first 4x5 test shots

[Terri]

Finally got around to my first tray developing session with 4x5 sheet film last night. It was easy but maddening at the same time, since I wasn't prepared for how slippery developer is over film, and I felt like I was mangling the edges of the sheets in a desperate attempt to keep them from slipping away completely.

But if there's one thing that's a lovely surprise it's the realization that sheet film is thicker, thus somewhat tougher, than roll film. For a fumble-fingers like me, this is a banner find. :cheer:

So here are my 2 results. Film is Ilford FP4 (wanted to stick with something familiar), developed in Rodinal 1+25 for about 8 minutes. The tech sheet called for 9 minutes but I was a good 2-3 degrees above the recommended 20 C. so I pulled them early.

Some quick scans.

Full negative #1 (Brad at the bridge of nearby trail park):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/terriks/miscellaneous/Brad4x5.jpg


And a cropped image from that negative:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/terriks/miscellaneous/Brad4x5-1.jpg




Picture #2, the bridge over the creek, full negative scan:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/terriks/miscellaneous/SCbridge4x5.jpg

And a square crop from the neg, just for fun:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/terriks/miscellaneous/SCbridge4x5-1.jpg


I already know that large negatives are THE way to go - there is so much fine detail, you could practically walk right into them! Darkroom enlargements are going to be a total blast, I can tell.

So, I'm officially on my way! Thanks for looking. :)

[Karissa]

Wow these look great. Extremely sharp and no grain to speak of. Full range from black to white. I'm jealous!

[Alex]

Well, if it is 4x5 you would not see much grain ... these images make me really jealous of that camera. It is about time I reactivate my ancient LF camera :)

[Terri]

Well I definitely think you should, Mr. Alex! :razz: That way I'll have another LF buddy here whose brain I can pick.

And yes, I expect little grain unless I make an enormous enlargement, the FP4 is rated 125, not super fast to begin with. :)

[ann]

terri,

on my monitor the shadows have little detail. Is that the scan?

you might want to check with a lupe, and if it is true about the lack of detail , try an EI of 60 rather than ISO 125

[TammyK]

Terri, you are well on your way! Scanning these big sheets are always a challenge for me, but a few small contact prints should prove very fun as well.

Contact prints are rather small, but the detail will blow your mind.

I'm still unable to make enlargements as I've been trying to nab a cheap enlarging lens for a year now.

OOH. Alt process, here comes Terri! ;)

[Terri]

terri,

on my monitor the shadows have little detail. Is that the scan?

you might want to check with a lupe, and if it is true about the lack of detail , try an EI of 60 rather than ISO 125Ann, I'd love to blame the scanner but you are correct - that second negative is a poor exposure for the shadows. On the negative it is very thin. I might could get a better print than a scan, but probably will do better to just follow your advice here next time. There was a very deep shadow under the bridge and I failed to meter it! The excitement of a newbie in front of ground glass makes for errors.... :razz:

[Terri]

Terri, you are well on your way! Scanning these big sheets are always a challenge for me, but a few small contact prints should prove very fun as well.

Contact prints are rather small, but the detail will blow your mind.

I'm still unable to make enlargements as I've been trying to nab a cheap enlarging lens for a year now.

OOH. Alt process, here comes Terri! ;)Tammy, I do have a 4x5 negative holder for my old Epson scanner, so my scans are ok most of the time. They won't scan at all on the flatbed without the holder, and HIE negs won't scan at ALL anymore. I could use a new one.


I'm still unable to make enlargements as I've been trying to nab a cheap enlarging lens for a year now.
Are you talking about for your 8x10? :scratch: I thought I'd seen some 4x5 enlargements out of you before. What is your darkroom setup? Now I'm confused...

[TammyK]

Naw. I don't have the right enlarging lens to enlarge the 4x5 negs. Anything you've seen has been a wee little contact print, alt print or a scan of a Polaroid. I have splurged and had the lab make me some really big prints before.
That is sort of fun.:love: (really big prints...)

