Moody Nature
We didn’t celebrate Carnaval this year. Didn’t feel like standing between drunk people, listening to crappy music and drinking lame beer. Instead we took each other out for a walk. The weather was beautiful and when I saw a color 120 film laying in my fridge I decided to play funky. I think my Hasselblad saw his first color film. Unfortunately I forgot I loaned my light meter to my dad so the Canon S95 had to do the job. It worked.
One photo of the roll of film stood out and found it handsome enough to post it here. The film was a Kodak 160VC. I still have to develop the black-and-whites.
And now off to my basement…have to make some varnish (yummy yummy) and see if my 18x24cm plates fit my freshly made inlay as one didn’t last time..and I need them tomorrow…
Have a great night!
-Indra
Bygone Days
As I was going through my archives seeing what I’d pick up for lith printing I came across these. They were made during my first eduction in photography at Syntra Hasselt 2004. One of our teachers was a fashion photographer and she asked us to do a fashion shoot. The model I used is a girl I worked with quite a lot back then. She was a beautiful person (still is really) who was always up for anything.
The images were made in studio (duhhh) with a Mamiya 645 & 80mm. The black-and-white film used was an Ilford Pan F (50 ASA) and the color film a Kodak Portra 160VC.
These were the rare occasions I actually did fashion stuff, not my area. I’m actually quite the opposite now seeing my struggles with the superficial world of today including media and the way women are portrayed (let themselves be portrayed). Still the images intrigue me in a way.
-Indra
Graduation Work 2009
As I want to use this work on Collodion I thought it to be wise as to post the real graduation work first. This body of work was made during my specialization grade at the Academy of Fine Arts Hasselt and is, simply said, about the superficiality of today’s society. It’s a series of 8 photos and a small poem written by me.
Dismissed
The manipulated image imposed by the media.
People try to become that image but fail miserably.
The photoshopped image will always be better than yourself, no matter how your surroundings feel about you.
You will never believe you’re pretty when you can’t compete with the beauty that’s being hold out to you.
Self Portrait
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 1/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Rolleiflex T
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- Film & Developer: Kodak Tri-X 320 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toner
Expired
Expired, old, in other words, you no longer exist.
From about 30 years old, depending on how soon your exterior characteristics bail out on you, you’re done.
In the fashion industry and Hollywood sceneries you’re no longer interesting.
Unless you decide to modify your external age in a way you fit within the image again.
I have chosen for a not too old looking person, who is in a fragile, delicate and introvert position.
Even bigger the contrast is becoming between text and person and hopefully will be a little shocking as to make people think a little further.
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 3/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Hasselblad 501CM with 120 Macro
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- Film & Developer: Kodak T-Max 100 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toned
Work in Progress
The most wide spread media-spitting machine.
It’s here you learn what to look like.
Pimp this, pimp that. And if by then you still don’t know what it should be like…
From an early age on you get these images pumped into your head.
Fast and merciless snatches of images are being fired at you.
Naive to think it as no influence on you.
Disturbing to realize the images contain so little real content.
Scary to see people so massively numb sucking up this footage.
The matrix sounds more plausible every day.
We are being so manipulated by this seemingly harmless looking box while it contains so much pressure.
Whether or not aware we are being exposed to this propaganda of which no one will manage to escape.
We are a work in progress.
Self Portrait
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 2/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Rolleiflex T & Black Light
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- Film & Developer: Kodak Tri-X 320 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toned
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- Filter: Green to get to see the UV light properly on film
Classified
People like to form groups, place people in different groups, probably to hide their own insecurity, wear the same clothes, share the same opinion etc.
Each box has their own “dresscode” so to speak and each of them looks patronizing at the other. People who fall outside their rules of normalities are being laughed at, and worse.
We claim to be so unique yet we are all so the same….
Self Portrait
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 4/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Rolleiflex T
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- Film & Developer: Kodak T-Max 100 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toned
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a business management strategy, invented by Motorola, and is being applied worldwide.
Ssix Sigma is meant to track down defects and errors on the basis of 6 criteria and eliminate them.
My Six Sigma is meant as a parody on the cosmetics industry.
In this industry the problem is being created en thereafter they create the solutions in shapes like make-up, plastic surgery and diet pills.
Lucrative business this cosmetics industry. The mirage they hold out everybody wants. No problem, a few bucks and your dream is within reach.
Self Portrait
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 5/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Rolleiflex T
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- Film & Developer: Kodak T-Max 100 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toned
Under Construction
Breasts too small? A shot of botox works wonders.
Also for your lips they are an indispensable boost.
Ugly nose? We break and mould it to your desires.
Husband not satisfied with your derrière? After today merely jealous!
Messy vagina? Even when you’re 15? Sure!
