Stand development

Last updated July 13, 2019

Stand development is a photographic development process where film is left in a very dilute developing solution for an extended period of time, with little or no agitation.^[1] The technique dates back to at least the 1880s,^[2] and results in fine grain, increased perceived sharpness, and smooth tonality, but is time-intensive and runs the risk of producing certain processing defects.

Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film base coated on one side with a gelatin emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the crystals determine the sensitivity, contrast, and resolution of the film.

In the processing of photographic films, plates or papers, the photographic developer is one or more chemicals that convert the latent image to a visible image. Developing agents achieve this conversion by reducing the silver halides, which are pale-colored, into silver metal, which is black. The conversion occurs within the gelatine matrix. The special feature of photography is that the developer acts more quickly on those particles of silver halides that have been exposed to light. Paper left in developer will eventually reduce all the silver halides and turn black. Generally, the longer a developer is allowed to work, the darker the image.

Process

In traditional film development, film is processed in concentrated development fluid for a brief period, typically 8 to 12 minutes. During this period the developing fluid is agitated, often by inverting the development tank several times every few minutes. This has the effect of spreading the developing fluid evenly over the surface of the film and preventing localised overdevelopment. Stand development instead uses a very dilute solution of developer, often one part developer to fifty or one hundred parts water. There is almost no agitation beyond initial mixing, and developing times are greatly increased, often an hour or more. A related technique is semi-stand development, which uses a small amount of agitation.

Photographic processing or development is the chemical means by which photographic film or paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image. Photographic processing transforms the latent image into a visible image, makes this permanent and renders it insensitive to light.

Advantages

Stand development is noted for its perceived sharpness and relative simplicity. The process was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was used by Eugene Atget ^[1] and William Mortensen,^[3] among others. It has a compensating effect in that the developer exhausts itself in areas which require greater development while remaining active in less-exposed areas, which has the effect of boosting shadow detail while preserving bright highlights.^[4] Stand development is also largely insensitive to variations in exposure, and allows for the development of films rated at different speeds in the same batch.

William Herbert Mortensen was an American glamour photographer, primarily known for his Hollywood portraits in the 1920s-1940s in the Pictorialist style.

Film speed is the measure of a photographic film's sensitivity to light, determined by sensitometry and measured on various numerical scales, the most recent being the ISO system. A closely related ISO system is used to describe the relationship between exposure and output image lightness in digital cameras.

Disadvantages

Without agitation stand development can suffer from bromide drag. The developing process produces bromide ions, which settle towards the bottom of the developing tank. In doing so they create streaks of uneven development on the surface of the film.^[5] In the example to the right the developing fluid has filtered through the sprocket holes of a frame of 35mm film, producing streaks of overdevelopment that would have been masked with more agitation.

Silver bromide (AgBr), a soft, pale-yellow, water-insoluble salt well known for its unusual sensitivity to light. This property has allowed silver halides to become the basis of modern photographic materials. AgBr is widely used in photographic films and is believed by some to have been used for making the Shroud of Turin. The salt can be found naturally as the mineral bromargyrite (bromyrite).

Film perforations, also known as perfs and sprocket holes, are the holes placed in the film stock during manufacturing and used for transporting and steadying the film. Films may have different types of perforations depending on film gauge, film format, and intended usage. Perforations are also used as a standard measuring reference within certain camera systems to refer to the size of the frame.

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References

1 2 Anchell, Stephen (1998). The Film Developing Cookbook. p. 37. ISBN 978-0240802770.
↑ Stand Development, Cassell's Cyclopaedia of Photography, Bernard E Jones (1911)
↑ Mortensen Revisited, Ed Buffaloe
↑ Adams, Ansel (December 1981). "The Zone System Revisited". Popular Photography: 138.
↑ EFKE 25 Stand Development in Rodinal, Martin Zimelka

Stand Development With Rodinal

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[cookbook-1] 1 2 Anchell, Stephen (1998). The Film Developing Cookbook. p. 37. ISBN 978-0240802770.

[2] Stand Development, Cassell's Cyclopaedia of Photography, Bernard E Jones (1911)

[3] Mortensen Revisited, Ed Buffaloe

[4] Adams, Ansel (December 1981). "The Zone System Revisited". Popular Photography: 138.

[5] EFKE 25 Stand Development in Rodinal, Martin Zimelka