorred in the past...) - for more demanding, artistic printing of single negs, including multiple exposures, masking, etc. I'm not quite sure it helps more than it demands in overriding...

One final note I had some excellent mouns made recently for my 8x12 prints in a 30x40 cm frame, they were cut to exactly my
size with a black backed card that gives a black line around the print on the cut edge without faffing around with an oversize
negative carrier, and they cost about a quid each. Let me know if anyone is interested and I will post the companies details here.

I am, yes. Do they have a website, price list? Thanks for sharing and keep your fingers wet! ;o)

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), November 02, 2001.

Peter:

Yes: the cats and plants weren't too bad but baby chickens; they plugged the electrostatic filters. :)

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), November 02, 2001.

Lutz, chromogenic films do fade and discolor. I've shot two rolls of XP-2 in my life and they are show advanced fading and discoloration. Both were stored archivally. Also, you should be drying your FB prints on fiberglass screens or blotter paper. Newsprint is heavily acidic and will have an adverse effect on your prints. I don't mean to sound like some sort of archival curmudgeon, but if your going to put care into taking great pictures with a great camera, why use materials that defeat those efforts?

-- Steve Wiley (wiley@accesshub.net), November 02, 2001.

Lutz & friends,

Well to be honest I do like the FB in some ways and even got a paper direr for a measly 10 quid some time back, but it didn't work and er.. life is too short sometimes. I will have another go with it though, I just need to find a really simple easy way of dealing with the drying in my limited space. Also my girlfriend who is from Aachen really loves these curly prints....maybe it is something cultural!! The company who does the mounts is as follows www.cartermounts.co.uk , sorry I can't be bothered to find the correct way to make the link active...hangovers have a lot to answer for..

-- Richard (richard@designblue.co.uk), November 03, 2001.

Lutz,

On the subject of films I guess it depends on what you use for a developer, i send my negs off to be developed so i will find out what the chap does for Fuji 1600, this for me makes the delta 3200 and the Tmax 3200 look pretty pathetic, you could be mistaken that you were looking at a 400 ASA without as much shadow and highlight detail. Lots of soul and feel, and loads of contrast in very low light, if I had a scanner handy I would post an image using it. Try it, at first i thought it a little 'newspaper print' black and white, but I now love it.

-- Richard (richard@designblue.co.uk), November 03, 2001.

Thanx, Richard and Steve, for your hints! I will check-out blotter paper and Neopan. Greetings by the little finger to your girl-friend, Richard. She will tell you why, if she really is from Aachen, too... ;o)

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), November 03, 2001.

Lutz,

my girlfriend relied: klenkes......hope this makes sense

-- Richard (richard@designblue.co.uk), November 05, 2001.