Another 'what did I do wrong' thread...

[EthanFrank]

Hey there.

I love the look of film, but development labs have gotten too pricey for me.

I just developed my first roll, and the results are a little strange.

I used stock D76, for 6:45 minutes, agitation for the 1st minute and followed for 5 seconds of agitation every thirty seconds, water as a stop bath with one minute constant agitation, Kodafix for 5 minutes with the same agitation pattern as the developer, and then rinsed.

I'm worried about the rinse. I rinsed with agitation, and then let the sink run over the tank for 10 minutes. I then realized I forgot to use photoflo, so I agitated with photoflo, rinsed (maybe not long enough), hung the negatives to dry, scanned them, and then...



I see scratches, and massive blotches. Is this a drying issue? Is there some photoflo stuck on the negs? Did I handle them too early? Water spots?

This was the most extreme example. I would love to know if anyone knows what I did wrong, rather than trying to fix this by trial and error. Thanks!

 

[ChrisP]

Did you scan yourself? If so did you leave ICE on? Turn that off and you should be fine.

Also be very gentle when you put the photoflo in (only add it once you're done rinsing). If you make bubbles you're too rough... very very light or it will leave spots.

Also in my experience a few scratches and a few spots are normal (I think). I've never had a neg where I didn't touch up a few tiny places in lightroom afterwords

 

[EthanFrank]

Perfect! That was the problem. Fixed. Tons of scratches though...

I was anxious to see the results, I think I might have handled the film a little too soon. Oh well, something to work on.

Thanks for the help 🙂

 

[zauhar]

To add emphasis - don't rinse AFTER using photoflo - the whole point is to have it as a drying (wetting?) agent. I add a few mls of photoflo to the tank after rinsing with running water for ten minutes, move reels up and down gently for 30 sec (the water should look slightly sudsy), then immediately hang the film to dry. I squeegee the film three times while it is hanging.

I am not an expert, but have not had any blotches with this approach.

Randy

 

[nikon_sam]

Did you scan yourself? If so did you leave ICE on? Turn that off and you should be fine.

Also be very gentle when you put the photoflo in (only add it once you're done rinsing). If you make bubbles you're too rough... very very light or it will leave spots.

Also in my experience a few scratches and a few spots are normal (I think). I've never had a neg where I didn't touch up a few tiny places in lightroom afterwords

If done properly you will have no scratches or spots...this is not normal...
All I have to do for printing is wipe the negs with film cleaner, blow off any dust and print...
You need to be very careful when loading onto the reels and when handling the wet negs before hanging them to dry...wet negs are at their most vulnerable state...

I used to squeegy the film but now I don't even touch it until it is dry...usually not until the next day...

Photo-Flo bottle shows a mixture of 1:200

 

[EthanFrank]

To add emphasis - don't rinse AFTER using photoflo - the whole point is to have it as a drying (wetting?) agent. I add a few mls of photoflo to the tank after rinsing with running water for ten minutes, move reels up and down gently for 30 sec (the water should look slightly sudsy), then immediately hang the film to dry. I squeegee the film three times while it is hanging.

I am not an expert, but have not had any blotches with this approach.

Randy

That makes sense - I think I added too much photoflo. I saw bubbles and thought "I had better rinse that off!"

So, I should just soak the film in water mixed with a few mls of photoflo after rinsing?

 

[EthanFrank]

What is the best way to digitally remove scratches? I have one photo I really like, but it's a rather dark photo, so the scratches are painfully visible.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Developing will not cause scratches. Touching film causes them. So even if you totally f-up the chemicals, the film will not have scratches. When you hang the film to dry, do NOT squeegee it, or wipe with your fingers to remove excess water. Just hang to dry and only touch the ends where you attach the clips when you hang it up. If you do that and still have scratches, your camera may be causing them from dirt caught in it or damaged pressure plate.

 

[EthanFrank]

Developing will not cause scratches. Touching film causes them. So even if you totally f-up the chemicals, the film will not have scratches. When you hang the film to dry, do NOT squeegee it, or wipe with your fingers to remove excess water. Just hang to dry and only touch the ends where you attach the clips when you hang it up. If you do that and still have scratches, your camera may be causing them from dirt caught in it or damaged pressure plate.

Yes, I'm sure that handling caused the scratches. They are irregular, so I doubt they are from the camera. I had issues cutting the film strips without touching them, that's likely how the scratches happened.

What I'm wondering is how I should digitally rescue a particularly scratched frame that I've scanned.

Thanks for the help 🙂

 

[zauhar]

Yes, I'm sure that handling caused the scratches. They are irregular, so I doubt they are from the camera. I had issues cutting the film strips without touching them, that's likely how the scratches happened.

What I'm wondering is how I should digitally rescue a particularly scratched frame that I've scanned.

Thanks for the help 🙂

Chris disagrees about the squeegee, but I honestly don't think I have introduced scratches with it - although dropping the film on my concrete basement floor did wonders for it. ;-)

Regarding cutting the negatives, I had real problem with this because my M3 suffers from irregular frame spacing (some too close together). I highly recommend getting an exacto knife and a dedicated plastic ruler to get the negatives. Just use a clean piece of cardboard to cut on.

Randy

 

[tj01]

Do what Chris says.

 

[EthanFrank]

Another thought...I used distiller water throughout development, and then I rinsed by running the sink over the tank. Does that negate the benefits of having used distilled that entire time? Should I be rinsing differently?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Another thought...I used distiller water throughout development, and then I rinsed by running the sink over the tank. Does that negate the benefits of having used distilled that entire time? Should I be rinsing differently?

Distilled water is not needed to wash the film, but should be used for the developer (because stuff in tap water can affect developers) and the photo flo (final chemical, to keep stuff dissolved in tap water from being on the film when it dries)