Gaining more ways to mess up

[DanT]

Just developed my first roll of film and hung it up to dry. 😀

Ilford HP5+ in Kodak D-76 1+1 for 11 min. at 20 C.


I've been reading as much info as I could, and RFF provided a great deal of advice so I wanted to say thanks.

Was a bit of magic seeing those images on the film as it came off the reel.

 

[Sparrow]

... pulling negatives off the spiral is one of those pleasures one never tires of.

 

[oftheherd]

... pulling negatives off the spiral is one of those pleasures one never tires of.

So true!!!

 

[menthel]

And its even better when they are MF negatives! 😉

 

[awbphotog]

And its even better when they are MF negatives! 😉

Very true...except when 120 is the only thing available and you're shooting 6x9. 6x9 is beautiful and all, but 8 shots to a roll is rather disappointing after shooting 35mm/half frame. LOVE THAT FEELING! 😀

 

[charjohncarter]

Plus, after seeing your own negatives, you will, after you get your process down, think it is magic and also enjoy the beauty of your own work.

 

[DanT]

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Maintaining 20 C turned out to be really easy, and I just followed the directions on Ilford's development chart for time and agitation.

Very glad that I wrote DEV and FIX in large letters on the bottles before starting, but I'm sure that at some point I'm still going to end up using the fixer before the developer.

 

[zauhar]

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Maintaining 20 C turned out to be really easy, and I just followed the directions on Ilford's development chart for time and agitation.

Very glad that I wrote DEV and FIX in large letters on the bottles before starting, but I'm sure that at some point I'm still going to end up using the fixer before the developer.

Exactly right - get 1 L plastic bottles, label them and reuse.

But labeling only helps if the labels match the stuff inside!

(Congratulations by the way!)

Randy

 

[drewbarb]

And its even better when they are MF negatives! 😉

If that's what does it for you, you should see how great it is to lift LF negs out of the dev tank once you turn the lights back on!

Whatever the format, seeing them for the first time still wet from your own processing is a joy that never gets old.

 

[DanT]

And its even better when they are MF negatives! 😉

😀 Roll was shot in a Fuji GW690iii so nice and big MF negatives. This was actually my final motivation to start developing at home. I saw it as intimidating, but my local lab has a wait for a week and a half to two weeks for black and white, and to get back only 8 shots after the wait was getting annoying. Now I can do it myself...



and have no one else to blame when it goes wrong. 🙄

 

[DanT]

Home from work and slapped it on the scanner.

So here's a quick scan just resized a bit.

And here it is with some quick level and brightness/contrast adjustments in PS elements.

 

[paradoxbox]

that's pretty freaking good for your first roll of film.

you will learn to recognize the fixer by the smell - almost like vinegar, or if it's starting to go bad, it starts to smell a bit like someone just lit a match.

developer has no smell but feels kind of greasy on the hands - try not to touch it, or wear gloves.

i definitely never get tired of looking at negatives i just pulled out of the tank. just doesn't get old.

 

[awbphotog]

that's pretty freaking good for your first roll of film.

you will learn to recognize the fixer by the smell - almost like vinegar, or if it's starting to go bad, it starts to smell a bit like someone just lit a match.

developer has no smell but feels kind of greasy on the hands - try not to touch it, or wear gloves.

i definitely never get tired of looking at negatives i just pulled out of the tank. just doesn't get old.

The 'greasy' feel on your hands from developer is actually chemicals in the dev. breaking down the fat cells in your skin. Developer essentially will eat you if you let it, so gloves are probs a good idea. My prof. Willie Osterman taught a Zone System class based on Ansel Adams' methods and told us that Ansel used to joke that it was okay to "drink developer as long as you chase it with fixer."

In all seriousness though, as long as you are vigilant in washing the developer off of your hands, little to no harm will come to you. Worst case I've seen was minor dermatitis from prolonged exposure...kid never once wore gloves. Oops!

Enjoy learning the dark room and have FUN!

Andy

 

[nikon_sam]

Congrats on your first roll...it's a great feeling that never gets old...
I have two rolls of Acros 100 (120) that I was going to do yesterday but will try to get to today...
And like others have said Label everything...you will never remember what you put in where...after some time you'll know what Fixer smells like so that helps...

 

[DanT]

@paradoxbox: whoops, perhaps I should have been a tad more specific in my wording. Just the first time developing film. I've been shooting film for about a year now, so just enough experience to let me make even more mistakes 😉

@awbphotog: thanks, looking forward to next developing session. Smallish apartment so my "darkroom" so far consists of a large changing bag and a daylight tank.

@nikon_sam: I also have to put things in order of use because I just end up worrying that I'll just use the wrong chem anyway, or maybe do something really stupid like using the dev again instead of the fixer. 😱

Now I just need to shoot some more so I'll have something to develop.