Easter Sunday? Easter SUNday!

In a way, it was Kodak’s D-96 developer that opened the door for me to want to begin developing my own film in the first place. Back in 2020, I exposed a roll of Ferrania P30, which the lab developed in HC-110 dilution B. The results were …well very muddy. I learned that the developer used can matter a great deal!

I’ve had two one-litre packets of Flic Film’s Black-and-White Cine Film Developer (their D-96 equivalent) on my shelf since the late fall, just in time for the darkest season, when I’m less likely to be using the cine films I have. ORWO UN54 and Ferrania P30, for example, at 100 ISO and 80 ISO (respectively) are a little slow for the heavy and oppressive overcast of winter. Eastman Double-X (250 ISO) can be pushed well enough, but I also had plenty of Tri-X and Ilford HP5+.

On Sunday, the spirits of discovery move me. The weather was pleasant (10C/50F) and most important, there was sun! Glorious sun! The combination would be a fresh bottle of Flic Film’s D-96 equivalent and a roll of ORWO UN54, that I’ve had in the fridge for some time.

I found the results pleasing!

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Voice dysphoria. I hate it.

Even though the voice I speak with does not sound much different than it ever has, it’s like speaking through someone else. It’s not actually my voice. Voice training can’t come soon enough!

To make matters worse, I’m finding that my writing voice has become another vehicle for bad feelings. My work requires that I write in short, clear, and direct sentences (a good thing!), but in the dark corners of my mind, that’s too direct. Too forward. Too masculine.

So it’s dysphoria of the chords and ‘boards.