Topic: Washi Film

[Miles]

Hi All,

Tempted ...

Anyone tried it ?

what's the story on developing it, is it actually paper ?

thanks,

[Francois]

Yep, Washi film is actually real paper!
I think a few of us tried it out. But from what I can see, the 35mm gives the final image way too much texture. 120 is somewhat decent with cameras that produce big negatives (as in 645 is a big no no). 4x5 is really where it shines. Not too much texture yet just enough.

[Harvey]

Wasted quite a bit of this but never been happy with it, in part because I haven't found the right subject for it and in part because it's pretty high maintenance in terms of developing and drying. I developed in PQ Universal which gives an ISO of 3 to 6. Eukobrom is faster, about 25?

[Francois]

Wow! This stuff is more curly than Shirley Temple's hair!
Must be a real nightmare to flatten again...

[jharr]

If you are doing 4x5, you might be better off just buying some Rockland AG-plus and a quality paper. Then you get to choose your own texture. Something like a Bienfang 360 would make a nice negative without the curl.

[Harvey]

I definitely think coating a good quality watercolour paper would be the way to go. Apart from the Shirley Temple curl which is a pain to flatten out the surface is sometimes quite pockmarked. I'm sure someone with better skills than me could turn out something great, there are good examples out there, but for me it's like trying to train a cow.

[jojonas~]

hm.. I can't find it now but japan camera hunter/tokyo camera style had been to a gallery showing with a lot of beach/coast shots made on 35mm washi film. looked pretty cool

[nachtiris]

Very interesting! Harvey, your photos have a nice Banksy-like charakter. I have seen a tutorial of how to process a Washi-rollfilm, it looks very difficult.

https://youtu.be/C1tuezJExpM

(BTW: I love the red wine glass in the darkroom, french understatement, il est très élégant  )