First and second try in developing film!

Rhodes

Rhodes

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Hello, here are a few photos of my first and second film development. The first two photos are from the first attempt, that went terrible wrong in many ways. The worst was not closing right the tanker, so every time I made a turn, the liquid come out. The loading to the reel, possibly due to dirt and time weren’t also perfect.
Fed 2, industar-26; Ilford FP4 Plus iso 125; T-Max. Ilford Ilfostop and Ilford rapid fixer!
I’m also a "green horn" in scanning the negatives and Photoshop treatment.





This few photos, are from the same type of film. My second development, this time what went wrong was the loading of the reel (that I already ask for advice in another thread) and dust/dirt on the film, possibly due to the use of an old cassette that I should had clean.
Zenit EM, Helios lens, the same chemicals, etc.

http://img8.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=scan0001a.jpg

By the way, did I mention that this film ended in 1996?:p



 
Throw out old cassettes if you think they're dirty. Dirt that gets into the velvet light trap might scratch the film. They both look a bit flat. Try another minute in the developer to boost the contrast.
 
I keep my cassettes in film canisters to keep them clean. Seems to work well. I also use distilled water for the final rinse - does a great job at preventing dust and crap on the negatives.

Nice job, though. :)
 
Thanks! The ilford fixer is 2-5 m, I did the 5 minutes in the second, and in the first did 7m because the temp of the fixer was 18 ºC. My scanner is an HP Scanjet 3570c. It has a negative holder in the scanner lid.
Yes, I also thought of the velvet being the font of the dust/hair/dirt in the second film. If you please, comment also the pictures of the second film! Any tips in the scan and photoshop, I would be glad!
 
It's a steep learning curve, I'm about where you are with regards to developing, however I have developed films many years ago at schol/college, albeit with supervision and not in my kitchen. Much more fun doing it all yourself.

Is there a calibration setting in the scanner software ? I re-calibrate mine with different density negs which helps. Vuescan seems to work very well, I have tried the (free) demo version and may well purchase it. If you ever change computer or scanner you don't need to pay again so it is worth condidering.

In Photoshop, tweaking Curves into a "lazy S" shape helps bring up the contrast a bit (if auto levels fails)

I'm no expert but these should help, and there's always plenty of helpful advice on this forum from people who can explain and write much better than myself :)
 
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Yes, I tend to use auto levels,auto contrast, grayscale, equalize and the old brightness/contrast control!
 
Olá Rhodes
I've started developing films with the same chemicals you use - and also use the same cameras. In some frames I've remarked some regular stains along the border of the frame. Check in the negative if they match the film sprocket holes : if they do, this may be caused by excessive agitation (turbulence of the developer through the sprocket holes can cause uneven development of the film near the holes). Inverting the tank is one thing, shaking a martini is a different matter.
Film collects dust either inside uncleaned cannisters or while drying, some extra care is necessary.
Do not be disappointed if the first rolls do not reach your expectations - it happened to everybody.
Keep trying
Joao
 
Olá Joao! Next time I will have more care when inverting the tank. What should I use to clean dust/dirt off the negatives?
 
Rhodes said:
... What should I use to clean dust/dirt off the negatives?
Click to expand...

Rinse with a wetting agent (we use photoflow in the us, it's a very dilute, non-sudsing detergent) made up with distilled water. Dry the film by hanging it in a shower enclosure. If any dust remains after that, blow it off with a bulb or clean canned air.
 
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