It’s all fixable.
Harsh? No, mere reality.
Self Portrait
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 6/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Rolleiflex T
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- Film & Developer: Kodak T-Max 100 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toned
According to Specifications
The need to live up to certain exterior looks is of great importance these days.
A doll head with large eyes, therefore, was my goal, especially to emphasize the numbness en to create an unsettling feeling.
The content looks attractive, but as soon as you look at it, it would get to you, as if you would feel guilty about the feeling it provokes.
You would be sorry for them to be made victims. You would be sorry for them because you made them victims
by looking at them in a certain way.
Self Portrait
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 7/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Hasselblad 501CM with 120 Macro
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- Film & Developer: Kodak Tri-X 320 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toned
Overruled
The finale image
“The pressure to live up to society prevailed”
An overdose of reality madness
I can try as hard as I can, it will never be enough.
In the end I have to let it go. Give it up. Quit.
I can’t take it anymore.
Self Portrait
Part of the Graduation Series “Limited” 8/8
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- Location: Studio
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- Equipment Used: Rolleiflex T
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- Film & Developer: Kodak T-Max 100 & HC110 dill. B
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- Paper & Developer: Ilford FB Warmtone & Amaloco AM6006 & Selenium Toned
The guiding poem I wrote
Epilogue
This is a subject very close to me. I don’t believe in mankind as a whole. Our superficiality and our need, our twisted desire to improve whatever we can to our so called benefits, our need to adjust the surroundings to us instead of adapting to our environment, which will ultimately make us a weaker species as we have become so depending on technology, these needs will be the end of us. Probably a virus of some kind will wipe most of us of the earth. That is what I believe. And that has nothing to do with God nor pessimism but sheer realism; people should take their own responsibility and it’s just the sum of events that will herald the end. I actually find the thought very soothing.
That doesn’t mean I’m a depressed person although these observations and feelings got me down more than once. Of course these thoughts surpass the superficialness as portrayed through the images above; it goes much further than that.
But I do have to say I love my life, I like making people happy around me to make life enjoyable and, so to speak, worth wile. But I strongly believe that we, as a whole, are a lost cause.
Kodak Technical Pan vs. Rollei ATP 1.1
Again, this text will come across as being dated simply because it is. This has been written about one and a half year ago. This experiment was meant to be taken to a further level but many things have gotten in between, so this outline is meant to show me where I left off exactly. I might be picking this up again in the future but I hardly ever work on 35mm anymore and on mid-format this Rollei ATP 1.1 is far more trickier than it already was on 35mm.
I have received the Rollei RLC developer and the ATP V1 films which gave me the opportunity to compare the 2 TP films.
Also this film is quite remarkable. Very little grain, nice contrasty, even with the RLC, and again no mask.
As you can see there’s something “wrong” with the images. They look solarized / posterized and it’s definitely a flaw in the negative itself and not caused by the scan. The Kodak as well as the Rollei suffer from this effect so it’s something that’s most likely caused by the developer or the way I treated it.
Been doing some research and it appeared to be a so called “Phenidone-effect” which might be a substance in the developer. When agitated too little it’s able to cause such flaws. But with the second batch I agitated more to eliminate this problem but it still was present, so that’s not what where the problem’s at.
Here’s a summary of what I did the first and the second time:
Batch 1:
Shot with the Nikon F100 with a Sigma 24-70 f2.8. Treated as a 40 ASA film.
Developed in RLC for 6 minutes, dillution 1+4. Developer mixed with normal water.
Agitated 5 every 30 seconds.
No stopbath used.
Normal fixing dillution, Amaloco X89.
Rinsed for more than half an hour.
Agepon normal dillution.
Temperature 20 degrees for all baths.
Batch 2 (of which I didn’t put any examples on here):
Shot with Nikon F100 with a Sigma 24-70 f2.8. Treated as 32 ASA film.
Treated in low-light conditions.
Developed in RLC for 6 minutes, dillution 1+4. Developer mixed with demi-water.
Agitated continuously the entire first minute, after that 5 every 30 seconds.
No stopbath used.
Fixer 2 times more dilluted as recommended on datasheet, Amaloco X89.
Rinsed for more than half an hour.
Agepon 3 times more dilluted as recommended on datasheet.
Temperature 20 degrees for all baths.
After doing some more research it was mentioned that the developer is very sensitive to silver residue which inevitably is left behind in the tank and on the reels when having developed plenty of films.
To eliminate this variable I will buy a new tank and use it with this developer only.
In the meanwhile I contacted Rollei to ask if they have ever encountered such a problem and they asked me to send them some sample negatives which I did.About a week later I got an envelop back home with my negatives, a testkit containing 4 Rollei ATP’s and the matching developer, the Rollei DC, which is a different one than I used. I also received an email explaining their findings.
