I've been souping my T-Max 400 in 75 degree T-Max developer for some
time now. I would rate it at 400 and process it for six minutes.
However, Shel's inquiries about developing this film prompted a number
of discussions and alternate procedures several weeks ago. Among the
most convincing were those that called for rating the film at 300 asa
and processing it in D-76 1:1 or D-23 for ten to twelve minutes. (A
couple of the folks who advocated this seemed to have done their
homework.)
Last week I shot a roll of that film at 300 while roaming Manhattan
on a gray morning, so I thought I'd give this procedure a try. I had
some fresh D-76, so I figured I'd try that one 1:1 at 68 degrees. And
since I have a condenser enlarger, I figured I'd limit the development
time to 10 minutes. I'm very pleased with the results. I shot some
skyscraper tops pointing my filterless SMC 135/2.5 up toward the
heavens, and lo and behold, I have great contrast on the architectural
pieces along with sky detail. In my limited experience, that kind of
highlight detail is rare without filtration. I also shot some street
vendors and homeless folk in deep shadow. The contrast is good, the
detail is good. Of course I haven't done any kind of comparison, so this
really means nothing. But I like it enough that I think this is going to
be my BW combination for at least a while.
Paul
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