Stand development test.

Equipment used

Camera: Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR. Takumar 55mm f1.8 lens.

Film: Fomapan 200 shot at ISO 100.

Developer: Fomadon R09 (same as Rodinal) diluted 1+200.

Patterson developing tank.

One of my more recent projects in the darkroom has been to explore further options on how to process my black and white film.

I would in the past just follow the normal method of a 30 second agitation and then 4 inversions of the developing tank every minute. This over the normal timing of somewhere between 8 to 16 seconds depending on film and ISO rating.

The dilution of the developer would be 1+1 of 1+3 for something like Ilford ID11. For Fomadon R09 or Rodinal it would be the normal 1+25 or 1+50 dilution. Temperature would be 20° Centigrade.

I have though seen mention of what is called Stand Development which is using a very dilute developer and just leaving the film tank standing for a very long time, usually about an hour without agitation.

I have in the past been put off by problems others encounter using this method such as bromide drag which leaves streaks on the negatives. It’s always seemed to me to make sense to create the situation where the exposed film emulsion gets influenced by active developer equally across the surface.

However, I thought it might be time to attempt this method on a roll of film exposed for this purpose and wouldn’t be missed if it all went wrong.

I have been reading the books ‘The Art of Black and White Developing’ by John Finch and ‘Ilford Monochrome Darkroom Practice’ by Jack H Coote.

I was keen to see if I could increase the acutance of the negatives by inducing something called the adjacency effect. This is where bromide, a by product of the action, collects at boundaries of high to low density.

This bromide inhibits local development along the line of these boundaries and creates what is known as a Mackie line which increases perceived sharpness along these lines. The one problem of this release of bromide is that it can also cause streaking on the negatives caused by the bromide falling to the bottom of the tank when it is left standing without agitation.

So, having thought I would give stand development a try I read in the ‘Art of Black and White Developing’ that Rodinal type of film developers are good for this style of stand developing.

It was recommended that the dilution was 1+200 and the development time be 2 hours so that is what I decided to use. I chose Fomadon R09 developer which is a similar type to Rodinal and the film I chose was Fomapan 200.

I stood the developing tank in a water bath at 20° centigrade so that the temperature wouldn’t drop too far during the 2 hour time.

I shot the film at 100 ISO rating to ensure good detail capture in the shadow areas.

The images were taken on some very dim and misty days in December and I was very pleased with the results and didn’t get any bromide drag streaks on the negatives. I will definitely try this method again.

The first series show the evening shots. I also took some on a very dull day on a walk along an old unused railway line.

More on film. Fomapan 200.

During this second lockdown period I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out perfecting some new film photography. I’ve used Fomapan 400 a fair bit in the past but decided to try Fomapan 200 for a change. Maybe not the best idea during the dull weather we’re having just recently but at least I can get to using a large aperture and throwing the background out of focus.

So I decided to do our local walk which starts at a small church. I first had a look round the churchyard. Churchyards are always good for some texture and interesting light shooting.

The small Church of St Thomas’ at Perry Green, the start of our walk.

A misty day forming a drip on the tap gives it an extra element.

Further along our walk we pass the Henry Moore Studio and Gardens. Even though it’s closed at present there is an opportunity to still see some of the sculptures.

Large Figure in a Shelter by Henry Moore.

Hoglands, Henry Moore’s home and now a museum reflected in the visitor centre windows.

The walk takes us round the perimeter of the Henry Moore grounds and then along part of the Hertfordshire Way.

My favourite gatepost subject on the walk.

So, what of the film. I developed the Fomapan 200 for 13 minutes in Ilford ID11 at 20 deg C. Ilford ID11 is my go to developer at present. As it’s a powder developer it has an almost indefinite shelf life in it’s powder form so I can purchase a couple of boxes without having them go off before I can use them.

I quite like the tones of Fomapan 200 but not sure the grain appears to be much smaller than Fomapan 400 and I have to say that I think I prefer to use Ilford HP5+ for most of my photos.

I will though try the Fomapan 200 out with another camera/lens combination. This set was photographed using the Olympus OM2n fitted with the 50mm f1.4 lens. I intend to run another 36 through my Pentax Spotmatic fitted with the 55mm f1.8 Takumar lens.

Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire.

Built in 1650, Wimpole Hall is a neo-classical building and is Grade I listed. The estate itself is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Owned by the Chicheley family for 250 years the house passed through a number of familys before passing into ownership by The National Trust.
As the National Trust are now opening up access to their properties we were able to book a visit there a few days ago.
I took it as an opportunity to do some photography using one of my 35mm SLR film cameras.

Camera: Olympus OM2n 35mm SLR

Lenses: 35mm f2.8 Zuiko. 50mm f1.4 Zuiko. 135mm f2.8 Zuiko.

Filter: Hoya Orange (G) filter.

Film: Ilford FP4 rated at 125asa. Developed in Ilford ID11 diluted1+1 for 11 minutes @20degC.

Scanned to digital using a Plustek 8100 scanner.

Wimpole Hall. Walking across the parkland at the rear of the house toward the Folly.

The park was “naturalised” by Capability Brown. The North Park is particularly attractive with its belts of woodland, gentle rolling hills with individual trees and clumps of trees. The central feature of the North Park is the Gothic Tower known as The Folly and the restored lakes in the valley below.

The folly is designed to resemble the ruins of a medieval castle. It was built on the grounds of Wimpole Hall in the mid-1770s

Single-arch timber bridges were often called ‘Chinese’ in the eighteenth century, probably because they were reminiscent of the bridges shown on Chinese porcelain, lacquer, silk and wallpaper. It was designed by Lancelot Brown and was rebuilt in the mid 20th century.