They mentioned that the film was overexposed and that that causes the effect. The second film I developed was actually underexposed but since the contrast was too high when shot I had some real white parts in them and that’s where the effect occured, so in that case they could be right.
I’m gonna try another batch which I’ll develop with the Rollei DC developer and just go bracketing the exposure to see what happens next.
It’s being mentioned that the RLC is a real delicate developer so I would like to get it right. But the DC should provide me with more room to screw around. Have to see where that’ll get me.
Rollei ATP V1 in HC110; Developed for 5 minutes just like with the Kodak TP. Treated as a 40 asa film. A little overdeveloped as I lost some detail in the highlights.
Rollei ATP V1 in HC110; Developed for 5 minutes just like with the Kodak TP. Treated as a 40 asa film. A little overdeveloped as I lost some detail in the highlights.
Rollei ATP V1 in Rollei RLC: Developed for 6 minutes. Treated as a 40 asa film. Much more tonality than when developed in HC110. still suprisingly contrasty. The weird part about this film developed in the RLC is that it looks solarized. Of course that's not possible as the films haven't come in contact with light before or while developing except for in the camera. Left me quite clueless as to what happened here. I have never seen anything like this on film. After some research It appears to be from a specific chem in the developer, called Phenidone. When agitated too little while developing it's able to cause such "malfunction". Therefore it's advised to agitate continuously the first 30 seconds and then 5 every 30.
Rollei ATP V1 in Rollei RLC: Developed for 6 minutes. Treated as a 40 asa film. Much more tonality than when developed in HC110. still suprisingly contrasty.
Kodak TP in Rollei RLC: Developed for 6 minutes as advised with the ATP. Treated as a 25 asa film. Absolutely underdeveloped. Managable in the darkroom but far from perfect negatives.
Kodak TP in Rollei RLC: Developed for 6 minutes as advised with the ATP. Treated as a 25 asa film. Absolutely underdeveloped. Managable in the darkroom but far from perfect negatives.
Kodak TP in Rollei RLC: Developed for 6 minutes as advised with the ATP. Treated as a 25 asa film. Absolutely underdeveloped. Managable in the darkroom but far from perfect negatives.
The bracketing test will follow soon. These results have never been published before.
Kodak Technical Pan
This is film-stuff I was experimenting with some time before dedicating myself to my grad project and the Wet Plate Collodion issues. You might find the text somewhat dated simply because it is 
Below has been published before to Facebook about one and a half year ago.
Kodak Technical Pan is a film which is no longer in production. I was able to lay my hands on some stock with films almost as old as I am. The oldest one expired in 1985!
Regardless of that I decided to try them out and the results of the first 2 rolls were stunning! No fog or coloration visible. The film had hardly any mask at all.
So I experimented some more trying to fine-tune the development as I’m using HC110 which is not exactly the recommended developer for that type of film as it results in extremely contrasty negatives while still remaining amazingly detailed. One of the other features of this film is its red-sensitivity up to 700nm!
A thing worth mentioning as well is its grain. Hardly any. The sharpness is absolutely fabulous and comparable to mid-format. The examples you’re about to see have been taken on 35mm with a Nikon F100 & Sigma 24-70 f2.8.
I have ordered the RLC ( Rollei Low Contrast) developer which is said to be more suited for these type of films but I think it will kill what I love about it now. As I have not received it yet I’ll have to postpone my impressions of that developer and save it for later.
I’ll be experimenting some more in the future with the Rollei ATP-V1 and with the Gigabit TP film, said to be the successors of this Kodak film, the latter also available in sheet film.
Test 1: Kodak TP Treated as a 100 ASA film. Developed in HC110, dillution B for 6 minutes. Negs too thin, very contrasty yet quite detailed.
Test 1: Kodak TP Treated as a 100 ASA film. Developed in HC110, dillution B for 6 minutes. Negs too thin, very contrasty yet quite detailed.
Test 1: Kodak TP Treated as a 100 ASA film. Developed in HC110, dillution B for 6 minutes. Negs too thin, very contrasty yet quite detailed.
Test 2: Kodak TP Developed in HC110, dillution B for 6 minutes. Negs much much better, still incredibly contrasty while remaining extremely detailed. The are slightly over-developed so next time less development required.
Test 2: Kodak TP Developed in HC110, dillution B for 6 minutes. Negs much much better, still incredibly contrasty while remaining extremely detailed. The are slightly over-developed so next time less development required.
Test 2: Kodak TP Developed in HC110, dillution B for 6 minutes. Negs much much better, still incredibly contrasty while remaining extremely detailed. The are slightly over-developed so next time less development required.
