Rodinal - Reducing that Grain?

Rodinal is one of my favourite developers and I love the way it looks but sometimes I might want to reduce the grain, especially if I want to print big from a small negative. Today I try a method sent to me by a Patreon of my channel, Tim.

Follow my journey from taking the photograph to processing and scanning the negatives. I then print them big so you can see for yourself if the grain is reduced.

Thanks for watching! If you like these videos why not become a Patreon of Pictorial Planet? Your patronage will support the making of these videos, my informative website, and the writing of my second book full of photographic goodness.

John Finch
Pictorial Planet

Other Rodinal videos in my channel:

Getting the Best From: Rodinal Part 4 - Making Rodinal

Getting the Best From: Rodinal Part 3 - Stand Development

Getting the Best From: Rodinal Part 2 - Best Dilutions for Scanning and Darkroom Printing.

Getting the Best From: Rodinal Part 1

#Rodinal

[StephenPrior-mhgd]

I prefer the straight Rodinal however due to the difference in contrast on the negatives it would be interesting to see how they compare if the grain reduced version was given extra development so both were printed on grade 2.

[diegomilanese]

I like both, but the fantastic thing here is that with a single type of development you can obtain two very different effects, so you can use them as needed. Truly remarkable. Compliments! thank you!

[davidottman]

This is the great thing about doing our own B&W developing and printing. Experiments are always educational. There aren't many "right" or "wrong" answers, only suitability to the task at hand. It depends on the desired results.

Personally I like Rodinal for what it is and the look it gives, especially in medium and large formats. If we want reduced grain, another way to do it is to use a bigger piece of film. 😉

[stephendeakin]

It's difficult to tell on my little tablet screen, but my initial reaction to the negatives was that the strip with grain reducer were underdeveloped by about a stop and as you said John another minute wouldn't hurt. My personal preference is for smooth pictures, so the grain reduced negs certainly appear to perform better.

[erichstocker]

Loved both this episode and the next. I was surprised at how well the grain reducer worked. I've always enjoyed the contrast and "sharpness" of negatives developed in rodinal. However, I didn't enjoy the large grain. So, I don't use Rodinal very much or mix a little with HC110 for stand development. But I might experiment with this approach. I appreciate the formula provided in the second episode.

[heinzhagenbucher]

Dear John.
I love watching your videos about black and white photography, and development. I'm still new to all this, and still struggle to understand, and read my negatives. I haven't enlarged anything yet. But I think it must be awesome to watch you over the shoulder, listen to your knowledge at the same time. Thank you so much for your videos.
Kind regards from Switzerland
Heinz

[OldJockOldjock]

I had heard of one way of reducing Rodinal grain which I haven't yet tried but not this one so thanks for trying this out. The operative word for me is "punch" and sadly the grain reducer does seem to remove some of Rodinal's punch and at 8x10 I couldn't see enough counterbalancing effect from the reducer to make it worthwhile at 8x10 at least but clearly it works. However I was really amazed at how unobtrusive the grain still seemed to be at 12X16. There may well be instances where grain reduction is more imperative and this reducer is a handy one to know about

Thanks for all your efforts in this and all the other videos

[canoedoctor]

I've been trying to really explore Rodinal recently, (inspired by your great work!) different dilutions, different ISO, different development times. All towards getting negatives which will print well in my darkroom. So, this video is particularly interesting to me. Yes, I see a decrease in grain size, but it also reduces that great sense of illumination (the glow that you refer to?) that straight Rodinal imparts. The result, while nice, is more ordinary and eliminates what makes Rodinal special to me. FP4 is now my default film stock and I prefer Rodinal 1:25.

[GreyGhost-rz]

Absolutely amazing the look of both the photos and from 35mm. Would be interesting to see a slight reduction in the 10ml grain reduction amount to 6ml and shot again. Would love to see it in medium format.
Great videos as always !!

[hansjzeller]

IMHO, both are very nice prints, as you said in the video!! My first reaction was that with the grain reducer, it might take a longer development time. My "grain reducer" is called HC-110, which I use instead of Rodinal when I don't want so much grain, e.g. for an ISO 400 film in a 35mm film camera. I also generally love the look of Rodinal. Thank you for the very informative video!

[tonyhirst]

It looks exceptional, the reduced version.

[vadimbecker]

boric acid and borax used in all classic developers as a fog reducer. It dissolve metal silver and remove's silver from unexposed areas. The cost is anemic images without contrast.

[toomuchrose]

This is an interesting experiment. I like the Rodinal with the additive, the tonal range is much longer than straight Rodinal and it seems just as sharp. I think what is happening here is that the salt - sodium chloride - Boric acid and the Borax are dropping the pH of Rodinal which will slow the developing action enough to prevent the excessive grain by 'under developing' the negative in comparison to straight Rodinal. Borax, being a much milder alkali than sodium hydroxide also acts as a buffer to hold the pH at a constant level. It would be interesting to see if longer development produces the same level of grain reduction. I'm not a fan of Rodinal, it's a very one dimensional developer, but the softer version does look nice.

[brianschwellinger]

Hmmmm, it looks to me that the sky on the Rodinal print is a lot more interesting. Your comment on developing for an extra minute would be my next test and I might like the results for the sky. I used Rodinal 1:50 this weekend and the cloudy sky was really nice with a little extra burning in. I could be too fixed on clouds (have been all my life), the grain reduction and wider tonality of the test developer is very nice. Thank you for the test and formula!

[jdebultra]

I can see the reduction in grain but also the slightly reduced acutance. They both have that Rodinal graphite look but perhaps the standard has a slightly more layered, 3 dimensional look. When I drew using graphite, you could get a nice glow and 3D look by layers of different hardness in the graphite. I love Rodinal and it's versatility. It works exceptionally well with FP4. I prefer the grain and I use Rodinal for 35 and 120. I use the same mix and time as you. I also love to stand develop with it as well, 1+100 for 1 hour. For 35, I will gently turn it once at the 30 min mark to prevent the sprocket drag.

[tarasb]

Thanks John! This is as close to trying it myself as can be. Looking forward to more Rodinal content, it is one of my go-to. How about an episode on Ralph Gibson Tri-X + Rodinal look :)

[domenicotaglione]

Hi John, thanks for the videos you provide, they are very interesting and I learned a lot from you. Some time ago I asked you if you could try the Germain 777 or Dupont formula for us that I read from some book on Enry Cartier Bresson. If you can do it I will be very interested. Thank you .

[IslandPink]

On the initial comparisons, it looked like there was some shouldering of the characteristic curve with the grain reducer. It was less obvious in the later prints, however I still think the windowsills vs. the walls still show a little compression of highlights. I have come to think that highlight separation is one of the big reasons people like Rodinal. However the reduction in grain is very pronounced - what a nice option to have, if you want to adjust the character depending on subject ( easier with 120 ! )

[jondr.]

I think this is an interesting idea. For me rodinal is my go to developer. It's ideal for my use as I only get round to a developing session twice a year. As rodinal lasts for decades it suits me. With 120 film I'm not to concerned with the grain, but once you introduce Ilford 3200 35mm, stand development and pinhole photography, it can become problematic. This looks like an interesting solution

[mikaelwerner]

Very interesting additive and impressive results indeed. I'm fairly new to developing (though I've been photographing since 1971) and I only use Rodinal as a developer.
I think I would like to try this additive on higher ISO film some time, but for 100 ISO or lower I feel reluctant to reduce grain on the expense of glow and contrast.