<<< it remains that if the gunge were not there one would get better
results with Pt/Pd printing. >>>
>This is flat wrong, at least for some films. As Kerik mentioned, it's
obvious that you haven't tried it.
My experience is different. I tried a number of combinations of film and
developer, including pyro, before deciding on my preferred combination.
<<<So why bother with pyro for a pupose for which it is not suited when
there are superior alternatives ?>>>
>Odd, pyro has been considered ideally suited for Pt/Pd since last
century.
But with a film that offers a good staining response, the utility of
that stain for Pt/Pd is perfectly real.
I have not disputed that. I just consider that FP4 with amidol gives
better results than Tri X. Try it.
<<<But if you want really good results you put up with the long
exposures.>>>
>There's no single route to really good results. Too many variables. I
see stunning results for Pt/Pd from Tri-X in HC110B for a wide range of
effects from many picture situations, but have recently found that
HP5+/pyro provides different strengths and weaknesses that make it a
valuable alternate. In any case, pictorial qualities don't exist in a
vacuum but in a matrix with handling characteristics like film speed in
the field, or willingness to deal with a few extra steps in processing.
_Any_ single set of tools will be limiting.
I agree. But I tend to reserve platinum to situations where I think that I
will get the best results for platinum, and, for me, FP4 and amidol or PQ
gives those results.. If circumstances are not suitable for that purpose I
use a different process. I do not suggest that everyone else should follow
the same path.
<<<I once returned
to find a party of German tourists peering through the lens !>>>
>.I'm afraid that even in the deepest woods of New England, a camera left
unattended would disappear, even though its liberators wouldn't have the
faintest idea where to fence a Deardorff.
A friend had his Gandolfi stolen from the his car outside a Norman church
which he had been photographing. The vicar offered up a prayer for its
recovery. The
camera was found over a hedge just down the road.
Terry