[LargeFormat] Shen Hao

[rstein]

Dear Friends,

     Walk me through this - my brain is recovering from the New Year's
revelry. ( We get New Year two days early in Australia. Wait till you see
what happens....)

     I have been conquering and slaying. Well, make that experimenting and
succeeding. I determined to finally tame Tit-X in the Mighty Shen, and I
think I is there.

    I have finally settled on an ASA of 10-12 for Tit-X. It likes daylight
more than flash but with a careful filling-in to 1:3 or 1:2 it is suitable.
And it is surprisingly easy to hand-synch the rubber bulb and the radio link
to the lights. I should not want to try chewing gum while doing it, however.

    The developing sequence is 2 minutes soak in plain water, 4 minutes in D
76 mixed 1:2, plain water stop, and whatever fixer is in the bottle for 3
minutes.

    The secret to avaoiding scratches on the surface is don't handle it. I
have these weird half-plate size sheets of Tit-X to contend with and no SS
hangers, but I have cut a sheet of ABS plastic a little larger than the film
and use 2 rubber bands to fasten the film to the ABS. Then I can transfer it
between dishes and poke it upside-down into the solutions as much as I like.
The final enlarging area is 4 x 5 anyway so this is within the boundaries of
the rubber bands.

    The camera lens is 300-something mm and f.8 don't have a lot of depth of
field - i am going to have to try to get more light on the subject for
smaller stops. Sooooo - tell me if i am thinking correctly.

     If I measure the light on the subject as f.8 but want to use f.11 I
essentially need twice as much light. So if my flashes will not pump out
more light in one go, I can punch the flash button 2 times  and end up with
the correct amount?

    If I want to use f.16 from that same f.8 start point I need to put out
FOUR times as much light. So I need to punch the flash button 4 times?
Correct?

    If I want to use f.22 - from that same f.8 start point - how many times
should I punch the button? This is all predicated on a still-life subject.

    This is not a contest - I am just a little dull tonight. Please advise.

     Uncle Dick