But, the money.... :gah::eek:

So, back to looking for a decent lens for 4x5 coverage.

[Terri]

Naw. I don't have the right enlarging lens to enlarge the 4x5 negs. Anything you've seen has been a wee little contact print, alt print or a scan of a Polaroid. I have splurged and had the lab make me some really big prints before.
That is sort of fun.:love: (really big prints...)

But, the money.... :gah::eek:

So, back to looking for a decent lens for 4x5 coverage.Oh, okay, I'm with ya now. I knew you'd shot 4x5 and thought you'd made all your own prints. Yeah, that blasted money issue really is a buzz-kill when you're trying to have fun, isn't it? :-x grrr... Well, happy hunting - maybe a magical deal will come soon!

[mitica100]

Nicely done Terri! Welcome to the 4x5 world of wonders.

[Terri]

Nicely done Terri! Welcome to the 4x5 world of wonders.Thank you! You're certainly someone who has listened to me lust after the Tach for a few years now....:lol: I think they're a blast.

[unlaste09]

Im a total newbie so a lot of the manual settings were discovered by guessing, taking a test shot, then re-adjusting the settings. I was quite happy with how quickly I found what seemed to be the correct settings.Do these look okay or are they noisey?

[JC1220]

Terri,
Nice going, hard to say without seeing the actual negatives, but they do look a stop or so under exposed. If you are using a regular meter instead of a spot, try adding a 1/2 to full stop or as Ann suggested rating the film slower.

To become more familiar with your film, devloper and paper relationship give this experiment a try.

Pick a normal, flat and contrasty scene and take 4-6 photographs of each scene. Then pick a 2 -3 minute interval on either side of what is considered a "normal" devloping time and develop each set seperatly, pulling one negative from the stack at each interval.

Then print them all. This will tell what your new "normal" times will be when you are confronted with each type of situation and how to adjust for them, both in camera and in the development process for those materials. If you are serious about contact printing there is nothing finer than silver chloride paper, google Lodmia Fine Art for more info on it.

JC

[Terri]

Terri,
Nice going, hard to say without seeing the actual negatives, but they do look a stop or so under exposed. If you are using a regular meter instead of a spot, try adding a 1/2 to full stop or as Ann suggested rating the film slower.

To become more familiar with your film, devloper and paper relationship give this experiment a try.

Pick a normal, flat and contrasty scene and take 4-6 photographs of each scene. Then pick a 2 -3 minute interval on either side of what is considered a "normal" devloping time and develop each set seperatly, pulling one negative from the stack at each interval.

Then print them all. This will tell what your new "normal" times will be when you are confronted with each type of situation and how to adjust for them, both in camera and in the development process for those materials. If you are serious about contact printing there is nothing finer than silver chloride paper, google Lodmia Fine Art for more info on it.

JCThanks, JC. :) This is a great suggestion and I want to try it! I'm smitten with the camera and want to work with it much more than time allows atm.

Seems to me I've heard of this paper, too, but I know I've never used it. :thumbup:

[Fenman]

You two have just made me jealous! I started on glass plates aged 8 under instruction from my father in 1948 and dish developed and then contact printed, moving up to cut film back and home made enlarger by 11 or 12yr. Camera was a 1930's zeiss of my father's.
12 on 120 roll film took over from then up to marriage and children and a move of house by my parents whilst I was a med school lost all the collection of old cameras and darkroom equipment. Memories and Photoshop and Lightroom nowadays although I keep promising to run a film through my Rollei TLR soon.

[Terri]

You two have just made me jealous! I started on glass plates aged 8 under instruction from my father in 1948 and dish developed and then contact printed, moving up to cut film back and home made enlarger by 11 or 12yr. Camera was a 1930's zeiss of my father's.
12 on 120 roll film took over from then up to marriage and children and a move of house by my parents whilst I was a med school lost all the collection of old cameras and darkroom equipment. Memories and Photoshop and Lightroom nowadays although I keep promising to run a film through my Rollei TLR soon.
You should do it! :) Like falling off a log....