First scans from first self-developed negs

[paulfish4570]

Here are some scans from my first roll of self-developed Tri-X. I think I shorted the development time, or my thermometer is off. The negs look thin. Tri-X, developed in Tmax for 6 minutes (supposedly) at 68 degrees. Bessa R, Canon 50/1.8.

Negs scanned at 8 bit grayscale, 2400:

On this shot, I was focused on the rock.

Other than hitting development right on, what do I need to do with my scanning? Other than brush lint from the negatives ... :roll: I used professional mode, jpeg. I also understand Epson's neg holder is not well-regarded.

 

[Jaques H]

They look fine Paul.

Scan at 16 bits will make it nicer to work with in photoshop though.

 

[hipsterdufus]

Have you photoshopped/autotoned the images at all? Or is this how they came straight out of the scanner? If this is straight out of the scanner, they look perfectly fine to me.

 

[batterytypehah!]

Other than hitting development right on, what do I need to do with my scanning? Other than brush lint from the negatives ... :roll: I used professional mode, jpeg. I also understand Epson's neg holder is not well-regarded.

Can you remind us which scanner you got in the end, Paul? I seem to have lost the plot.

The main problem I have with the neg holder on my Epson 4490 is that curled film is a royal PITA. Otherwise the 35mm holder is adequate. (The 120 holder is a joke, though.)

 

[david.elliott]

They look good to me. 🙂

 

[Finder]

Since this is your first roll, why do you think your negatives are thin? Your scans seem fine. You don't want to have too much density. If you place your negatives on a sheet of page with type, you should be able to see the type through them.

 

[ferider]

Those came out great, Paul. Tricky light in the last one.

 

[robklurfield]

Paul, these look great. Dust and such are an endless battle.

 

[gb hill]

Look good to me too! The scanner looks to be doing a good job, congrats on your first scans & developing!

 

[Haigh]

These scans look really good. Congrats.

 

[Ezzie]

Look fine to me too. In fact I think you´ve done a pretty good job. Tri-X nominal at 68F in TMAX developer should be right at 6:00 minutes, at least according to my chart. You don´t want too much contrast when scanning anyway, the scanner won´t be able to resolve it, at least not a consumer level scanner. You can boost contrast in post processing if you prefer.

 

[paulfish4570]

After messing about with these negs, I realized they are not thin. I sure got frustrated in Photoshop but I am slowly getting over that, too.
Thanks, guys. I much appreciate the encourgement.
Oh yeah, the scanner is an Epson V300, bought through Walmart's site to store program; $81 delivered to the store closest to me ...

 

[lorenzo1910]

They looks fine but this is just the beginning...it's a long way home...
Next year have a look at your early scans then at the latest...then you will judge your technique improvement...your scans will be better and better and better...
As for the negative...I usually develop for less contrast and to preserve highlights...since I don't print but just scan it's easier post-processing a "less-punchy" image...