©2020 Gary L. Quay

I took this picture in October of 2020 in the shadow of Rowena Crest along the Historic Columbia River Highway. I’ve said it before, but Oregon’s dry side has become my favorite place in the world.

This would be an exquisite negative if my camera didn’t still have some light leaks that I still haven’t plugged. There are two lines of flare that run top to bottom. I corrected them in Photoshop, but it will be hard to print in the darkroom. I may try to use a reducer to eliminate them.

I used 510-Pyro as the developer, and the detail and tonal range just blows me away. If it weren’t for the light leaks, this would be the finest negative I have ever produced.

Some of my best negatives were souped with pyro, as were some of my worst. It’s a finicky developer, prone to going horribly wrong on occasion. 510-Pyro doesn’t seem to have that issue. Formulated by a photographer named Jay DeFahr, it seems more stable than even Gordon Hutchins’ PMK Pyro. I may have to keep experimenting with it.

A word about 8×10 film. There is a depth here that can’t be gotten with a 35mm sensor. You really have to look at this on a computer monitor, and not a smart phone.

Technical Data:

Under Rowena Crest 8×10, Autumn 2020
Camera: Deardorff 8×10
12” Goerz Dagor
Film: Ilford Ortho+ developed in 510-Pyro