Re: [Leica] Print Development: The lost B&B solution long

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>]

With something along the lines of Dektol 1:2 and Multigrade Fiber I am now
developing for a minute and a half. Why?
If I pull the print out at 1 minute and 45 seconds the extra 15 seconds doesn't
produce a noticeably different print. In other words: things are not happening
fast. I don't pull my print out when things are happening fast. That's my take
on "Total" development.
With the Multigrade Fiber WARM (in that nice chocolate box) I give it 2 minutes
because at a minute and a half I can plainly see that things are still happening
fast. I don' like to interrupt it while it is developing. If I jump the gun the
blacks will noticeably suffer and so might the highlights. Lack of "Total" development.

I have in some cases used extending print developing time to offset longer
enlarging times and I have used Glycin, a developing agent which requires at
least 3 minutes but loves 5.

I set my darkroom timer so it beeps every 30 seconds. I lift, drain and flip
over every thirty seconds. IT is upsidedown in the middle 30 seconds. I like to
watch it develop.

Because of the extremely wide variety of safelights I've got going in my
darkroom at the same time the chances of some fog occurring from "unsafe" light
is high. So I often put in a capful (5-10 mls) of additional restrainer into my
developer to counteract this.
Ansel Adams used to infer that one should do this as un scienfic or un-
Ansel-like this might sound.
The restrainer in Dektol is potassium bromide and you can make a 10% solution of
by putting 100 grms in a liter of water. Then you can use it by the capful to
clear you lighter areas when they need it; other than safelight fog there is old
paper. Most often it is just the requirements of your particular Negative.

The other stuff which is more cool literally to clean up your prints with is
Benzotriazole which has been sold in tablet and liquid form: Kodak anti fog #1
or Edwal Orthazite??.

The B&B solution

Edward Weston in his ancient daybooks refers to the mystical "B&B" solution.
(Maybe it was Minor White) Which he used to obtain not cool, not warm but
neutral silver tones in his prints. However he never put down the formula as to
what that was and it was lost to us:

UNTIL NOW
I have rediscovered the lost mystical "B&B" solution. After much channeling I
have determined that "B&B" means Bromide and Benzotriazole although it might be
Benzotriazole and Bromide. Get back to me on that one.
100 mls of Bromide and 10 of Benzotriazole per liter. So a 10 ml squirt gives
you as they say in Jewish cookbooks "A nice amount" of each chemical: .1 ml of
Benzotiaozole and 1 grm of Bromide.
Your prints will almost look like they don't need toning.
Mark Rabiner