Konica 750 in T-max Reversal

[David Sprinkle <david-sprinkle@xxxxxxxx>]

I took a couple of rolls of Konica IR film and the Yashica 124 to the
beach last Saturday.  I had managed to convince a red filter to stay in
place over the lens.  I shot at 1/30, f11 in bright, haze-free sunlight,
which corresponds to an effective film speed (after filter correction)
of about 8 or 15 (by the sunny-16 rule) -- pretty darned slow film.  I
was worried that the combination of 85mm lens and the slow shutter speed
would result in pretty severe camera shake.  However, the TLR seems to
tolerate slower shutter speeds than an SLR does -- most of the soft
images were of children that couldn't stay still for 1/30s.  They moved,
not the camera.  I didn't attempt to compensate for the IR focus shift;
I just hoped that the depth of field at f11 would be large enough to
compensate.  As it turned out, I didn't see any blatently mis-focussed
shots.

Anyway, I took a chance and ran the film through the Kodak Direct
Positive processing kit, designed to produce B/W slides out of T-max
film.  I didn't know if the chemistry was appropriate for the Konica,
but it's all just an adventure, right?  Anyway, the first roll was very
disappointing.  The images were ruined; blotchy and stained.  (But they
weren't so bad that I couldn't see the potential in some of the shots of
the kids playing in the surf.  Damn, I wish that roll had come out.) 
Anyway, there I was, with one badly developed roll, not knowing if the
failure was due to month-old chemistry or due to some fundamental
incompatibility between the emulsion and the process.  Anyway, I mixed
up new chemicals and took and chance on ruining the second roll. 
Results?  Wow.  They came out great.  The images are really cool with
dark skies and very soft glowing skin tones -- basically, the
in-your-face IR effect.  They guys down at the pro photo shop were
pretty impressed. (As an aside, one commented on the sharpness of the
images and asked if I had used a Hasselblad.  No kidding.)

Okay, once you get past the sexy attraction of a glowing transparency
illuminated on a light table, the flat print will break your heart.  I
asked the lab to print a few of the images on type R (color positive)
paper, but I'm not holding my breath.  Most of the other prints I've
made from slides have been huge disappointments.

Summarize the direct positive process?  Pros -- looks cool on a light
table, really cool.  Cons -- expensive, very sensitive to temperature
and time, lots of potential for error with six different solutions
(first developer, bleach, clearing bath, redeveloper, fix, rinse),
difficult to print (positive papers simply don't exist in the wide
contrast ranges of negative paper).  But on the other hand, it looks SO
good on a light table...

A few remarks about the process itself:  I followed the T-max 100
instructions exactly, making no changes in the development times. 
Initially, I considered adjusting the times by the ratio of standard
development times for the two emulsions, but since I don't really
understand the fundamentals of the chemistry involved, I decided not to
introduce any more variables.  I added approximately 23 grams of
anhydrous sodium sulfite to the first developer.  This is about half of
the amount recommended by Kodak to increase the contrast of the T-max
image.  A final note -- the processed film comes out of the final rinse
with a VERY soft emulsion.  If you attempt this process, be extremely
careful not to handle the film any more than is absolutely necessary
until the film is dry.  I found that the gelatin would get wiped off of
the backing very easily.  However, after drying overnight, the emulsion
seemed very stable and scratch-resistant.  Do NOT sqeegee this film. 
Remove it from the reel VERY carefully and do not handle it until it is
completely dry.

Good luck

-dave
*
****
*******
******************************************************
*  To remove yourself from this list, send:          *
*         UNSUBSCRIBE INFRARED                       *
*       to                                           *
*         MAJORDOMO@xxxxx                            *
*----------------------------------------------------*
*   For the IR-FAQ, IR-Gallery and heaps of links:   *
*  http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/mainpage.htm  *
******************************************************