Photo Developing Geeks... I have a question.

[ak_powder_monkey]

So in shooting b&w skiing with film its generally cold what does this do to iso of the film? Say I'm shooting Ilford Hp 5 400 asa at 27° (c) at -10°c using 400 asa setting on my camera, I've found that using standard devoloping times (using D 76) my film comes out fairly grainy, is this because I'm shooting at 37° out of the asa how should I tweak my developing times to counteract this? Will it matter with t max devoloper? T Max Film (I prefer HP5 because I get it for $1/roll)

Thanks in advance, hoping to bring you guys sick photos this year...

AKPM

[roorfan]

i would recommend using a slower film than 400 for skiing pics. there is a lot of light- you are going to want 25-100 iso film which will allow you to get the shutter speed down enough so you dont have to "crank it round to f22 for every shot". the finer grade/slower films will help increase sharpness in your pics. also- check out a lens hood for yer lens if it's over 100mm length because snow reflects lots of ambient/interfering light.

[summit]

If you are shooting B&W i love the way TX and HP5+ grain renders snow.

What temperature would do is affect the photosensitivity of your film (while at that temperature). The grain is not affected at all. However, realistically at the temperatures we shoot at the sensitivity should not be noticabely affected.

TMY would be "less" grainy but definately a different grain. I actually don't like the way t-grain mixes with snow... FP4 and TMX would obviously be even less grainy. If you are lazy about developing avoid the TMX because it is super picky (created for zone system users).

Grain is all personal preference. I like grain in B&W, not in color (where it not so much "grain")I like 400ASA for ski shots if I'm shooting B&W (slide film where grain really comes into play 50 and 100 are preferable but Provia 400F is still impressive), especially for non-direct sun because it still gets you f/8 and high enough shutter speed to freeze someone mid huck sharp enough to enlarge significantly (gets you 1/1500 or so versus 1/400 in direct light ISO 100).

ISO 25 film is out of the question for high speed action. Even in direct sunlight you are getting 1/100s at f/8.

Ther are a great deal of things you can do to vary the grain during development. Different developers can greatly vary grain and contrast curves. Also varying developer temperature, time, and concentration will affect these. (higher concentrations at lower temps for longer times will decrease grain size).

I assume you are using D76 or equivelent now... rodinal and microdolx can definately render finer grain. tmax developer can definately on films using tgrain or deltagrain (not FP4/PX/HP5/TX) though it will still have some effect on those. There are many good books on the subject starting with: THE NEGATIVE by Ansel. You will learn that the true ISO of a film isn't usually what is printed on the box. You can do a modified zone system for 35mm and you may find that you get much nicer results if you treat that HP5 or TMY as 320 and change your development.

A good point is made by the last post about avoiding stopping down to f/22 or other small aperatures unless doing so to acheive desired depth of field (at very long focal lengths or macro shooting). At aperatures smaller than f/8 or f/11 diffraction effects soften the image more than stopping down sharpens the image by decreasing the CoF and minimizing lens defects.

[roorfan]

Summit did a better job than i.

[summit]

I also agree with roorfan's suggestion of the lens hood (for any focal length). It is the cheapest way out there to increase contrast, reduce flare, and protect your lens.

[ak_powder_monkey]

thanks guys... Looks like I'm shooting with $12 ecktachrome 64 on bright days and $6 T max 400 on cloudy ones boy i'm glad I have a good job

[summit]

Considered bulk loading to save money?

[rsknight1]

Good info from Summit. It's been a while, but HC110 works great with TX, too. "The Zone System Manual" by Minor White is a good reference for getting good B&W results, also.