For the October installment of the #DeltaDefJam, I shot another roll of Delta 3200. This time, instead of pushing it to 6400, I exposed it at EI 1000 and developed it normally, partly hoping for smoother grain, mostly on the recommendation of @Adi W:
Delta 3200 at 1000, dev back at 3200 or even 6400
— Adi W ✈ (@adiw1202) October 3, 2017
Thanks! And, well… it was interesting, at least.
I got a late start to the #DeltaDefJam. Forgot all about it till late on the second day of shoot week, and then really didn’t shoot much until the #WorldWidePhotoWalk. If you read that post, most of the below will be familiar. Apologies.
I started with a few obligatory shots of streaking taillights out the window, at 72mm and at 36mm. It was rainy that morning. Raindrops made some nice patterns on the window, and added some softness to the Foro billboard and the scene overall that I quite like, especially at 72.
I took a couple of other quick work snapshots, but nothing worth sharing, and then it was time for the WorldWide Photo Walk.
I parked on Young, a couple of blocks away from the meetup spot. A new building is nearing completion, 400 Record, occupying the block between Wood and Young on one side, Record and Market on the other. I snapped a nice picture of it on the way to the meetup. I initially wasn’t going to share this, but in preparation for this post, I went back and tweaked a few shots, and this one jumped out.
Our guide for the walk was a half hour late, so we all stood around and waited. I wonder how many other people took this shot (or a relevantly similar one? I guarantee no one else shot it on film, let alone Delta 3200…
And then, finally, thankfully, the walk started. I’ll spare you the details, and get straight into the film…
So. Delta 3200, exposed at EI 1000 and developed at 3200 (Rodinal 1+25, 11 minutes, 4 inversions per minute) is GRAINY. Grainier even than Delta 3200 pushed to 6400 in stock D76. Should I be surprised? I am, but maybe I wouldn’t be if I knew more about developers.
I think it was party or mostly due to my developing scheme. As mentioned, I souped it in Rodinal. The Massive Dev Chart suggests 11 minutes in Rodinal 1+25 for Delta 3200 exposed at box speed, so I mixed 20ml of Rodinal into 480ml of water, got it to ~68℉ and got to it.
How’s your maths? Better than mine, I hope.
20 is to 480 as 1 is to 24, James. 1+25 would be 20ml of Rodinal and 500ml of water. ♂️
I may have a chance to redeem myself in the last installment of DeltaDefJam coming up in November, if I get another roll of Delta by then. But I may just skip it.
Anyway. I shot most of these at the WWPW, so you may have seen them all before. Apologies.
If you missed it last week, I also shot Dallas’ fucking Confederate War memorial. Seriously, though, the city needs to rip that fucking thing down, or sell it to some racist pig. What is it doing standing next to the Convention Center? Sheesh.
I was going to share the pictures again, but I can’t bear to have that garbage sullying my website more than it needs to. Feel free to go have a look.
I ask Allah azza wa jall to forgive me for my foul language, but I also hope He (and you) understand why I used those particular words to describe that particular hunk of rock. Astaghfirullah.
The best of the lot was this one, I think… Like some kind of old west faceoff, the cowboy vs. the photowalker:
I know I said I might submit this one to the WWPW, but I didn’t… Oh well.
So. The #DeltaDefJam. Two rolls of Delta 3200 down so far, and I’ll say that I like/appreciate it more than the 100 and 400 variants, but I’m still not sold on Delta. 100 and 400 are too slick for my liking, much like the TMAX films. I just prefer the grain structure of the traditional varieties. And for a fast b/w film, I’ll take HP5+ pushed before I go for Delta 3200 again, unless I want some chunky grain again… It’s ok, but the grain is just a bit too much. HP5+ is smoother at 1600 than Delta 3200 is at 1000, and forget 6400.
For reference, here’s a shot from last month’s #DeltaDefJam
D76 was the soup of choice last month, and the grain is actually better from stock D76 (13 minutes with 2-4 inversions every minute) than from Rodinal 1+24, even though last month’s was pushed a stop, and this month’s roll was overexposed 1 2/3 stops. It’s very strange. Maybe Delta 3200 just doesn’t get along with Rodinal? (Rather, I think I just don’t like it in Rodinal… Others may like it.)
And here’s some HP5+ pushed to 1600.
SubhanAllah. That was souped in Ilfotec HC 1:31 for 14 minutes with 4 inversions per minute, and it’s just lovely.
Anyway. One more #DeltaDefJam, and then it’ll be time to #FP4Party! I’m looking forward to it…
