Exposing the film

Analog

Since I've received some questions about my analog developing and digitizing workflow, I thought, lets make a small tutorial. This is probably not the best workflow, but it's the way I do it...

Exposing the film

I shoot with a Mamiya RB67 and a Rolleicord TLR.

Since I don't have a metering prism, I use a digital camera as a lightmeter.

Most of the photo's are shot with Kodak Tri-X and Kodak Portra.

Developing

I like to do the (black and white) developing process myself. With the use of a Paterson tank, you only have to load the film onto the reel in a dark room or changing bag. The rest of the process can be done in daylight.

As for chemicals I use:

Developer: Kodak HC-110 (Dil. B 16ml/500ml, 6min. @ 20`C)

Stop: Amaloco S10

Fix: Amaloco X89 Extrafix

The "Dev it Darkroom timer" app is a very handy timer. It's not only a timer, but can also adjust the developing time for the current temperature.

Digitizing

I like to process my negatives in Photoshop. So, they need to be digitized.

There are several ways to do this.

Since I already have a digital camera and a macro lens, I tried using them first. It was not bad at all.

When I knew it worked well, I searched for an old enlarger on the flea market and found one for free. Changed the head with a diy mounting plate for the tripod mount ring of the macrolens. As a light source I use an X-ray viewer. My settings are around: ISO 100, F8, 1/15th.

I use liveview to check the focus and a cable release to avoid camera shake.

I asked my colleague who has an Epson V500 photoscanner to scan one of my negatives, so I could compare the results.

The result was a bit sharper when digitized with the dslr/macro lens combo, so I keep on using this method.

Postprocessing

For maximum sharpness, I take 2 photo's of 1 negative and merge them in photoshop. The small side of the negative will fill the large side of my sensor. So, the digital camera is 90 degrees rotated.