|
Saturday, March 26 2005, 4:41 AM
Addendum HP5+ for N+1 and N+2
Where do I start as I have so much in my head?
I finally finished my testing for HP5+ with the exception of N-1 and not a minute to soon. Tonight for the first time in my photographic life I nailed it, it was awesome a thing of beauty as I printed a N+2 neg on grade 2 and it was perfect. I have so much room for experimentation now that I am just beside myself. I finally understand what all the testing is about and have come to learn to appreciate it. It is so important if you want to make art and be able to visualize what you want. All I can say is Wow.
The N+ testing was a bit tedious and irritating to say the least, as I did not want to use a ton of film as I did with the initial normal testing, but now as I understand it, it is a must and quite frankly, there is no exception, none.
Once you have nailed down your E.I and development times, you can then really work it in the field and create your visions. One thing you must remember is this rule and this one rule must never be broken. The rule is that you always and I mean always, expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights. This is what photography is all about as with these tools in place you are free to express yourself like never before. When it comes time to print you will print for the highlights and see where everything falls in place. If you did your testing correctly you are going to be able to nail grade 2 and life will be bliss. The room for experimentation is just amazing, as you have just opened the door to options you never had before.
HP5+ N+1 and N+2 Testing
For N+1 testing I have established that HP5+ in HC110 diluted 1:45 at 68F for 8 minutes gives me the E.I. of 320 and for N + 2 with same dilution and degrees for 13 minutes 20 seconds gives me the E.I. of 400.
N + 1 Test
I tested for E.I. 250, 320 for a dev time of 7 minutes and 30 seconds and at E.I. 250 zone 1 was .10 and zone 8 was 1.18, with E.I. 320 zone 1 was.09 and zone 8 was 1.16. With these results I knew I needed more time in the developer. Instead of running another test I set the final time to 8 minutes, as I knew the extra time would also increase my zone 1 target. If I used 250 with the increase in time, it would push zone 1 over the mark and since E.I was .09 I knew that the extra time would move that into target of .10 - .11 as well as moving the zone 8 to 1.25. I figure I am close enough. I may just run another test with the established time at a later date with some N+1 exposure from the field, to see how close I am and adjust accordingly if need be.
N + 1 Conclusion; HP5+ (N+1) E.I. 320, 8 minutes HC-110 1:45 68F in Jobo processor with 5 minutes water pre wash.
N + 2 Test
This is where a headache started as I found the film takes more to expand that I thought.
The first test run was for 10 min. 15 sec. for E.I. targets 500, 400 and 320. The E.I. that matched the closet was 400 with a zone 1 reading of .08 and zone 8 of 1.06. Great I thought to myself as Zone 8 was so far out of range how much do I increase time? I then thought, if I increase the dilution to 1:32, I could meet zone 1 and 8 targets with the 10-minute projected time but after thinking about this it became clear this was not an option by having to use 2 different dilutions. Forget about it, there goes consistency right out the window. So again, I loaded the holders?, snapped the shutter and run another test with a time of 12 minutes. The results were much better with E.I. 400 as zone 1 was reading .09 and zone 8, 1.20 on the densitometer, as I was so close I could taste it so I decided to run one more test with a time of 13 minutes and thought for sure this would nail it.
Well as usual I was wrong again! The results were first a bit puzzling as E.I. 400 moved more than I expected with a zone 1 reading of .12 and zone 8 barley moving with a reading of 1.22. Now I am a bit stressed out by this but luckily, Andy, a friend of mine intervened and told me that with N+2 development, zone 1 can fluctuate between a reading of .10 - .12, so I was cool and feeling much better.
With his help, I did not have to run another test. After looking at my results for the test, he said to use a time of 13 min 20 seconds with E.I. of 400 for N + 2, and you know what? He was dead on as I proved it from a straight print at grade 2!
N + 2 Conclusion; HP5+ (N+2) E.I. 400, 13 minutes 20 seconds, HC-110 1:45 68F in Jobo processor with 5 minutes water pre wash.
Sweet! Can you taste it? I can!!!
v Run the test the same way you do for normal, except for the setting of the camera. In stead of setting to zone 8 you will set it to zone 7 for N+1 and zone 6 for N+2, and shoot for a target zone 8 of 1.30 by allowing development time. This will give you the expanded range you are seeking.
Zone test +1, +2 example procedures;
Say for example, your zone 5 reading is f11 at 1/30sec with an E.I. of 200 you will do the following;
N + 1
ISO 400 zone 1 f45 z7 f5.6
ISO 320 zone 1 f32 2/3 zone 7 f4 2/3 open 1/3
ISO 250 zone 1 f32 1/3 zone 7 f74 1/3 open 1/3
Find your zone 1 mark of .10-.11 and zone 8 mark of 1.25 ? 1.30. If you hit this target, you are golden. Match up the pair with the target reading and you have just established your N+1 E.I. and development time.
N+2
ISO 500 zone 1 f45 zone 6 f8
ISO 400 zone 1 f32 2/3 zone 6 f5.6 2/3 open 1/3
ISO 320 zone 1 f32 1/3 zone 6 f5.6 1/3 open 1/3
With N+2 processing, remember that zone can fall between .10 - .12, so do not be alarmed if it happens. Also your zone 8 targets should fall between 1.25 and 1.30. Again, match up the pair with the proper zone targets and you just established you N+2 E.I. and development time.
It is a good idea with each new batch of film to re-test a few sheets to see where you are in relation to your E.I. and development time. The good thing is that you will have very good starting times from your testing and will be very close. If you are out of target you can easily refine your development time and / or E.I..
As far as N-1 testing, I have not done it to date. When ready though, I will use target E.I. of 160, 125 and 100. Also when testing for N-1 you will set to zone 9 and zone 10 for N-2 and decrease development time to find a zone 8 reading of 1.25 ? 1.30.
Well that about sums it up and HP5+ rocks! Excellent film!
|
|
