What Did I Botch Here?

[wgerrard]

What's going on here?

This is Efke 25, with which I have little experience. Temperatures may have varied excessively as I moved through the processing. I also used the Ilford rinse method for the first time.

 

[marcr1230]

This looks like uneven development from too short development time at too high a temp or very uneven distribution of the chemicals over the negs

 

[shadowfox]

The first one looks like bubbles of air that stays for quite some time in one spot.

What developer, what dilution, film format, and timing info would be helpful.

I have developed in extremely hot day and humid, to extremely cold day, but I've never seen anything like this.

 

[le vrai rdu]

not enought liquid or maybe your reel floated on the soup, it happened to me once with the results 😉

 

[wgerrard]

What developer, what dilution, film format, and timing info would be helpful.

Rodinal 100:1, 35mm, 17 minutes with 30 seconds of initial inversions and the 3 inversions every 4 minutes. Temperature was 68F-70F. If it varied, it was below 68.

 

[250swb]

Well they are bubble marks, you just need to decide at what point they could have happened. Development could be the cause, not enough/or proper agitation initially, or perhaps drying marks, did you use a wetting agent after washing?

Steve

 

[Chris101]

Were you over agitating? Looks sudsy!

 

[wgerrard]

Yep, always use Photo-Flo.

I wonder if any over-agitation took place in the developer. At least, 30 seconds initial inversion and then 3 inversion every four minutes does not seem excessive to me. But, maybe I'm wrong.

Could this be the result of my attempt at an Ilford rinse not rinsing everything adequately?

 

[wgerrard]

Come to think of it, if the first photo is the victim of air bubbles, could that, in a sense, be the result of not enough agitation? Meaning this: If I failed to tap the tank hard enough to disperse bubbles, after which the tank sits there undisturbed for four minutes until the next agitation, is that long enough for the bubbles to wreak their havoc?

 

[nikon_sam]

I would agree with maybe not tapping the tank good enough at the very beginning and no tapping during the developing...
I tap the bottom during the developing after inverting...

 

[sirius]

I agitate for the first 15 seconds and then for 5 seconds every 30 seconds. With fresh chemicals and the right temp for time ration, I always get good results.

My plastic developing container uses 300ml per roll of film (two rolls fit). You should not have those bubble marks at all since the developer should always emerse the the film completely.

 

[wgerrard]

I agitate for the first 15 seconds and then for 5 seconds every 30 seconds. With fresh chemicals and the right temp for time ration, I always get good results.

My plastic developing container uses 300ml per roll of film (two rolls fit). You should not have those bubble marks at all since the developer should always emerse the the film completely.

That's close to my usual agitation routine. Since it was only the second role of Efke I'd shot, I was trying a different routine I'd found here.

My tank requires 300ml as well, and that's what I used.

 

[drewbarb]

not enought liquid or maybe your reel floated on the soup, it happened to me once with the results 😉

I agree with this assessment- this looks like not enough solution in the tank to cover the film.

I'd check your measurement, to make sure you are getting enough solution to cover the film. Also, be sure your tanks aren't leaking during your processing. Finally, make sure that you tap the tank to dislodge bubbles after agitating. When the tank isn't full, you can't avoid serious bubbles like this, but even with enough liquid you can get small bubbles sticking to the film unless you give the tank a little tap to dislodge them. Hopefully you won't see this sort of problem again.

 

[wgerrard]

I agree with this assessment- this looks like not enough solution in the tank to cover the film.

I'd check your measurement, to make sure you are getting enough solution to cover the film.

That seems to be the consensus opinion. Thanks, all.

Everything about this one varied from my usual routine: new film, new processing and agitation routine, mixing tap water with refrigerated water, new rinse method, etc. It's no wonder something went awry.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

In spite of what others have written about extensively, I'm a bit wary about these high dilutions and stand development.
For a start, Agfa consistently said that you need a minimum of 5ml of Rodinal to develop a film without exhaustion of the developer. It would appear from the information you've given that you only added 3 ml. No doubt others will argue that they've had a different experience - just sayin'.
Second, I have some Efke 25 as yet unexposed but I'll be using my 'normal' 1:50 dilution of Rodinal and times and agitation for the first one, before trying anything different. Maybe the next one you do should start back at your regular development regime to see if that's OK and to your taste. After that, experiment all you like, but at least you'll have a reference point.