Dune climber
- Thread starter Terri
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laika
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I didn't see the person until I saw your comment, KayM!
That's some serious grain there, Terri! Did you develop the film yourself, or does it need special processing? I've never shot infrared film...
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Thank you, Lamar! 
I developed it myself, it's the same process as developing B&W film except for being extremely light sensitive. It's expired film so I increased the agitation which made the grain stand out. This is a scanned negative and I made no extra adjustments to tone it down. The woman is a bit lost in there. I may print this in a square format, crop out some of the frame on the right. Eventually. I still don't have my darkroom set up. *sniffle*
I developed it myself, it's the same process as developing B&W film except for being extremely light sensitive. It's expired film so I increased the agitation which made the grain stand out. This is a scanned negative and I made no extra adjustments to tone it down. The woman is a bit lost in there. I may print this in a square format, crop out some of the frame on the right. Eventually. I still don't have my darkroom set up. *sniffle*
laika
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Cool! One of my resolutions is to develop at least one roll of b&w in 2023.
BTW, I'm guessing that you never saw my shiny, new ancient art tool in "What art supplies..." I actually got it working!
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Amazing. Love it.
classic
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Infrared + expired + increased agitation, all these give more pronounced grain.
Infrared gives increased contrast between lights and shadows. You can get interesting results with clouds and sky too.
One can use many different filters for lots of interesting results. Perhaps the strongest effects come with infrared filter or dark red filter. Then, many portions of the visible spectra are reduced or eliminated. You can get on film things and shapes that are almost invisible by the eye!
Infrared gives increased contrast between lights and shadows. You can get interesting results with clouds and sky too.
One can use many different filters for lots of interesting results. Perhaps the strongest effects come with infrared filter or dark red filter. Then, many portions of the visible spectra are reduced or eliminated. You can get on film things and shapes that are almost invisible by the eye!
laika
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On seeing the photo, I immediately wondered if a red filter would have darkened the open portion of the sky. But then, I've never used infrared.
Yeah, it seems like everyone was in pursuit of no visible grain for a long, long time. At some point, I saw some photos shot with Kodak Tri-X developed in Rodinal; I loved the look of the grain and I settled on that combination when I would develop my own film.
classic
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Oh, I recall a photo artist I met long ago (1987 or 1988). He mostly used Tri-x film together with a developer (perhaps Accufin ? I;m not sure) that allowed him to expose it at 1000 ASA instead or 400 ASA that was the nominal sensitivity for this film. This manner he could take pictures under existing light even in the night, and this was really wonderful. Flash makes things too flat. Existing light gives them more relief.
Rodinal can give a vivid picture with some more pronounced grain.
classic
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I once did experiment with a regular panchromatic negative (Agfapan 100 professional, I think) exposed through a red transparent film (I didn't have any real photo filter in hand). I remember some red flowers with green leaves: they appeared in the printed photo very light grey with very dark leaves! The Red filter cuts and darkens green and lightens red.
In addition, a red filter allows passing the infrared part (invisible for the eye) and it makes it appear in the photo. Infrared passes even through the fog, and then you can take pictures of things that are invisible to you!
laika
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IIRC, it was the look of the photog Ralph Gibson that I was trying to emulate with that film/developer combination. Notice the mat of sharp grain in this photo below; the highlights are smooth and graduated, but the midtones look almost textural (to my eye).
Yes! I remember my old red VW looked almost white with a red filter, and I liked the way a red or yellow filter would almost blacken the blue sky.
. I was chasing that crisp grain and high-ish contrast that I saw in Mr Gibson's photos:
classic
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That's right!
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Jennie, Classic, Arty - thank you all so much! 
I'm really happy you all like it.
Ayin, on one of the last trips to Michigan to visit my mom before moving, we took a short side trip to the Dunes and blew off lots of film. Developed it, looked at it quickly then stored it away. When I get set up with a darkroom I'll be able to do more with this stuff than scanning.
Agitate it a little more than typical tank inversions and you can really make it pop. It can really come down to what you like for even the shape of the grain. Smoother grained films may be better for portraits and what-not, but I do little of that and tend to chase that texture most of the time.
I'm really happy you all like it. Ayin, on one of the last trips to Michigan to visit my mom before moving, we took a short side trip to the Dunes and blew off lots of film. Developed it, looked at it quickly then stored it away. When I get set up with a darkroom I'll be able to do more with this stuff than scanning.
Lamar, I would have used a #25 red filter, which is lighter than the #29 or other deep red filters. You definitely can enhance what infrared film (or sensors) can give you by the use of these filters. I like to be agile when I'm out shooting and not be weighed down by extra equipment - mostly because of my bad back and weight restrictions. The #25 red means I can still shoot while looking straight through the lens, while these darker filters are so opaque you need a hand-held light meter to give you your settings. Also, if you want to shoot at low ISO you need a tripod. I try avoid all of that using the lighter filter and shooting at a higher ISO so I can stay hand-held.
Tri-X can be a go-to film if you love that coarser look (I sure do!).
Agitate it a little more than typical tank inversions and you can really make it pop. It can really come down to what you like for even the shape of the grain. Smoother grained films may be better for portraits and what-not, but I do little of that and tend to chase that texture most of the time.
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What a gorgeous image!
