Developing "On the Go"?

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giganova

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Have you developed b&w film while you are on an extended photo trip?

I image it would be fun developing film at night when I come back to the motel/hotel and see the results right away -- instead of waiting to get back home and having to develop dozens of rolls of film. Plus, it minimizes risks to the undeveloped rolls (heat, airport X-rays, etc) and it would tell you right away if your camera is working properly.

I read when Robert Frank returned from his "The Americans" road trip, it took him months to develop 787 rolls of film (he had previously developed some of his films at friend's places while still being on the road, so the total number of rolls that he shot is much larger than the 787).

Imagine the horror, not just the overwhelming amount of work, but also the uncertainty whether the shots turned out well or if something went wrong!
 
This was very common among photojournalists in the film era. They even had a kit including a small enlerger and trays plus a photo transmitter they could scan and transmit images to the news paper. When I got into the business in the 60's I was in college and shot for the university I went to and UPI and AP as a stringer. My office was close by so I always had a darkroom but in the stadium press box there were several small dark rooms the other photographers would setup their kit in and process, print and transmit images during halftime and after the game. It certainly can be done.
 
Robert Frank decided not to test unknown waters. This is where uncertainty most likely was...
 
I can`t see proper filtered water and clean drying space like I have at home.

Getting chemicals on an airplane might be impossible.

All that aside, a test roll could be done to test camera operation, C41 or a foot of B&W.

Car or RV travel can get around a lot of issues.
 
In the late 70s a friend and I photographed a month-long event in Chicago. He processed every evening in a little motel bathroom. The shower was always full of strips. I saved mine til I got to a proper space.

You probably want to be sure you have a tank that fits under the faucets of those shallow motel sinks. And since you're not paying for A/C, set your room temp to 68 degrees and by the time you return your chemicals will be good to go.

John
 
johnwolf said:
You probably want to be sure you have a tank that fits under the faucets of those shallow motel sinks. And since you're not paying for A/C, set your room temp to 68 degrees and by the time you return your chemicals will be good to go.
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Good suggestions! Plus, even the cheapest motels have ice machines so I could use ice in the sink to get the chemicals to the right temp.
 
Ronald M said:
I can`t see proper filtered water...
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Why would you need filtered water? Tap water is perfect in most places. If you are going to Flint, Michigan, just use bottled water. :D

Ronald M said:
... and clean drying space like I have at home.
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All you need is a shower stall and run hot water for a few minutes to get the dust out of the air.

Chuck Albertson said:
I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do with my evenings on a trip.
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Depends on where you are going. There are locations where there is absolutely nothing to do at night or where you rather don't go out at night. ;)
 
On my last trip I had a cooler with me where I put my exposed rolls of film on ice and developed when I was back at home. But it made me very nervous having invested a large amount of time and money for a photo project and not knowing if I had any useful picture until weeks later when I came back.
 
Develop occasional specially shot & unimportant test rolls of you must, but NOT important shots.

Or shoot XP2 and find a good pro lab. Even then, caution required.

Cheers,

R.
 
Thinking about it, there would be too many variables! And I would rather take the developing time doing other things. It's me and aren't we all different?

If I was inclined to use film, I would have a few small boxes folded flat, shipping labels, tape, packing materials, and figure out fed-x locations to ship back home at various times.

I would go digital. Maybe some film for black and white. I have cards that each hold quite a few RAW files. Wouldn't try to put them all on one card just in case. Half a dozen cards make me feel safer rather than all on one card. I don't copy the cards, leave them as is and go at it when back home.
 
I have pre-mixed a litre bottle of Qualls' monobath and found it good for eight films. So with a tank, that bottle of monobath, a tiny bottle of PhotoFlo and a thermometer I'd be good to go.

Chris
 
I dont wet print, only scan. So my developing operation fits in a plastic bin. This summer I have been interning at various places (Im a college student) and I am staying at places varying from motel rooms to distant family's houses. I have developed in all of these places and not had a problem, although I do all my traveling by car. There is no chance I could fly with this setup.
 
I've processed every film size from 35mm to 4X5 in motel rooms. Both E4/E6 and black and white. Chrome processing was a pain but on a 90 day trip there was sometimes no other option. Black and white is very simple to do as long as you have either a large changing bag or a room that you can completely black out. The only step that required anything special as far as water is concerned is distilled water for the LFN or Photo Flo.
I never had the need to make prints on the road for myself though I did set up a darkroom once in a hotel room in Carefree, Az. in order to provide next day prints to a group.
 
Used to do that. If you're only going to shoot one roll of 35 a day, a monobath developer and a long-discontinued Rondix tank take up little room. The downside of that is Rondix tanks are somewhat expensive now and you can only do one roll at a time. If you're going to do more than one roll, a stainless steel tank takes up less space than a Patterson or Jobo. As to water quality, if you're going to be in the U.S., most places have distilled water selling for about $1 a gallon.
 
Been there - done that and have the dusty negs to prove it. Love Trent Parkes "drying tree" - Australian outback is dusty though. He must have gone through bottles of Spot Tone to fix that.
In the 60's the kit was an Opemus enlarger in a small suit case - you flipped up the lid and raised the head (hinged) and it was set for 20x24 cm print size. Paper developer was a D72 concoction.
Film was done in Rodinal and a 2 reel Kinderman tank. Rodinal tends to turn used developer bluish/purple and tinted motel bathrooms sinks an interesting shade.
The print was stuck on a "drum" scanner that was hooked up to the phone - slow and low res - but as the image was only going to be printed 80 dot screen - it was not critical. What was was phone connections! Long distance was fraught with beeps and clicks - all of which reproduced as a line across the image!!!
Now I take a chase and develop when I get home - trips are shorter - images less important. If the trip is longer 3-4 weeks - I occasionally run a roll of 24 exposure colour neg through each camera - just to check functions. Have a 1 hour lab do it - if you can find one.
 
I've been developing on the go for a few weeks now. It's difficult because I haven't found a tap that kicks out 68 degree water, but I picked up a nice gallon bucket that I can throw some ice in to get water for rinsing at the right temp. It's absolutely doable for b&w. Everything in my trip update thread has been developed in various motels across the country
 
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