Test 3: Kodak TP Treated as a 25 ASA film. Shot in studio to see how it would react there. One light with softbox on one side, no reflection screen on the other side to see how much dynamic the film would contain. Developed in HC110, this time for 5 and half minutes. No longer overdeveloped but might try 5 minutes the next time to decrease contrast a little.
Test 3: Kodak TP Treated as a 25 ASA film. Shot in studio to see how it would react there. One light with softbox on one side, no reflection screen on the other side to see how much dynamic the film would contain. Developed in HC110, this time for 5 and half minutes. No longer overdeveloped but might try 5 minutes the next time to decrease contrast a little.
Test 3: Kodak TP Treated as a 25 ASA film. Shot in studio to see how it would react there. One light with softbox on one side, no reflection screen on the other side to see how much dynamic the film would contain. Developed in HC110, this time for 5 and half minutes. No longer overdeveloped but might try 5 minutes the next time to decrease contrast a little.
Test 4: Kodak TP Treated as a 25 ASA film. Shot in studio with a normal light, no flash. Reflection screen used to lit up the shades in my neck and on my shoulder. Developed in HC110, dillution B for 5 minutes. That's probably the lowest I'll go considering development time as the negatives are absolutely beautiful and contain incredible detail while remaining this contrasty.
Test 5: Kodak TP in HC110: Developed for 5 minutes. Treated as a 25 asa film. Rich tonality, deep blacks and that works perfect for this subject. Gives it an industrial touch.
Test 5: Kodak TP in HC110: Developed for 5 minutes. Treated as a 25 asa film. Rich tonality, deep blacks and that works perfect for this subject. Gives it an industrial touch.
Conclusion: Again, I have been born too late!
Archival Printing
Two years ago I started diving into archival printing with fiber based papers. I’m not quite sure what triggered my interest but I remembered being surprised that the subject wasn’t really treated at my school. When I asked about it my teacher luckily helped me out and showed me the “basics” in archival and fine-art printing. This way of working slowed down the process a lot and gave me more rest in practicing it. The slower it gets the more relaxed I become, so it seems. I’ll outline the steps which I follow when archival printing:
1) Developing
2) Stop bath (only water) *
3) Fix, 1 bath of Agefix, dilution 1+3, 1 minute *
4) Rinse / collect the prints in a bath of refreshed water
5) Hypo bath (Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent), 3 minutes
6) Rinse
7) Toner (Kodak Selenium), dilution 1+9 / 1+39 *, 3-10 minutes
8 ) Rinse
9) Hypo bath, 3 minutes
10) Rinse, +/- 1/2 hour
2)* Change this bath frequently and use large volumes. The reason I don’t use an acetic stopping bath is that it causes the fibers of the paper to open up even more and let in the fixer which comes next. The fixer is the hardest to rinse out of your paper.
3)* Keep track of the number of prints processed or test the bath frequently. There are tests for undissolved silver in the paper. Run a test strip once in a while. The reason I use a less diluted bath is that you need less time to fix properly. The shorter the paper is in the bath the less fix will end up penetrating your paper base thus the risk of not being able to wash it out good enough.
7)* The less diluted the toner the more difference in color there will appear, ranging from purple to brownish. I believe 1+39 will still give you maximum archival protection while keeping the color as natural as possible. The beautiful part about toning is that it will give you nice deep rich blacks besides the obvious color shifting.
However, there are stories that the above about this dilution is not true, anymore. Apparently at one time Kodak Selenium Toner may have contained “small amounts of highly active sulfiding agents” which provided protection that selenium alone cannot provide unless toning is carried to completion. At some point in the 1980’s manufacturing changes eliminated these agents. Doug Nishimura indicates that complete protection with Kodak Selenium Toner requires a dilution of not more than 1+9, and a toning period of 3 to 5 minutes at 20º. You might find this depth of toning not to your taste.
Add a fixed but not developed test strip to your batches. This strip receives the same processing as prints in that batch and on it you perform the residual fixer test at the end of step 8.
The upshot is you should test your work flow after fixing for un-fixed silver and again at the end for residual fixer.
Enjoy 
Push & Pull Development
I always keep forgetting this formula, mostly because I hardly ever use it, but every once in a while I do need it and then it’s tucked away so deeply in my brain I can’t find it. So, for once and for all, here it is:
UnderExposure – Pushing
ISO 100-200 = 1 stop underexposure = 20% increase of Development Time
ISO 100-400 = 2 stop underexposure = 50% increase of Development Time
OverExposure – Pulling
ISO 400-200 = 1 stop overexposure = 10% decrease of Development Time
ISO 400-100 = 2 stop overexposure = 20% decrease of Development Time
For more specific development times and films vs. developers look here:
Digitaltruth
