Pyro Based Film Processing

Berin Loritsch — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:21:00 +0000

Ice Dunes

One of my favorite combos is Efke 25 and WD2D+, a pyrogallol based developer. Pyro (what we darkroom nuts call pyrogallol) based developers stain the film, and the staining action increases with the density of the silver. What this means in layman’s terms is that you get nice, clean sharp edges and your open spaces are smoothed out. You’ll notice that there is almost no grain.

Let me give a little more technical information before I dive into the fun stuff. Efke is a traditional emulsion film that has orthochromatic characteristics, although I’m not sure if it is classified as an ortho film. Basically, it’s not that sensitive to red light. At ISO 25, you may think it’s pretty slow but my 4×5 Calumet has to be mounted on a tripod anyway. You’d be surprised how easy it is to find a good exposure setting even when the ISO is so slow. Wimberly’s Developer #2, Version D+ (WD2D+) is a staining developer with a hardener built in. Unlike other pyro based developers, WD2D+ provides an orange stain. All pyro developers are more toxic than regular developers, but if you take reasonable care you’ll be fine. If you have good darkroom habits you’ll be just fine.

Not every scene lends itself to pyro, and sometimes you actually want more of that good, honest grit. Typically, I reach for the pyro when I want delicate highlights and clean edges. I commonly use it for snow scenes, or if I have smooth curves like silk sheets or something of that nature. I find that a negative can have a tremendous amount of detail that the enlarger picks up but your eyes don’t. Again, it’s not a magic bullet. After using it yourself, you’ll get a better feel for how it develops your pictures. WD2D+ tends to make things “cleaner”, and perhaps a little more sterile—but not in a bad way. Contrast this with Rodinal which also has great acutance (sharpness) but gives a grittier, more honest feel.

This particular scene, Ice Dunes , was shot at Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania. I took meter readings on the darkest spot and the brightest spots and found that there really wasn’t a whole lot of contrast. I placed the shadow reading on Zone III and the highlights fell on Zone VII. Yes, I use the zone system—but I’ve tailored it to the way I think. It’s a tool to help get what you visualize to reality. I could have done N+2 development, but pyro really isn’t made for pushing film. I figured that there might be some detail that would have more shadow and more highlight than my meter would pick up.

The picture was scanned in using my Microtek i800 flatbed scanner, scanned at 16 bits. Once I got in the computer I played with it in the Gimp giving it some levels adjustments, burning the sky a lot, and the ledge a little bit. I dodged the open area in ice to make things stand out a bit. Finally, I gave it some digital toning of my own. I consider this a practice round for the darkroom which I have yet to use in a long time.

Software Artisan: Pyro Based Film Processing

Pyro Based Film Processing