Photo Projects: Pushing Kodak TRI-X one or two Stops

A Heil PR40 Micraphone in the SWCC Studio Pushed two stops

Wikipedia says that Push processing in photography, sometimes called uprating, refers to a film developing technique that increases the effective sensitivity of the film being processed. So that is what this photo project is about. Like anything in photography pushing is a trade off so lets look at the effects on some example photos.

A pretty puppy dog hanging out on campus. TRI-X Pushed one stop

The first thing we can deduce from looking at the first two examples is that when pushing a film from box speed is that we increase the contrast. Looking at the first photo (+2 Stops) and the second (+1 Stop) you can see that the more you push the more contrast you get out of the negative. The next variable to change is noise.

Joe Magee working hard. Shot on Kodak TRI-X and Pushed two stops

When I say noise I am referring to grain. Once again looking at our examples here we can see that the more we push the more grain or "noise" we see introduced into our image. In the photo above we see my dad working at a desk. Look at the upper left of the frame at the lighter colored wall. You can really see the grain here. Another spot to look is his shirt.

A flower next to a window with sunlight hitting it. Kodak TRI-X Pushed one stop.

So If you are wanting to try this all you need to do is:

1. Load your camera with film.
2. "Rate" that film at a higher speed. Example (ISO/ASA 100 at 200 or 400 at 800 or 1600 Set your meter to the higher speed)
3. Then in development experiment with development times starting with the recommended time of the rated (higher) number.
4. Repeat and Have fun

If you want to check out some more images from these two rolls of film and more click here!

Photo Projects: Round two of C-41 Home processing

I have been processing a few rolls of Kodak Portra 400 over the last couple of weeks and the biggest thing I have learned is that what everyone says about getting the color right is true! Not to say you cannot get reasonably usable results but getting consistent color accuracy is a bit of a pain. The key really does seem to be temperature control. All you need is a good thermometer and patience.

I found that running tap water as hot as I could get it into a cooler with the bottles of C-41 chemicals in it and then letting the chemicals heat up in that cooler draining and repeating until I could get them to a high stable temperature provided the best results. If you can place your daylight developing tank in the hot water when your not inverting it or agitating I think you may have even better results. There are a few things you can do in camera to get the colors looking better.

The biggest thing you can do in camera is to do accurate metering. Sunny sixteen is great and all but to really get accurate colors you need to meter.(with your camera/phone/dedicated light meter) A color balance card could also help you dial in your photos. Remember you are probably not shooting film for color accuracy but you do want to get close.

This was a really fun day of shooting and if you want to see some more photos from this roll check it out here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmpb9nCp

Photo Projects: Ansco Box Camera

I thought it would be a fun project to take an old box style camera and try to shoot a roll of film in it. I was not disappointed, this was a super fun eight frames to snap. If you are wondering this was shot on a roll of Ilford Delta Pro 100 120 in bright sun light as these box cameras have a small aperture (about F11). I highly recommend trying this if you are the least bit interested in photography. It will make you think more creatively and really dig into understanding core concepts of the photographic world.