B&J Watson Portrait cam - first outing, Hay Creek, and a problem…

[scott]

Finished everything necessary for shooting last week, took the rig out on Sunday last. Went to Hay Creek In Birdsboro. Have been there a million times, but it’s easy to get to, easy to maneuver (increasingly important these days), and almost always empty.

Everything fit nicely in the Gatemouth.


Shot four sheets, this is the best of them


So, everything worked great. HOWEVER, definitely a snafu: Boogered the developing on the first two sheets, the above being one. According to my exposure, should’ve been like 4:00 in HC-110 dil H (our tap water is warm right now). I screwed up and it went almost nine minutes. Scan looks pretty good, right? Minimal correction. I process the next two sheets at the correct conditions, and - yep - they’re at least 2-3 stops underexposed. Meter seems okay, though haven’t had time to check against another. Developer was opened 2017, but was used a few weeks ago with no problems, and is the original, non-water based formula, and I've had it work for a decade or more in the past. Film is labeled 100, I exposed at 100, and it’s new. Short of those things, I’m not sure wth. Will check the meter, buy new developer, and run a few test sheets, but otherwise, I’m befuddled. Any ideas?

[titrisol]

Interesting, maybe some exposure correction factor is missing?
Or the lens aperture is 2 or 3 stop less?

From the process side 4 min sound way short for Dil H, time used to be ~2x the times for Dil B
That 9 min development looks OK, so my guess is that you'd be in the same range (7-8 min) for the next try

EDIT - AristaEdu100 in HC110 Dil B says 5.75 minutes, thus 10-12 in dil H
https://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.p ... imeUnits=D

[scott]

Boy, I’ll check my notes, but I’ve got 6:12 at 20C pretty much tattooed on my forehead from shooting this stuff forever. Nonzero chance I’ve boogered it, happens more often than not these days, but…

My times never match the mass dev chart, and I’m developing in a unicolor roller tank.

[EDIT] It’s 7:12 at20C according to all my old Arista.EDU Ultra 100 in dil H, all sheet films, 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. Will shoot some tests tomorrow, though I’m not excited to waste this stuff. Maybe 4x5 first…

[titrisol]

that is the old Fomapan 100, right?

[scott]

Believe so. Was kind of wondering if there was some formulation change since last time I bought film (probably 7-8 years ago).

[Julio1fer]

First time with the lens? Did you check that actual apertures and shutter speeds match values indicated in the dials?

[scott]

Nah, have had the lens for 20+ years. It's aces. Ironical timing, though - I shot a bunch of test shots today.

Show of hands: Who thinks 1. That the developer, the meter, or the film somehow, inexplicably, decided to not work, or 2. That I somehow, inexplicably, effed things up? Yeah - #2; I shot a couple sheets of 4x5 Arista.EDU Ultra 100, developed per my usual dil H, 7:12 at 20C in my Uniroller setup. Turned out perfect. Shot a sheet of the 5x7 Arista.EDU Ultra 100, developed the same. Guess what? They are EXACTLY the same result - perfectly exposed, wonderful tones and contrast. The same. Nothing wrong, with either, but especially the 5x7. I haven't scanned yet, but the negatives looks awesome.

So, here's my guess: Somewhere between using the digital probe thermometer, which read in F (and all my thinking is in C), and having to make on-the-fly adjustments for changes in time/temp on digitaltruth, I did some errant math. Switched the thermometer to C, paid real close attention to everything, and it was perfect. This kind of thing seems to be happening more frequently, which is concerning, but more importantly, I'm good to go shoot more film.

Heading to the shore soon - bringing this rig. Hoping for some evening long exposures of water around a jetty.

[Brazile]

I find that when I go weeks or months between sessions, I make some odd mistakes. When I get into a rhythm everything settles down again.