Bill Smith's Photography

  Two things, I experimented with Pyrocat HD developer pioneered by Sandy King and belongs to the family of Pryro staining developers. My friend John Meadows gifted me a small stash of the two part developer to try out. I shot some Ultrafine Extreme 400 back in August while at my brother's place in the Beaches. Pyrocat HD is chemically a nasty developer to work with, only slightly less toxic and more stable than the older Pyro developers. I'm not planning on having kids at this point in my life, so lets give it a shot. Done properly when you pull out the the tank the negative loosks a lot like something developed in a conventional developer but it has a brown cast. I'm on the fence if I want to get some some and add Pyrocat HD into my workflow, If I did, I'll get the version made with glycol for further stabliity. Right now, I'm content with HC110 and D76/1D-11 and that covers the vast majority of films I process.  Which leads me to the second part. I've swtiche...

 When I was at my brother's in the Beaches, I decided to hop the 501 streetcar and stop by Downtown Camrea for a film top up. I wanted some Ultrafine Extreme but they were pretty much out so I settled on some Fomapan 400. This was the first time I hopped onto public transit since the pandemic began and while I don't suffer from anxiety, the ride to Church and Queen Streets had me on edge. I decided to walk back to my brother's place. Yes I got my steps in but it was a weird walk from Downtown Camera to the Don River, I kept my camera in the camera bag. By the time I reached the border between Corktown and Riverside I felt more relaxed and did some shooting.  Bergger Pancro 400's grain accentuated the gloom and humidty that day, by the time I got back to my brother's the skies opened up and the rain really came down. Truthfully I should have just pushed some HP5 or Ultrafine Extreme 400 to 1600 and gone from there. Things didn't shake out that way.  Camera: Olymp...

A muggy overcast day changes the vibe of the Beaches.  Camera: Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko lenses.  Film: Bergger Pancro 400, HC110 B. 

 Kodak Ektar 100 rocks, the end.  Camera: Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko lenses.  Film: Kodak Ektar 100