Rangefinder Magazine
September 2005

Click Here for printable version of this article.

Please accompany your questions with a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wish an immediate reply. Alternatively, you can email me at: bhurter@rfpublishing.com.

From: Chris Knipp
ccknippaet@yahoo.com
I’d appreciate some advice. I know that Agfa Atomal has been discontinued. Apparently Ilford Perceptol isn’t available either any more. I’m seeking a film developer that is like and works like Atomal as much as possible because that is the developer with which I got the best results. I’m not sure what an alternate solution might be. Or is there a pre-made formulation one can buy somewhere that is the actual the equivalent of Atomal?

It appears you are correct, Ilford Perceptol is no longer available. However, www.retrophotographic.com offers a Moersch developer with exactly the same formulation. According to the site, the Moersch EFG/Perceptol formulation is the original recipe, so no recalibration is needed. The powder makes two liters of working solution.

Regarding Atomal, A49 is said to be a universal fine grain developer, similar to Agfa Atomal. A49 Film Developer dates back to the post-war days when Germany was two countries. Production of Atomal continued in East Germany under the name A49. Each A+B package makes one liter of full-strength developer. There are two packages per pouch making a total of two liters of developer. You can order A49 from J & C Photo by phone (800) 770-1769 or (919) 783-4133, or online at www.jandcphoto.com/. The price listed on the web site is $4.49.

From Mitchell Pederson
Angel Wings Photography
info@angelwingsphoto.com
www.angelwingsphoto.com
First I want to say that Rangefinder is by far my favorite magazine to read. This is our second year in the wedding/portrait business and I learn something every issue. I love the features on the different photographers, and gain something from their perspectives each issue. The new business articles are great too—creative people are not always known to have business sense.

Here is my question, my wife and I both shoot digitally and capture about 800 plus images each event. When we download the files (in RAW), we then have to go back and reorganize the images in order (because we each have flashcards). I tried to sync the cameras to the same time, hoping that when we upload according to date, it would arrange them, but it didn’t work. Is there a way to do this? Basically, we want one story timeline from two different shooters.

You need an asset-management program such as iView Media Pro. In that program, you would drop all your image files onto its large data window. You can include up to 128,000 files in a single catalog in the latest version of the program. Select them all and go to the Organize menu, where you can re-order the files by a number of different criteria, including date and time. When the files are sorted, you would go to Batch Rename and rename the files according to the numbering/labeling system you devise. The resulting sort would put your files in chronological order and rename them so that your files would read something like this: Smithwed.01 through Smithwed.798. All files would be in the order in which they were made, regardless of which camera or CF card they came from. This would require you have your camera clocks synchronized to the same time for the most accurate image/timeline. For more information on iView Media Pro, visit: www.iview-multimedia.com/.

From: marcia@marciaphoto.com
I’ve just shot an image while road-tripping that I’d like to enter in print competition, but I don’t have a release. The subject is a man sleeping on a bench, taken on the grounds of a casino in Jean, NV. What do you think?

Depending on how the man is pictured, you may not want to enter the print in competition. There is no way for you to know the situation of the person pictured. For example, he may be perennially down and out, or he may have lost his room key. But if the picture ridicules him or someone takes it that way, you might be liable for defamation if he sees the image.