Being isolated here in W.Va. and surrounded by a sea of mediocrity,
I was not aware of Photo Warehouse. As soon as the chickens get off the
barbed wire fench we use for a telephone line, I will call the aformentioned
and request a catalog. In the meantime does this film have a number? I
am interested. What do you use for a developer? Is it really a LOT better
than ortho developed in diluted Dektol?
I did try a lot of stuff with ortho. Amidol, Pyro, D-23 (two bath)
D-76, Selectol, Selectol Soft, you name it. Nothing seemed to be any
better than diluted Dektol.
You are right. I used to complain about lugging around a 4x5. Now my
4x5 seems like a pocket camera. I am thinking of trading in the 8x10
monorail for a field model. Maybe that will help. One thing, all that
carting around of the heavy tripod and 8x10 camera plus assorted accesories
like, for instance, a truss, plus the added expense of large plate holders
and film does make one do a lot of thinking before tripping the shutter
release.
NEVERTHELESS, I am very happy with the negs I am getting and the resulting
prints. Terry's developer formula is a bit of a pain what with the business
of boiling water (wife watches this proceedure in her kitchen with a
dubious eye) and production of rather large amounts of sulfer dioxide when
one mixes the sulfite-lye (so that I now mix it outside in the driveway
which, no doubt, has a certain amusement value for the neighbors) but I
can't argue with the results. Anyway, arn't we supposed to suffer as
artists? Maybe photographers don't have to suffer.
Would you be so kind as to post again the address of the company that
sells inexpensive, uncalibrated step wedges?
Cheers,
Bob Schramm who will be the ONLY alternate-process photographer represented
at the new Artisan Center about to open in Wheeling, W.Va. home
of the Fantastic Wheeling Festival of Lights and the World
Famous WWVA Jamboree.