by Eric Searing

Keeping things fresh

After last weekend’s outing I had several sheets of film  to develop. The first couple came out a little thin but acceptable. Then tragedy struck. The developer, Pyrocat HD in Glycol, was suddenly failing to fully develop the negatives. And oddly there was a color shift from the usual tan to a pinkish color that I can only assume is the anti-halation dye hardening into the emulsion. No amount of fixing seems to remove the pink cast. The developer is less than a year old so its claims of long shelf life are a bit exaggerated or may require refrigeration to achieve it. Testing of my original stock also failed so something just reached its expiration. I have ordered more from Bostick and Sullivan without the Glycol. Supposedly the NON-Glycol version will shift color as it ages and starts to fail.
Correction: The developer was purchased less than a year ago, but it turns out that the batch number indicates it was mixed 5 years ago.

Example of good negative color (left) vs the color shift and under development. A sliver of the first negative is overlaid on the other two to show the color cast difference.

But to keep me motivated int the mean time I picked up a few new-to-me books. These should keep me busy until my supplies come in and keep up my photographic mental energy with new insights from old masters.

Edge of Darkness by Barry Thornton.  His book is a mix of personal life stories and his advice for maintaining sharp and visually appealing images. Most of his writing pertains to 135 and medium format, but much can be applied to Large Format as well. His chapter on Film developers was quite enlightening.

The Day Books of Edward Weston – California and Mexico in one book. I’m a big fan of EW and look forward to reading his thoughts during a period of high productivity and turmoil in his life.

Group f.64 – History of influential photographers who revolutionized American photography — Mary Street Alinder.  Discusses the life of Weston, Adams, Cunningham, Lang, Van Dyke, and others from the San Francisco Bay area during the 1930’s who shared a common philosophy and sought to promote photography as its own art form.

Do you have a favorite book that inspired you? Please post it in the comments below.