Tomorrow I get to do something fun: I get to lick the science!
My last bottle of DD-X developer expired (quite spectacularly, I had to get a hacksaw to open it and add it to the disposal container), but I've got ONE roll of film left to process.
Instant coffee
Ascorbic acid powder (vitamin C)
Washing soda (sodium carbonate)
Two of those, are lickable. That's the delta recipe for #caffenol, although I'm using it for HP5+ not Delta, it's still effective. I could've gone with Caffenol-C-H instead but that needs potassium bromide which can't be delivered as quickly and I'm not a patient person (hah!)
Ya know what I haven't done for quite some time? A live film-developing thread! The last time I did one was in August, and I developed 40 rolls in the meantime! 😁
So, let's start - first, let me gather all the stuff I need...
Ok, I've got the stuff almost ready. The film is already loaded - a custom short roll of AgfaPhoto APX 400. I'll be using Rodinal (yeah yeah, I know the bottle says Adonal), 1+50 dilution, at 22°C to speed up the process a bit and get more acutance.
Did Adox change the formula? I remember Adonal was much darker and less pink the last time. 🤔
Yup, this is slightly more than 8 ml. #believeinfilm#filmdevelopment#Rodinal1to50
My development dilution is at 23°C, that's a bit too much for my liking. In the fridge it went, a few minutes should be enough. #believeinfilm#filmdevelopment
A quick question for the #believeInFilm community - Ilford HP5+ in Rodinal or FX-39? 🤔
I've never used FX-39 to develop a film faster than 200 ASA, all ideas are welcome! #selfDev#filmdevelopment
Aww shit. I've just finished a roll of Agfa APX 400 in a scruffy Praktica PLC2, only to realize it's APX 100, and I've been exposing it full two stops under. 😬
I'd like to avoid standing it in Rodinal 1+100, but I'm low on options for the development… #believeInFilm#filmDevelopment#stayBrokeShootFilm
Whenever I load film in a film change bag, I’ve got this floof next to me looking like this. She nudges me every time with a ‘surely I’m more interesting than film development?!’ nibble every couple of minutes. Then she tries to pounce on my hands that are moving in the change bag. I love her so much
Finally switched to steel reels and tanks. In SF, Glass Key Photo usually has a bunch of used steel reels and tanks and they’ve very affordable there. They also last forever. I started with Paterson and plastic, and think I’ll start phasing those out in favor of these ones.
Also, the Leatherman Micra is my favorite tool for cutting film inside a changing bag. It’s so tiny and works well and I feel it gives me better control
Flic Film’s ECN-2 kit seems to be the best one I’ve used so far. Previously, I bought random powders from strangers online and the results were varied :)
The prebath is really good and better than the washing soda / borax solution I previously used. I also don’t want to muck around with lye, which was the only ingredient I didn’t have from Kodak’s original recipe.
As a geriatric millennial who was probably among the first generation to live with computers and printers, I just went to a darkroom and learned how to print photos from film negatives and not needing a computer to do any of that blows my mind.
It also helps me make sense of digital tools, like Photoshop masks and cropping.
Did you know that the city of San Francisco runs a large community darkroom, with a photo gallery and instructors? That's where I first learned how to develop and scan black and white film.
On Aug 19, classes for fall will open for registration. They typically sell out in minutes, so set your alarms.
Let's do another one of almost-live film developing threads! This time, I have a roll of KosmoFoto Mono 100 film that I've shot in Olympus Shoot & Go R point'n'shoot from the mid-1990s. The camera has only one shutter speed, only one aperture, and there's no focusing, the lens is always focused at a hyperfocal distance.
I'll be developing this film in Rodinal, 1+50 dilution, and half past 10 in the evening already passed, so let's move fast... #believeInFilm#filmDeveloping#shootFilmStayBroke
Woohoo, it looks like everything worked just fine, I've got some photos there! 🥳
Now, a good wash, a bath in a wetting agent, rinse and drying. #filmDevelopment