It has been a long while since I posted and I have been house bound due to the Chinese Covid-19 so have not been out shooting or even experimenting much in the darkroom. I have not even had a chance to take out my new 5×12 camera due to weather and other priorities. We are […]

In celebration of photography day I went into the darkroom to catch up on some printing. But of course had to try something new. First I mixed my Photographers Fomulary 130 paper developer a little more dilute to see if it made any difference in tone of my normal paper. I mixed it 1:2 instead […]

I returned a second time to high shoals falls area to shoot with fellow NGLFP member Bryan G. The hike was about the same but not as hot as the first time I visited. We both shot for about 3 hours before the sun became too bright to work any longer.  Here are the images […]

Another test this month using Photographer Formulary Liquidol paper developer. I had read reviews about this developer giving rich blacks and having similar qualities to Dektol, which is the standard by which other developers are measured. Liquidol purports to have faster development time, higher shelf life, and flexibility with over/under development. Developed by  Bill Troop and […]

Yesterday I decided to try Photographers Formulary 130 Paper developer which is same or very similar to Ansco 130 developer. The developer is supposed to provide rich blacks with high contrast if used straight, or can be diluted 1:2 for a softer working solution. PF recommends 1:1 for best overall results. There are 6 ingredients […]

In a previous article, http://www.searing.photography/testing-lpd-vs-pf106/ I explored the differences of two paper developers on 3 different papers and found there was little difference in the tonality based on developer.  There were differences in exposure time required to achieve max black  and some differences in shadow detail but I can not attribute all of that to […]

I love experimenting in the darkroom and recently sought out a brown tone developer. Photographers Formulary  had a similar developer to an older Ansco formula which was supposed to have been a brown toned developer on certain older papers like Kodak Ektalure which is no longer made. So I ordered some PF106 (link) to see […]