News from the LRF

Film Ferrania has released more news. Sadly, a domino effect of cascading events is slowing them down. First, asbestos was found in the LRF building where the film will be manufactured. This led to the shutdown of the building until remediation could be completed. However, in that time, the supply of steam to the building was cut off, necessitating the installation of new boilers at the building. No steam, no power, so it was necessary. By this time, though, the emulsions that were prepared earlier had expired and the weather had changed.

The film needs to cool and solidify the emulsion layer before it can be wound into a roll for later cutting to size. Due to the warmer weather, this now requires chilling equipment to be installed that was not planned until September. The first run was planned for cooler temperatures that did not require this equipment.

Despite these setbacks, Ferrania continues to plan to release its Kickstarter products, just on a different timeline.

Tim Rudman's Photo Book on Iceland

Tim Rudman has announced the availability of his long-awaited book, 'Iceland. An Uneasy Calm', for pre-order. Printed by Opas Books, the book will have a collectors' edition in a black silk binding available in a limited run by September. The collectors' edition will include an handmade duo-toned silver-gelatin print.

Tim describes the Icelandic landscape as "a wonderful country of folklore and religion, of myth and magic and a land of awesome subterranean forces and stunning scenery." Tim is a leader and center of information for lith printing on silver-gelatin paper.

He also gives an excellent tip for an online photography magazine, the Looking Glass. Looking Glass covers all things in still film - large format, ambrotype, 35mm, you get it. While the zine does require Flash, it does feature artwork from notable film photographers.

The newsletter also mentions Ilford new Direct Positive printing paper. The paper is geared towards pinhole camera work, where a positive image is desired without an internegative or film negative. The paper can be used in any large format camera or LOMO cameras by cutting to size.

It is well worth signing up for Tim Rudman's newsletter.

CineStill Film

Yet another film makes an appearance on the market! CineStill offers three films based on movie film stock that can be processed using standard still film processes, hence the name CineStill. There are two colour films, an ISO 50 daylight film appropriately named 50Daylight, and a high speed ISO 800 tungsten balanced film called 800Tungsten. The latter is an exciting development, since it makes indoor photography in incandescent, flourescent and artificial light possible. A fast f/1.4 lens (any will do :) allows handheld shots with this film indoors. The film can be pushed to ISO 3200 and can be processed in either standard C-41 process or ECN-2 movie film process.
The color film is made by removing the remjet backing from movie film stock, then packaging the film in 35mm canisters for use in still film cameras. Because the antihalation layer (the remjet layer) has been removed, the film does show halation affects, or halos around bright objects. The film does offer cinematic color and the ability to work in daylight (50Daylight, or the 800T with an 85B filter) and low light situations (800T). This blogger is ordering a pack of this film to try out!
Also available from CineStill, is a B&W cinema film, based on Eastman Double-X 5222 film stock, called bwXX. It can be processed in a variety of developers and can be used indoors with tungsten light or outdoors in daylight.

Why waste water? Use the Ilford Archival Wash Method

After processing your film or printing paper, it is necessary to remove the chemicals from the photographic material. Mostly the fixer will remain, specifically the thiosulphate. While removing this is imperative for the longevity of the material, a small amount must remain for archival qualities. The Ilford method extracts the most thiosulfate for the least water, leaving just enough to ensure long life. Check out the paper at the Ilford site (PDF) describing the complete Ilford Archival Wash Method for most silver-based films and papers.

A brief description of the Ilford method for film developed in a spiral tank (including most roll films) taken from the previously mentioned document reads as follows:
• After fixing, [drain and -ed] fill the spiral tank with water at the same temperature, +/- 5ºC (9ºF), as the processing solutions. Invert the tank 5 times.
• Drain the water away and refill. Invert the tank 10 times.
• Once more, drain the water. Invert the tank twenty times and drain the water away.
• Finally rinse with a few drops of ILFORD ILFOTOL Wetting Agent (1:200) added to the rinse water.

This method works because the concentration of fixer in the film emulsion decreases rapidly with each change of water. Your blogger has used this method successfully for years. Checkout the data sheet from Ilford for complete details including washing RC and Fibre-Based prints.