Pyrogallol, abbreviated as “pyro”, is the second oldest developing agent in photochemistry and is indirectly extracted commercially from certain plants. It has been used in black and white plate and film developers from the original Eastman Kodak D1 all the way to the most modern of them all - 510 Pyro.
When used correctly, it will create proportionally stained negatives of extraordinary tonal scale particularly for the highlights. It can also be used for toners such as in cyanotypes. The stain of pyrogallol is typically a yellow-green similar to variable contrast low contrast filters for photographic enlargers giving unique results possible only with a pyro based developer.
Pyrogallol is super-additive with some other developing agents such as metol and phenidone.
Pyrogallol, abbreviated as “pyro”, is the second oldest developing agent in photochemistry and is indirectly extracted commercially from certain plants. It has been used in black and white plate and film developers from the original Eastman Kodak D1 all the way to the most modern of them all - 510 Pyro.
When used correctly, it will create proportionally stained negatives of extraordinary tonal scale particularly for the highlights. It can also be used for toners such as in cyanotypes. The stain of pyrogallol is typically a yellow-green similar to variable contrast low contrast filters for photographic enlargers giving unique results possible only with a pyro based developer.
Pyrogallol is super-additive with some other developing agents such as metol and phenidone.
Pyrogallol powder must be handled carefully and PPE and ventilation utilised due to its harmful nature. In most situations, it does not keep well in solution and if so usually the solution must already be acidic and contain preservatives such as sulphite.