Wimpole Farm is one of the UK’s largest rare breed centres and they play a key role in conserving rare and traditional breeds of livestock.

Walk – Wareside – 3.25 miles.

A very pleasant walk from The Chequers pub in Wareside and along the River Ash. This route follows in part along the old Buntingford branch line which went from St Margarets to Buntingford. Opened in 1859 and closed in 1964.

The walk starts at the Chequers pub in Wareside. If it’s not busy you can park up in the village hall car park beside the pub. Leaving the car park you walk down and turn right beside the pub along the B 1004. Just after this you turn right up the lane signposted to Babbs Green.

Start of the route in Wareside. Turn right just after the cottage on the right.

Looking back at the start at The Chequers pub.

After a few yards up this lane you have to decide whether to turn left up the narrow path immediately to the right of the Bourne Cottage. Alternatively you can continue up the lane to the next set of crossroads where you turn left. Ths time we walked up the lane to the crossroads. Immediately opposite is the old Wesleyan Church, now turned into houses. This property has some history for me as it was purchased by an uncle of mine in the mid sixties after attendance to the services had dropped to an all time low. It was converted by him to houses and remained in the family for some time.

Wesleyan Church (former), Wareside now Wesleyan House.

After turning left at the crossroads you continue up the narrow road and eventually the footpath mentioned earlier and the road join. At the small triangular green turn right and continue up the road until you arrive at Morley Pond. Morley Pond Cottages have another connection with my family as it’s where my grandmother once lived. It’s a pity I couldn’t get a photo but there was a number of vans parked out in the drive obscuring the cottage. At this point continue straight up next to and left of the cottages along a rough surfaced lane. This lane continues on between hedges. In due course the lane drops downhilll and comes out near a couple of farms. Continue on bearing left along the farm drive with Newhole Farm on your left.

The view looking North East just after Newhole Farm.

The road continues on until you get to the B1004 where you cross over and continue on down another farm track. Continue down this track toward Watersplace Farm. Just before the farm turn left to follow track down the right hand side of the field toward the river Ash.

Follow the hedge to your right and then at the end of the hedge turn back on yourself round the hedge and walk back with the river on your left until you reach the bridge.

Cross the bridge and continue straight across the field ahead of you to the gate.

Looking back toward the bridge over the River Ash,

After going through the gate turn left and follow the track of the old railway.

Looking right as we walk along the old railway track.

Part of the old railway road bridge. This is close by where the old Mardocks station was which served Wareside.

Just before the old railway road bridge turn right to descend down to another bridge that crosses the river. The turn left through a gate to walk along fields on the right hand side of the river. You go through another gate and field and then the path turns left over the river and returns across allotments back to the village.

The Memory of Trees.

Some trees are thousands of years old. I’ve often thought that wouldn’t it be great if we could tap into the memory of what a tree had experienced whilst it sat there all those years.

There is a 4,800 year-old Bristlecone Pine which grows high in the White Mountains of eastern California. Named after the Biblical figure that lived for 969 years, the Methuselah Tree grows in the Methuselah Grove, which is in Inyo National Forest’s “Forest of Ancients,” where it is surrounded by other ancient trees. The exact location of the tree, though, is kept secret to protect it against vandalism.

Edmund Schulman and Tom Harlan took samples from the tree in 1957 and they discovered it was 4,789 years old. It is estimated that the tree germinated in 2832 BCE, making Methuselah one of the oldest known living trees and non-clonal organism in the entire world. A germination date of 2832 BCE makes Methuselah older even than the Egyptian Pyramids. What a memories that tree would hold!

A recent photography club challenge had the subject of trees and combined with not being able to travel far during restrictions because of the virus gave me the incentive to study some trees on my local walk.

Old trees which had been felled and reduced to just stumps gave some interesting graphic shapes.

This image of a tree reminds me of Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream.

Gnarled and fissured trees have interesting textures.

I spotted this old tree stump on a hilltop on a recent walk and loved the sculptured effect it gave off.

A more close up shot of the tree sculpture above.

Groups of trees can prove an interesting composition.

Stapleford Walk – Along the River Beane – 3.2 miles.

A very nice 3.2 mile walk starting at St Mary the Virgin church in Stapleford near Hertford.

You can start by parking along the road next to the school in Stapleford. Then walk down the road toward the River Beane and on the way visit the mid 12th century church of St Mary the Virgin.

The church is of flint rubble, cement render with stone dressings, stock brick buttresses and with an interesting weatherboarded tower.

Walking through to the back of the church, the walk can be accessed by continuing to the back right hand corner of the graveyard and through a gate to continue alongside the River Beane and along a stretch of The Hertfordshire Way (Start). The path is a gravel path with easy walking. There are a couple of benches along the path where one can stop and take a rest.

The walk continues along the path by the river and at one point there is a wood on your left (Foxleys Wood). At this point the path goes slightly uphill to the left of the wood until you arrive at a gate and a barn on your right (point A). At this point, turn sharp left down the farm drive.

(Point A) After this gate turn left down the farm drive.

The walk continues along this surfaced farm drive past the wood which is now on your left. After some time the farm drive arrives at the road (Point B). Continue straight across the road onto another surfaced foot path.

The continuation of the footpath and South End Farm Cottage.

Continue on along this farm drive which eventually starts going slightly downhill toward the river again. If you wish to take a slightly shorter route you can turn left at Point C just after South End Farm which will take you downhill to rejoin the return leg of the walk at Point E.

At this point (point D) turn left through the gate shown and continue up the field track over the hill toward the wall and the gate through and continue along the path alongside the river. The path continues alongside the river and you end up at the road where you parked.