Do you develop your own B&W film?

Do you develop your own B&W film?

  • Yes - I'm still addicted

    Votes: 727 89.3%

  • No - I opt for convenience

    Votes: 87 10.7%
  • Total voters
    814
used to, 30 years and more ago. really enjoyed printing. back into film photography with relish, but no room for a darkroom, and fingers too shaky and numb for printing/dodging. there is always room for film developing, so that may happen again. and a scanner is in my future rather than an enlarger. my prints from 30+ years ago still look good, so i must have done something right. still, i am mighty thankful for walgreens and their mighty fuji equipment ...
 
drec said:
I love Rodinal for the convenience, but don't like the grain I get with HP5+ with normal development. Going to try 1:100 stand developing for an hour or so.
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I bought some Ilford LC29 just because it was the only liquid available in my local shop. I'm very happy with the grain using HP5+ at ISO 400, here is a sample:

4363019877_c1e88de552_b.jpg


I don't have any experience with the powder developers, any advice would be much appreciated as my local shop has some ID-11 and since this is my only option (that's Luxembourg!) powder would make way more sense for mail order from the UK.

Thanks,
Rob
 
My photographer friend, Roy Shigley (google him), used to load up a stainless steel Nikkor tank with Rodinal 1:200 and take it with him to a cafe on Market Street and invert it now and then while he ate breakfast.

It's been a long time; might have been 1:400?
 
Started Developing Last Year

Started Developing Last Year

And enjoy it immensely; recently started developing 120 along with 35mm. Got into it cheap--a local camera store went hooves-up, and I bought several tanks, appropriate chemicals, etc. on the cheap. After experimenting with a few developers (horrible experiences with HC-110) I setted on good 'ol D-76.

In cold weather (like this) I run the gallon jug of developer under hot water for about ten minutes, until it's nice and warm. Works just fine with standard times in that case.

Scanning all done on my Epson V600, and I love the results.

Not expensive at all, and a great deal of fun. Plus, I find that I'm posting images from events far faster than my cohors who have shot digital (and forgotten the card in the camera!)
 
I have a strong feeling that suddenly I see a lot more first timers and also veterans coming back from the dark side to once more feel the odour of fixer.

Is this real or is it just me?
 
I still like doing my own BW processing and printing as I have for over 35 years. I use HC110 and Rodinal. For 35mm I use Tri-x and HP5 for MF and LF. What I enjoy most is after the negatives are dry, putting them on a light box and evaluating them for printing. I use a loupe to judge sharpness and imagine how the shadows and highlights are going to hit when printing.

I also enjoy printing in a wet darkroom. At my job as corporate photographer I have access to a MacBookPro and an Epson 3800 which is a good printer for BW. However, for my personal work, I would rather go into the darkroom for a few hours and quietly print out the few negatives that I like. It's nice to get out from being in front of a computer--too much like being at work.

BTW, darkroom equipment is in surplus now. A few years ago i found myself with 3 Omega B22 MF enlargers. I gave two away and sold the last in mint condition for $50. I am now using an Omega D3 that I got for $100, I needed it for LF. It was used for 45 years by a little old man on weekends with care and love.
 
No option for me...

No option for me...

I want to, but, I need to convince my Wife (mainly space is the issue, not permission). But, I can a hanging dryer closet in the bathroom as a dust free option..I know a wetting agent helps with controlling static during drying and speeds up drying times..so there's that too.
 
DNG said:
I want to, but, I need to convince my Wife (mainly space is the issue, not permission). But, I can a hanging dryer closet in the bathroom as a dust free option..I know a wetting agent helps with controlling static during drying and speeds up drying times..so there's that too.
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You would be surprised how compact a changing bag, dev tank and a few bottles are when they are not in use. 😀

I dry my film hanging in the bathroom, but there is another thread here about speeding up drying and avoiding dust that offer some foldable/storable options:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85751
 
I learned to develop film and make a print when I was in my late 20's. That's a long time ago. I'm 76 now and still develop & print my own b&w. I exhibit widely and even sell a print once in a while. The wet darkroom is integral to my life as a fine art photographer.
Morry Katz - Lethbridge, Alberta
 
I still enjoy the magic of seeing what a plain ribbon of synthetic material may become after being inmersed for some minutes in a fairly simple bath.
I still enjoy, after 47 years, the image coming out from a simple white paper thrown in a dev. tray.
That´s why I still keep that evil ways full blown. Not to say when young kids see their first picture under the labs safety lights...

Ernesto
 
robsomogyi said:
You would be surprised how compact a changing bag, dev tank and a few bottles are when they are not in use. 😀

I dry my film hanging in the bathroom, but there is another thread here about speeding up drying and avoiding dust that offer some foldable/storable options:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85751
Click to expand...

amen! i even sit on the couch and load tanks while watching tv with my wife. quality time together and all!
 
wouldn't say I am addicted, but it's more cost effective to do it at home, plus I have the control. I keep procrastinating when it's time to process film though. I have 4x5 film I shot last winter that I need to process. I have a bunch of 35mm rolls from who knows when.
 
I have started developing my films again (after a break of 30 years or so) after chemical marks and fogged frames when using a local lab for Kodak BW400CN.
I use 120 Tri-X developed in Ilford D11, the cheapest combination available here.
The most stressful part is crouching down inside a wardrobe in the dark to load the film into the tank 🙂
Consistent development should allow me to calibrate my old Sekonic L-398, which has been causing me to underexpose.
 
Allan, you better buy a film changing bag for a few dollars 🙂 On eBay a seller named "roger_luo" offers some good ones.
 
I did some developing and printing a few times during a community college B&W course in the 80's but everything was already mixed and ready to go. I did enjoy it though!

I bought everything I need recently: 20 rolls Tri-X, Diafine, changing bag, reels etc... even some glass amber bottles 🙂 I just need to got off my duff and get out shooting and developing and scanning. Look forward to it.
 
Yes, Allan, a change bag is in order (unless you enjoy crouching in the dark).
 
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