From Far Away
Solo Exhibition Vermont Governors Gallery
I am very excited to announce that I have been selected by the Vermont Governors Gallery for a solo exhibition at the State Capitol form January 4 – March 31st, 2017.
The show title is “From Far Away” and represents selected works from 2004 till present. There will be an opening reception on January 12th from 4-7PM, (please note a photo ID is required to enter the gallery.) Click on the link below to read the full press release!
In celebration the revolution’s ten year anniversary, I have decided to post the Figital Revolution Manifesto book as a free PDF download. (The print copy is no longer available for purchase online.) Written in 2007 and admittedly snarky and over the top, I am struck by the fact that, despite so many changes in the industry, the book is entirely still relevant today! I want to thank my wife, Eve Ogden Schaub as my co-author… she has moved onto bigger projects like her book Year of No Sugar which went viral… and her next book is due out in January 2017 so stay tuned.
I am sure many of you are as disappointed in the new Leica introduced today as I am…. the Leica X Vario. This coupled with the M 240 which I am NOT a fan of makes me think Leica needs a swift kick to get back into the game. A note to Leica… do not try to compete with Fuji or Canon or Sony as you can not… Instead, do what you do best and make cameras like the M9P and my MP a la carte. Anything else is just a waste of time.
Now to put a smile on your face (well, it did mine!)… here is my newest camera with some fun additions…. a black paint Leica MP a la carte with my PinZonie 28mm pinhole lens as well as a 18mm pinhole lens in the Leica Lens Holder M on the bottom and the very cool Leica Universal Viewfinder – The Frankenfinder!! (covers 16mm-28mm with a brilliant clear view and also has parallax correction for close up distances which is sooo nice… for me the perfect walk around camera!
So currently in my JOBO CPP2 I am running Diafine full strength Part A and full strength Part B for 5 minutes for all BW films at rotation setting “F” which is around 40 rpm. After part B I increase the rotation to “P” which is around 80 rpm and keep it at that for the remainder of the process. My tests have shown that times around 7+ minutes in A/B can stain some films- yet 5 minutes in A/B at 75F seems about spot on to me and perfect for most scanning applications. The 1:1 development of Diafine decreases the shadow detail at higher EI… for example at 1:1 TX dies after about EI 800 whereas with the full strength process as outlined above EI 1600+ is very solid (note: box speed at 1:1 is about perfect- for box speed). With regards to streaking…. none, full strength or 1:1. An obvious advantage to full strength is that Diafine can be used over and over again for a lot of film where as the 1:1 is a one shot developer. I have personally used Diafine (1 gal A/B) full strength for well over a year without issue…. if it becomes a bit dirty just run it through a new clean coffee filter and presto! Perfect developer ready for more film.
So my testing has confirmed that with the 1:1 dilution of Diafine in a JOBO at Rotation P you need to extend your development time to 6 minutes in part A and part B and also run at a temp around 25 C. If you choose not to, you will find that films like 400TX die after about EI 800 (shadows get a bit too thin for me) which is about a stop lower than is expected with the Diafine/ 400TX combo. If you only want box speed to say 800 with 400TX then the standard 3 minutes in A and B is fine.
So today I ran a test to compare 1:1 and full strength Diafine also in a JOBO. Density as you would expect is a tad bit higher at the full strength but not by a lot… again I am extending the time to 6 min in A and 6 min in B. The contrast of the full strength is also a tad bit higher, but nothing a good scanner could not work with…. but the 1:1 is soooo nice.
My advice…. Diafine 1:1 at 25 C for 6 min in A and 6 min in B, rotation setting P. (Note: 1:1 with Diafine is a one shot developer!)
With regards to high speed films, Kodak TX400 works out to a usable E.I. range 1:1 (6 min A and B) from about 200/400-1600 with 3200 somewhat usable…. maybe! Ilford Delta 3200 is amazing with this developer and is nice from about 100/200 – 1600 with 3200 also quite usable in a pinch ( note: you have to love grain to love this film)! The now killed Kodak P3200 is still undergoing tests as it is still around in good supply and it looks like it will have a very solid 3200 but much more grain than the Ilford… which could be nice! I love grain!!
Ilford Delta 3200 and Kodak 400TX both Diafine Developer at 1600.
The Kodak 400TX has nice grain but wow the Ilford is just stunning…. The Ilford is only long term bet as of now – much lower contrast and very easy to scan across a wide range of EI. All the scans above are 100% crops from a very large 35mm scans at 3000 dpi on my Imacon Scanner (I decided not to do 6300 dpi on the scan just to save time and sharpening is off on the scanner, -120 setting).
Amazing couple of days running dozens of different developer tests all with 400TX… love the look of the grain and depth of this film! In the end I came back to an old friend but with a new twist. Diafine is back in my life in a big way! Diluted 1:1 and used as a one shot developer it is spot on in my JOBO with very nice grain, great tonality, no processing issues and best of all a usable EI from about 100-1250 (the chart shows 200-1600… I think 1600 is a bit on the edge for my works but is totally usable in a pinch. So again, in a JOBO speed is 4, temp does not really matter but I ran at 75F, Dilute part A and B 1:1… I did 3.5 minutes in each followed by a 2 min wash with water then fix (box time), clear (box time) and hang to dry…. easy as pie!
Of course an advantage of Diafine that I have written about here before is that many different films can be souped at the same time which is a huge time saver. Diafine negs are a bit flat and do requiere an “S” curve in PS to make me happy but I am now quite happy indeed. I will post links to Diafine articles I have written and a great one from a friend Sandy King from View Camera.
My suggest EI…. 800.
Viva la Revolution– Stephen
All images shot with a Leica MP with a 35MM Summicron ASPH… on Film!
as for articles here… there are a lot!!!! Just type in Diafine in the search box and enjoy!
Also please note these were just quick scans (first set) as I am leaving tomorrow for a week of shooting but the final scan (last image) is quite nice and shows the real potential for this amazing combo.
So I very recently got a Leica MP Black Paint a la carte with a matching black paint Leica 35mm F2 ASPH Summicron… Nice! But what film? I’ve been shooting a lot of 4×5 film recently, mainly Kodak 160 Portra and there is NO way a 35mm negative was going to give me the tonality or depth of color that I had grown acustomed to. So what to do?!
Here are the results of my first tests…. Kodak 400TX processed 1:100 at 68F for 20 minutes with gentle agitation every 3 minutes. The negatives when scanned on my Imacon scanner at 6300 dpi were fantastic- I love grain! I made a test print at 28″ x 40″ on Canson Aquarelle 310 on my Epson 9900 using the BW mode and it was spot on. But…. was it perfect? No. Since this first test I have run many others and now feel that a bit more agitation is needed, perhaps one gentle inversion per minute. I also have ran a test with D76 1:1 using my JOBO and the results were quite nice but the grain was not as crisp as the Rodinal.
So today I am running one last test as I am leaving tomorrow for a week of shooting from FL to VT (will mainly be shooting 4×5 color but want the Leica for my reportage work.
My test today will use PMK developer which I used a lot back in 2006-2007 and I remember how amazing the never ending highlights were…. more as that test concludes.
Just finished a great trip to Cape Cod with my oldest daughter. Many wonderful conversations about film and exposure and getting her comfortable using her “new” Rollei 35S. It was very interesting watching her tune into the light and it’s subtle changes and thinking about how it would look on film- she was much more engaged to the whole process than when I see her shoot with a digital camera. Yes I am very proud!
Leaping Outside The Box: Reimagining Photography by Stephen Schaub
Rutland, Chaffee Art Center – 7 p.m., Chaffee Downtown, 75 Merchants Row, (802) 775-0356
•••••••
Photography is dead… at least the photography that has existed since Joseph Necephore Niepce made his first exposure in 1826; the same photography that led so many into the darkroom of trays and chemistry; the same photography that our grandparents used to produce endless carousels of slide shows on Kodachrome.
So what is next? Photography has always been in the throes of change and evolution since its inception and this transformative, gut-wrenching period is no different. Photography- as our collective nostalgic memory remembers it-is dead. The future promises to expand our definition of what a photograph will be.
•••••••
Viva la Revolution– Stephen
For more information on the full text above please visit: www.ichoosefilm.com
From Far Away
So currently in my JOBO CPP2 I am running Diafine full strength Part A and full strength Part B for 5 minutes for all BW films at rotation setting “F” which is around 40 rpm. After part B I increase the rotation to “P” which is around 80 rpm and keep it at that for the remainder of the process. My tests have shown that times around 7+ minutes in A/B 
Figital Revolution 