Recently, I've been in the darkroom catching up on developing films taken in the last few months. One of these film series, was the rolls from my short trip Italy and in particular an extremely wet Venice, all shot on Berger Pancro400 film using my reliable and compact Contax TVS, which I carried everywhere and used to capture the city's essence in the waning days of October, between showers.
During the same trip, I also had the opportunity to spend some time in Peschiera del Garda, a resort town at the southern tip of Italy’s Lake Garda, which during this time of year is very sleepy and, as I experienced it at the time of my visit - extremely misty.
Upon my return from Italy, I had some concerns that the films might have suffered damage from the X-ray machines at the airport - a common hazard for film photographers, when refused a hand examination, but to my relief there was no discernible damage to the negatives. I develop Berger Pancro400 for eight minutes in Rodinal diluted to 1+25 at ~20-21 degrees C and find that with this film, I get very consistently good results. I’ve spent a lot of time in the past 12 months or more exploring alternative film developers and have my favourite combinations. Rodinal and Berger Pancro400 is one of these favourites.
The tranquillity of the darkroom has been a welcome respite from the chaos of work. It's good to catch up on my backlog of film, reconnecting with my passion for photography as life settles back into a familiar cadence, after a hectic few weeks. I find the entire process from shutter click to the final prints, is a deeply personal journey that allows me to engage with my experiences through a different lens and having my own darkroom has been a tranquil escape where I can focus on just that photographic process and nothing else; it’s where the red safety light dims the outside world to a distant murmur, and it's just me dancing in the dark with chemicals, watching images appear as if out of magic onto paper.
Among the collection of photographs, three frames stand out from Venice as print-worthy. Two are centred around the Rialto Bridge, a Venetian icon and the Third looking out across to San Giorgio Maggiore across the water.
The Rialto Bridge frames were carefully printed on Ilford Multigrade Art paper, which I find renders the textures and contrasts of the scene with a tactile quality that's simply mesmerising. The first print offers a view of the bridge standing in the distance, covered in tourists, with gondolas moored in the foreground left of the Grand Canal. The second is a lively contrast, featuring a gondolier in the midst of steering his vessel through the waterways that crisscross the city, the bridge providing a stoic background.
The third print is something a bit different. It's presented on Ilford Multigrade FB Warmtone paper, which imparts a certain depth and warmth to the image. It captures the moored gondolas at the forefront, with the serene backdrop of San Giorgio Maggiore across the water, through the mist.
All prints were developed in Adox Neutol Eco developer, pulling out a range of mid tones, despite the need to use a high contrast filter to achieve dense blacks in the shadows.
Catching up with my backlog of undeveloped film has been good time to reflect on the memories from this trip and reconnect with some of the emotions from the experience. The darkroom is a space where time seems to stand still, allowing me to reflect on the places I've been and the sights that caught my eye.
I'm already looking forward to, not only my next trip, but also my next darkroom session, where I can relive these trips again and create new memories, set in Silver.