2020 is a different year in every way. So how about using a technical ISO 50 film and doing a reverse process to get a B&W SLIDE? It all started with an old roll of the famous Kodak Technical Pan, the film with ultrafine grain, discontinued in 2004. This roll was bought in a purchase with 2 more analog photographer friends.
Until now, we didn’t have the courage to develop this film in this reversal process (all conducted by the analog “alchemist” friend), it is a rare, expensive film with few slide development references to test on the web. We had some problems with spots (probably during the development process), which did not appear in a normal D-76 development process. But still, the work was a success.
The location of my shoot was a farm named Montevideo (a capital of the neighboring country), located in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. The farm has been owned by the same family for over 150 years, produced Brazilian coffee exported for decades, much of the furniture of the last century.
It is part of the roadmap of Estrada Real. It was one of the paths used by the “Bandeirantes” for the gold route in Minas Gerais. Near to this farm, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (Tiradentes ) — national hero — came to own a house and panned for gold.
About the camera, what about the Olympus OM-1 with its 28mm f/2.8 lens? A masterpiece of Japanese engineering and design, in excellent condition, it was the best camera I had so as not to waste the Kodak TP. Unfortunately, with an ISO of 50 I was unable to do much inside the old house, but with the sun and the light of the tropical climate, it was not difficult to hit the outdoor shots. The grain is really beautiful and the contrast is incomparable!
Scans made on an Epson V550 and the relief with D-76 and some other chemicals (that I will not be able to explain).
It was gratifying to spend the weekend at the farm, shooting the small village in the region where characters who still live in the 1950s (my old camera wasn’t even strange to them), like the old man in the portrait with the wooden spoon to make banana jam, still in centenary pots using wood from the region itself, perhaps from trees even planted by his grandparents.
~ Fabio
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3 responses to “5 Frames… Of Kodak Technical Pan 2415 developed as slides (35mm Format / EI 50 / Olympus OM-1 + Zuiko Auto-W 28mmm f/2.8)”
Lovely Photos, Fabio.
I see you cannot explain the process for reversing black and white to slides, but could your alchemist friend comment or provide a link to a reliable process for doing this at home? I would love to try it also!
Thank you
Fabio,
thank you for your experience here. I would have felt the same hesitation to use this so rare film for the slide process.
But it was worth it. What I like most is the view through the arched Gothic bow to the outside…
Best wishes from Austria
Harry Machold
I’ve seen this exact issue before. Seemingly, your friend used hydrogen peroxide for the reversal bleach. If you use the “wrong” type of bleach (Non-food grade, whatever that means), then this sort of incomplete reversal happens, and will never fully work no matter how much time you bleach for. Food grade peroxide is usually a little harder to find, but it’s generally what you should look for.