Do you remember how apprehensive/nervous you were when you developed your first film?

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
Local time
11:42 PM
Joined
May 5, 2006
Messages
19,242
And what a rush it was when you first saw those negatives as you anxiously took them out of the tank and carefully hung them to dry?

My very first film was HP5+ in D-76 well over two years ago now ... but I'll never forget that feeling ... and amazingly every roll I develop still gives me a bit of that initial high!

:) :) :)
 
seeing my first print come to life in the developer was my first real photo rush...develoing the negs was ALWAYS just a chore for me.
 
back alley said:
seeing my first print come to life in the developer was my first real photo rush...develoing the negs was ALWAYS just a chore for me.
Click to expand...


Ahhh ... I hope to get to that stage one day!

I remember seeing my mother do it on the rare occasions I was allowed in her darkroom when I was a kid ... and it was mesmerising!
 
Keith said:
And what a rush it was when you first saw those negatives as you anxiously took them out of the tank and carefully hung them to dry?

My very first film was HP5+ in D-76 well over two years ago now ... but I'll never forget that feeling ... and amazingly every roll I develop still gives me a bit of that initial high!

:) :) :)
Click to expand...

I was 17 and at that age, there was really nothing that made me anxious or apprehensive (except girls) :bang:

Oh yeah, I remember the initial high... (oh wait, that had nothing to with developing film.) ;)
 
Just developed my first roll on Saturday. Wasn't nervous since it was only a test roll. But I might be when I do my first roll that matters...
 
I don't remember being nervous, but then the woman across the sink from me in Photo 1 inverted the tank and the lid came off, dumping the films into the sink and then unrolling all the way down the sink.
 
back alley said:
i didn't realize that you didn't have a darkroom, you dev and scan only?
Click to expand...


Yes sadly ... and the shortcomings of scanning then printing digitally on my R2400 are starting to concern me.

I have the room to set up a darkroom but because I rent I'm reluctant!
 
Keith said:
Yes sadly ... and the shortcomings of scanning then printing digitally on my R2400 are starting to concern me.

I have the room to set up a darkroom but because I rent I'm reluctant!
Click to expand...

not to be an amateur shrink...but i can see why the m8 didn't stick with you.

i don't think i could have gone digital without the entire experience of dev film and printing my own images. shooting with the rd1 and photoshopping my images and then emailing to my lab for a print would not be the same if i had not seen this done by my hand first.

not sure if that makes much sense...
 
back alley said:
not to be an amateur shrink...but i can see why the m8 didn't stick with you.

i don't think i could have gone digital without the entire experience of dev film and printing my own images. shooting with the rd1 and photoshopping my images and then emailing to my lab for a print would not be the same if i had not seen this done by my hand first.

not sure if that makes much sense...
Click to expand...


It makes perfect sense!

There are stages I need to go through before I'm complete ... and wet printing is an important stage IMO!

I may hate it ... but I doubt it!



ps ... I meant to add:

The negative stage to me is a one chance encounter. Get that wrong and you won't be making any wet prints ... or scanned digital for that matter! :p
 
Last edited:
i hated developing film...just time and temperature...

but i loved printing...on a good night it was better than sex or drugs or rock and roll.
 
I developed my first roll at 15. I wasn't nervous or apprehensive, I was excited to see the images I had seen with my eyes on that strip of plastic.

I agree with Joe that without doing printing first, I'd have a more difficult time with digital now. Also agree with the printing in the middle of the night. In college, I would go into the darkroom, turn on a radio down low, munch on doughnuts and cokes and just print. The sound of the running wash water added a melody to the whole thing. Those were magical days.

Now, ask me about how nervous I was the night of the '85 Baseball All-Star game in Minneapolis when I developed all of the AP's tri-x. Everything turned out fine but I nearly wet myself as I pulled out the first two rolls. Talk about pressure...
 
I still get a rush when pulling the wet strip of film off the reel and seeing those negative images "magically" trapped and fixed onto the film.

That just doesn't happen with digital. No rush or excitement.
 
Last edited:
I also find it amazing when I open the tank and take out a perfectly developed roll of film - it's magic. Printing for me is more tedious than developing - not the same positive reinforcement as when seeing that roll of film. Digital is just computer drudgery - not real like film, just a way of getting images.
 
FrankS said:
I still get a rush when pulling the wet strip of film off the reel and seeing those negative images "magically" trapped and fixed onto the film.

That just doesn't happen with digital. No rush or excitement.
Click to expand...


Hmm ... plugging an SD card into the reader and clicking 'open' just isn't the same Frank ... I agree! :p

Joe's comment about the M8 'not sticking' is interesting and made me think about why that camera eventually wore out it's welcome. I think I bought the Leica as a toy and it eventually became a tool when I started doing occasional paid work with it. The D700 that replaced it was bought as a tool and will likely remain that way!
 
I developed my first roll at the very end of 2008, and vividly recall the sweat streaming down my face as I tried repeatedly to get the film on to reels in a dark bag. I finally succeeded, but not after mangling the negs in the process. Fortunately, I developed my first rolls in Diafine, so there was no temp to worry about and timing was pretty straightforward. What a pleasure to see those first negatives, bent an all, when they finally emerged from the Patterson tank!

I really enjoy developing my own film now, and I've learned a lot from the paths blazed by other members here w/ different film/developer/agitation combinations. I've dialed in a number of those combinations, and get a kick when the negs come off the reels and the results look as I had hoped they would.

I don't have a darkroom at home, so I use a hybrid analog/digital workflow, scanning the negs on an Epson V500, and then adjusting in PS. The whole system works for me, which is a good thing b/c I don't know where I'd wet print.
 
back alley said:
i hated developing film...just time and temperature...

but i loved printing...on a good night it was better than sex or drugs or rock and roll.
Click to expand...

If you're doing it right, you might be able to combine some of those ;)

My first roll a couple years ago definitely did have me biting my nails until the fixer was done with and I could pop the top off and see what was there...

What really made me go 'holy f#%k' was this past weekend, when my brother and I did our very first wet prints in his newly set up garage darkroom. Of course, the euphemisms weren't just excitement- it took a few tries to really nail down some prints! :bang:
 
back alley said:
don't go there frank ;)
Click to expand...

No, this is helpful for me to understand why I prefer using film: for me, it is not just about the final image, it is also about the process and the tools. An example is the rush of pulling the wet film off a processing reel and seeing the neg images for the first time, and a sense of accomplishment in having followed the developing steps properly. This is just >for me<. I'm not saying others should feel the same.

Another example in my life which is similarly about geting enjoyment from the process is motorcycling. It feels better to me knowing that I've wrenched on my bike myself. It is running the way it is because of direct hands-on input from me. Balancing the carbs, setting the valve clearances, etc. A car that is serviced at the dealership would get me to the same place, in greater comfort even, but getting there would not be as rewarding >for me<. The final destination is the same, but the process is also important to me.

Just a bit of self-examination and self-learning on my part. Carry on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom