quiet out
04/02/2020
Hi there! Haven't forgotten about you!
It's been a wild month. In a very strange turn of worldly events, I find myself typing this post out today as I hide ("self-quarantine") from my friends ("social distancing") and the coronavirus ("a novel pathogen that has created a global pandemic, is hell-bent on destroying the economy, and threatens to shake the status quo to its very foundations").
So to sum it all up, my life has been inconvenienced and I would like to request a refund for the year of 2020 thus far.
On a more serious note though, the threat and spread of COVID-19 has been a very real reality for me. Impacting every action I choose to make in and outside of my home. As a healthcare provider, I have seen firsthand how this disease has affected not just the patients, but the healthcare institution itself as we all prepare for the incoming siege. Supplies are already short, rations initiated, and we're all just waiting for the moment when all are overwhelmed by both infected patients and the loss of our healthcare providers.
But as we wait and prepare in the hospitals, the rest of the population tries to follow the actions of our fellow nations and undergo a self-quarantine to try and "flatten the curve" as to not overwhelm the healthcare system capacity.
Hi there! Haven't forgotten about you!
It's been a wild month. In a very strange turn of worldly events, I find myself typing this post out today as I hide ("self-quarantine") from my friends ("social distancing") and the coronavirus ("a novel pathogen that has created a global pandemic, is hell-bent on destroying the economy, and threatens to shake the status quo to its very foundations").
So to sum it all up, my life has been inconvenienced and I would like to request a refund for the year of 2020 thus far.
On a more serious note though, the threat and spread of COVID-19 has been a very real reality for me. Impacting every action I choose to make in and outside of my home. As a healthcare provider, I have seen firsthand how this disease has affected not just the patients, but the healthcare institution itself as we all prepare for the incoming siege. Supplies are already short, rations initiated, and we're all just waiting for the moment when all are overwhelmed by both infected patients and the loss of our healthcare providers.
But as we wait and prepare in the hospitals, the rest of the population tries to follow the actions of our fellow nations and undergo a self-quarantine to try and "flatten the curve" as to not overwhelm the healthcare system capacity.
During my self-quarantine when I'm not at work, I picked up an old hobby again to help pass the time. Last week, I bought myself a developing tank, some chemicals, and a scanner so that I could develop and digitize my own rolls of film at home! The photos you see in this blog post are from the first two rolls I developed in my very own kitchen!
The workflow I use is called "semi-stand development", taken from an old blog post by J.B. Hildebrand which is no longer available on the web. What I do is use a 1-shot developer (Rodinal-based) and use a 1:100 dilution ratio. With such a diluted developer mix, I don't have to worry about blowing out my highlights and losing lots of shadow detail.
It's almost a foolproof method! Here are the steps to my method:
The workflow I use is called "semi-stand development", taken from an old blog post by J.B. Hildebrand which is no longer available on the web. What I do is use a 1-shot developer (Rodinal-based) and use a 1:100 dilution ratio. With such a diluted developer mix, I don't have to worry about blowing out my highlights and losing lots of shadow detail.
It's almost a foolproof method! Here are the steps to my method:
- Pour one-shot developer solution into Patterson tank, 1:100 ratio per roll. (I use 3.5 mL of Rodinal for 350 mL of water. If using two rolls, 7 mL of Rodinal per 700 mL of water)
- Invert the tank 10 times, let sit for a half-hour then...
- Invert the tank 3 more times, let sit for another 30 minutes
- stop it! fix it! and you're all set! I use water for the stopper and Ilford's instant fixer and voila! scan it in and rejoice
So far, the results have been great!! My workflow isn't completely perfect yet but I'm definitely loving my scans. A change I'll probably make is to introduce using flow to my last wash (ie Photo-Flo) to help with the drying since the water in Philly is pretty hard and tends to leave drying marks. Also! I need to learn how to use lightroom classic for all my editing needs!
The two films I used in this set of photos are Kodak Tri-X 400 (eg. stone statue and graveyard) and Ilford HP5 Plus (eg. everything else!) in 135 format. Tri-X is a lot sharper in my scans but I think they're something almost "painterly" in the way the HP5 shots turned out. HP5 certainly has a stronger grain when developed with Rodinal but I'm really enjoying the soft, subtle shades of gray.
Well, that's it for now! I'll finally review my long overdue Leica M3 review (oops, spoilers!) next week once I finish scanning in those rolls!
Hoping you stay safe and healthy in the upcoming months!
Until next time!
-kdo
The two films I used in this set of photos are Kodak Tri-X 400 (eg. stone statue and graveyard) and Ilford HP5 Plus (eg. everything else!) in 135 format. Tri-X is a lot sharper in my scans but I think they're something almost "painterly" in the way the HP5 shots turned out. HP5 certainly has a stronger grain when developed with Rodinal but I'm really enjoying the soft, subtle shades of gray.
Well, that's it for now! I'll finally review my long overdue Leica M3 review (oops, spoilers!) next week once I finish scanning in those rolls!
Hoping you stay safe and healthy in the upcoming months!
Until next time!
-kdo
