Richard Vanek - Black and White Photography

Films and Developers


Current Update 31. Mar 2008	Fomapan 400 is added with new times for Fotospeed FD10.
Fuji Across 100 Paterson Aculux 2	Low sensitivity film - 50ASA I was fighting with Fuji Acros in different developers and at the end I manage to get great tones with my favorite Paterson Aculux 2 only trick was to expose it at 50ASA. At I have got alternative to Kodak 125PX but with much smaller grain. Following description is for bright sunny day. Results from my experiments will be still updating these notes, but for now, this is a formula how to get great tonality from Fuji Across. Developing procedure Fuji Across 100@50 ASA in Aculux 2 1:9 @20C 9:00min dev : first minute 15sec nonstop inversions rest of time each minute 1 inversion stop : water 1x30sec fix : 5x60sec Amaloco X89 1:4 clean: 3x60sec Amaloco H-8 1:7 Examples: lienka swing chains
Kodak 125PX Paterson Aculux 2	Normal sensitivity film - 100ASA I have tried different normal sensitive (100ASA) films. I did try Fuji Across 100, Kodak TMX, Ilford Delta 100, FP4+, Maco 100up and maybe some others. Last update: I use Fomapan 200 from Jun 2006 instead of hard to find Kodak 125PX. When I did develop first time Kodak 125PX in Aculux 2 I couldn't believe my eyes. Such a beautiful tone scale and smooth transition, nice contrast. I just love it! Grain is little bit bigger than one would expect for 100ASA film but it is not intruding one view on print. It just add on the atmosphere of the print. Developing procedure Kodak 125PX 125@125 in Aculux 2 1:9 @20C 7:00min dev : first minute 15sec nonstop inversions rest of time each minute 2 inversions stop : water 1x30sec fix : 5x60sec Amaloco X89 1:4 clean: 3x60sec Amaloco H-8 1:7 Examples: Ice cream Bone's chapel Guarding the castle White walls What I especially like on this film is that highlight are perfectly controlled. You can shoot with bright sky at the back and you 100% sure it will not blow up.
Fomapan 200 Creative @100 Fotospeed FD10 Aculux II	I decide I am going to exposed Fomapan 200 on 100 ASA only to get better quality. And matter of fact I was looking for 100ASA film anyway. The results amazed me. The image look was very much like Kodak 125PX, so the way I like it and the grain is much much smaller, actually on prints up to A4 not visible at all. I did try two developers with it. My favorite Paterson Aculux2, which I immediately get acceptable results and I did not investigate further mainly because I did also try Fotospeed FD10 as possible replacement for Aculux2. In this case I did a much more test and develop in different ways. The results are excellent. I made couple of prints and of course I will try to improve even more and will provide more example shots for different kind of scene contrasts. Developing procedure Fomapan 200 creative 200@100 in Fotospeed FD10 1:9 @20C 8:00min dev : first minute 15sec nonstop inversions rest of time each minute 2 inversions stop : 1x30sec Amaloco S10 stop bath + water 1x30sec fix : 5x60sec Amaloco X89 1:4 clean: 3x60sec Amaloco H-8 1:7 than 5min water circulation Fomapan 200 creative 200@100 in Paterson Aculux II 1:9 @20C 6:00min dev : first minute 15sec nonstop inversions rest of time each minute 2-3 inversions stop : 1x30sec Amaloco S10 stop bath + water 1x30sec fix : 5x60sec Amaloco X89 1:4 clean: 3x60sec Amaloco H-8 1:7 than 5min water circulation Examples: Egres FD10 Old carousel II FD10 Through the bus stop window FD10 under the bridge Aculux II tatoo rose Aculux II ready Aculux II
Fuji Neopan 400 Paterson Aculux 2	High sensitivity film - 400ASA This is my best 400 films from all I have tried. For a long time I was using Kodak TMY with xtol 1:1, but after 3years I have switch to this combination and I am happy. As I am using it over three years now I know how to control it and develop it based on contrast of the photographed scene. Developing procedure Fuji Neopan 400@400 in Aculux 2 1:9 55ml+495ml=550ml @20C 12:00min dev : first minute 15sec nonstop inversions rest of the time each minute one inversion stop : water 1x30sec fix : 5x60sec Amaloco X89 1:4 clean: 3x60sec Amaloco H-8 1:7 Examples: French girl Game with puppets Playground
Fomapan 400 Paterson Aculux 2 FotoSpeed FD10	This is my current replacement for Fuji 400. I am using now Fotospeed FD10 rather than Paterson Aculux II whcih is not in production anymore and Aculux III I never tried. Developing procedure Fomapan 400@400 in Aculux 2 1:9 @20C 12:00min dev : first minute 15sec nonstop inversions rest of the time each minute 1 to 2 inversion stop : 1x30sec Amaloco S10 stop bath + water 1x30sec fix : 5x60sec Amaloco X89 1:4 clean: 3x60sec Amaloco H-8 1:7 than 5min water circulation Fomapan 400@400 in FotoSpeed FD10 1:9 @20C 10:00min dev : first minute 30sec nonstop inversions rest of the time each minute 1 to 2 inversion stop : just water 1x30sec fix : 4x60sec Amaloco X89 1:4 or Amaloco X55 clean: 3x60sec Amaloco H-8 1:7 than 5min water circulation Examples: runing away (Aculux II) Bath together I (Aculux II)