Re: microdol-x & infrared

[Russ Rosener <rrosener@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hellaynea wrote:
> 
> Des,
> 
> Well I am starting my final project and it is heavily based on infrared film.
> I wondered if i could get tighter grain by using Microdol.  I am thinking
> about doing some figurative studies and perhaps some landscapes.  I don't mind
> the grain when I shoot landscapes but i want a smoother appearance for skin
> tones and texture (grain).  I really don't know if this is the best solution
> for what I want to do.......

Well, Microdol X would be a good developer for a NORMAL black & white
film to reduce grain. However, Microdol X seems to decrease film speed
in exchange for finer grain. I don't like the stuff and have not used it
in years. Grain size is basically a property of the film you are using
rather than the developer. So my first advice to students is to switch
to a finer grain film like like Ilford Delta 100 or Kodak Tmax 100.
However with infrared you don't have the luxury. You could try Konica's
IR750 IR film, but although it has much finer grain, it is a very
different film. So I would just shoot Kodak HIE and process in D-76 or
X-TOL undiluted. The grain should be resonably good. A #25 red filter
should work fine. In fact if shooting under tungsten lights, some people
use no filter at all! 
	Why not try shooting two or more rolls of film? Shoot a roll of Konica
IR 750 in addition to the Kodak and see what results you get.
Check the IR gallery for examples of a couple figure studies I shot with
Konica IR in the "previous artists" section. In fact cruise the whole
archives for figure studies and portraits until you get a good idea of
what each film does with skin tones.

- -- 
Russ Rosener
Washington University, St. Louis
http://home.stlnet.com/~rrosener/Archaic_Cyberspace.html
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