Re: weekend assignment response

[Oddmund Garvik <garvik@i-t.fr>]

Ted Grant wrote:

>1/  Camera, M6 and 50mm f.1, Noctilux.
...
>(although I would agree there are occaisions when a 35mm f 1.4 Summilux
would be
>more appropriate!) it would be my second choice if need be.
...
>FILM:
>KODAK T-max 3200. This is on the assumption the majority of the shooting is
>indoors, as probably would be the case with a seniors group. It allows to make
>full use of ultimate film speed combined with the world's fastest available
>lens.

Well, I never do assignment jobs, I hate that! But for once, let it go...

I don't think you need an M6 with a Noctilux or a 35mm Summilux
(aspherical?) when you are shooting T-Max 3200... (This is not functional
and a huge waste in my opinion.) 

I agree with you concerning B&W vs. colour, but I would not have chosen
T-Max 3200, or use it at ISO 3200. I think it is reasonable to avoid any
T-Max film, as there are no good developer yet!!!

I think you have to select film according to the light conditions. As the
hypothetical assignment was shooting a "day in the life of a group of
seniors", I don't think you need ISO 3200 at all! As seniors go to bed
early, you make most of the pix in daylight... We don't want to put the
seniors in a dark cellar, do we?

I have tried all B&W films at the European market and I think the Tri-X
still is the best B&W film available. Ilford HP5 and the Deltas are quite
close. I have compared T-Max 3200 and Tri-X, both at ISO 1600. The Tri-X
negs *are* better, have more details in high and low lights. (If the
difference between high and low lights are too big, I prefer not making any
picture, or I overexpose slightly, as it is easier to get something out of a
slightly overexposed neg than an underexposed without any material/details.)

Using a good camera with a good lens is important, of course, but the
laboratory is even more important for good results. So I have made some
comments on the whole process. Using a Leica with a good lens is no
guarantee for good results!

It is important to be rigorous without being rigid. I use some basic
principles and simple methods, and if I keep to them, I always get good
results. I don't like to complicate my life as photographer. 

If I have time, I do the darkroom work myself. If not, or if I need great
prints, I send it to a good friend, who is one of the best printers in the
world! 'Le Maestro de la chambre noire'! Printing is a profession BTW,
photography is another.

I'll use:

CAMERA: To go light, a simple, versatile camera with a good zoom lens, a
Contax TVS with a 28-56mm Vario-Sonnar. If I need big prints (50x60 cm and
up), I'll use a Rolleiflex 3.5 Planar/Tessar with a Sunpak Autopro 120J-DX
open bulb flash. Otherwise, there are lots of good cameras: Contax T2,
Olympus mju-2, Nikon FM, why not a Rollei 35, a Leica-M with a 35mm or a
50mm Summicron, or one of those old rangefinders from the 1970s, like the
Canon QL17 and the Olympus RD. 

FILM: Tri-X ISO 200-400, developed in ID-11 diluted 1:1 as a one shot
developer mixed with ILFOTOL (or PHOTO-FLO separately). I am very rigorous
concerning temperature (68 degrees...) and agitation. I don't wipe the
films, I just let them air-dry. If I don't find ID-11, I use D-76 or
Rodinal. If I want to push my films, I use Diaphine up to ISO 1600. 

ENLARGER: De Vere 504 (4x5 in.) with a good Nikkor lens (or a Rodenstock or
Schneider lens). I use a colour head with clean/new filters (yellow filter
for softening and magenta for higher contrast). I like 'complete' prints,
not too contrasted, not too soft, everything in 'finesse'. Sometimes I apply
ferricyanide on small brilliancies to soften them. When I am exposing, I
mask certain zones or add exposure on others, using different apertures,
filters and gradations. This is an art...  

PAPER: Ilford Multigrade IV FB, but also Oriental New Seagull Warm Tone FB-F
VC, Agfa Classic FB... I never use 'plastic papers', not even for contact
sheets! They are not 'clean' (problem with diffusion by reflection). 

PROCESSING: Three main baths: homemade paper developer (with a tray of warm
water beside to accelerate certain zones), stop bath (water and 5% acetic
acid), any fixer (the cheapest!). I am washing about an hour in flowing
water, then air-drying overnight or longer. I use a warm press for some
seconds and if needed, I retouch with a tiny brush to make disappear any
imperfections.

Sometimes prints are finally toned using copper, gold, uranium, sepia,
selenium or other toners. The dangerous part of the job... For the seniors
I'd rather use sepia. That will conserve the prints for the descendants as well.

Oddmund