PHOTOGRAPHY- 44

PHOTOGRAPHY- 44

About Developers………

As presented earlier, film developers are not alike in view of their formulation specificities and each manufacturer chooses to have some ‘patented approach’ in choice of chemicals to suit their brand tradition. So, developers are simultaneously generic in function and specific by chemistry behind. I may sound a little confusing but that is it!

Another caution

Whenever one goes about mixing developer[s] for personal requirement , it is sensible to remember the ‘oxdizability’ tendency of the developing agent. Normally a few practices can help in  safe guarding the developer from undue oxidation. Critical workers prefer to boil the water thoroughly to expel the air dissolved in water. BUT NEVER ADD DEVELOPER CHEMICALS TO BOILING WATER. Instead, USE BOILED and COOLED water so that, the activity of the intended chemistry survives . Good workers use distilled water to avoid the occurrence of inadvertent dissolved chemicals that can alter the efficacy of development and also influence the pH of the medium .

A sound advice to all beginners

The developing agent[s] must stay functional [unoxidized]. So, before plunging the developing agent [Metol/ Phenidone/ Hydroquinone] , add at least a pinch of the preservative Sodium sulphite , so that it quenches the internal oxygen in water and prevents the oxidation of developer. It also means that the necessary total quantum of Sodium sulphite should already have been weighed and kept for use, from which a small quantity may be dispensed into the solution, keeping the final volume of Sod. Sulphite,  as specified in the formula.

Further

While mixing colour developers –a special agent named PPD*/ CD2/CD3/CD4 may be a component. All these have a tendency to form oily,  floating droplets if mixed in the same order as specified in the formula. In such situations, the quantum of the colour developer is individually dissolved in a small quantity of D Water and the solution delivered into the developer mix goes easily into solution and the isue of immiscibility is just ruled out. [*PPD =Paraphenylenediamine- an organic chemical known for processing ‘dyes’ infused in colour films. It was a somewhat ‘crude’ agent. Progressive refinements in synthesizing colour developing agents yielded refined products CD2, CD3, and CD4, where CD STANDS FOR Colour Developing Agent numbered according to chronological evolution. When film photography was at its zenith the highest version was CD4, till the very scheme turned defunct in the first decade of the present millennium]

CD4 is chemically 4(N-ethyl-N-2-hydroxyethyl[-2-methylphenylenediamine

From the data presented above, it can be learnt that exhaustive research and refinements preceded the onset and expansion of colour  photography through the 20^th century , especially for purity of colour reproduction and colour saturation. Colour saturation is a quasi technical term to emphasize the aspect of purity of colours  in results presented by processing the dye records in films and photo papers manufactured under very rigid conditions of ‘light proof ‘ systems of large scale manufacture of films and papers. Major contenders for excellence were of course, Kodak, Fuji, Konica, Agfa, Mitsubishi and ORWO to name some. There would have been more other items from Europe, though I cannot with any authenticity claim knowledge on all such products.                                                                                                                                        Friends, Now two options lie before us 1 to right away take the course into printing aspects for BLACK and WHITE images    and 2 to discuss in depth the diverse aspects of colour photography though as of now, either of them IS not practised in our country. I know there is a global effort to revive Film photography  for its innate characteristic of ‘demanding accuracy of effort’ in every step to stake claims of ‘personal creativity ‘ by any photographer and [or] dark room technician.

I CANNOT BE WRITING ON A TOPIC OF THIS NATURE, UNLESS I AM CONVINCED THAT IT TRULY REACHES READERS. If I am robbing your precious time, better I wind up with peripheral information on photo printing, saving your time and mine as well and as much.

K.RAMAN