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The Darkroom Cookbook, 5th Edition
book

The Darkroom Cookbook, 5th Edition

by Steve Anchell
April 2025
Intermediate to advanced
518 pages
14h 4m
English
Routledge
Content preview from The Darkroom Cookbook, 5th Edition

7Pyrogallol and Pyrocatechin

DOI: 10.4324/9781003353317-9

“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it; it is, in one word, effective.”

—Irving Penn

Although pyrogallol (pyro, pyrogallic acid) and pyrocatechin (catechol, catechin, pyrocat) are developing agents, it is common to refer to them as if they were developers. Photographers often say “I developed this in pyro” instead of “I developed this in Kodak D-1.” The same applies to pyrocatechin; it is as if the remaining constituents were unimportant.

Negatives developed in catechol and pyro exhibit an extremely high degree of acutance. The effect is greatest in areas that have achieved the most exposure. ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781040124031