Oh Boy am I ever a bonehead

[gnuyork]

This is a first... I just attempted to develop some film. With the exception of last month (or the month before?) when I mixed up the chemicals, I have not developed film in years.

As I mixed them up, I did NOT label them, knowing that it would bite me later on. Well, it happened this morning. I think I used Fixer as a developer and D76 as my fixer :bang:

The thing is, there was some dried on white chemical on one for the bottles. For some reason I thought that was Fixer. Am I wrong here?

And the bottle I thought was fixer EVEN had a old TMAX RS label on it!! Surely if I were to mix up D76 into a rinsed out bottle I would have used a bottle that previously had developer in it, right? But no. I saw that white paste and thought it was fixer for some reason (even knowing my habits of mixing developer in developer only bottles).

I'm an idiot. At least the film was not that important. I don't even remember what was on the two (of three rolls) I had sitting here for months/years?. They were from so long ago.

Hopefully I don't screw up my remaining roll.

So much for trying to "get back into" film. 😎

 

[underlord]

My kids laughed at me for having labels on my chemicals. I only screwed up once, during a frantic developing session, I poured developer into the fixer. Something I aim to never do again. Don't beat yourself up gnuyork, put it behind you and keep on 'devving'.

 

[unixrevolution]

Always label everything. The very first thing I did with my 600ml graduates was label them.

And of course you're a bonehead. Skulls are required standard equipment.

 

[brennanphotoguy]

We've all done stupid stuff. About a month ago I had loaded my one reel tank and was cleaning my 3 reel tank after developing some in it at the same time and in my all knowing wisdom I thought to myself, "instead of waiting on this lid and tank to dry why don't I take this dry lid off this one reel tank and put it away so I don't have to wash more things." o_o I was in a rush, fiance was fixing dinner and I was trying to get everything done and just took the lid off of what I had just loaded in a tank like a moron.

It happens.

 

[p.giannakis]

I developed a HP5+ once with expired ID-11. Didn't come out very well. No idea why on earth I kept a bottle of expired developer in the first place.

 

[presspass]

We all do it. I once replenished Xtol in a deep tank with stock solution HC110. Boy were those negatives developed.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I have done the same. Now putting masking tape and writing on it.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Using Rodinal and HC-110, I don't usually have a developer solution mixed, so nothing to confuse with the fixer. Also, the odor of fixer really bothers me so on the rare occasions when I do mix up some D-76, it's real easy for me to tell the difference between the clear liquids, just by the first wiff when I take off the caps.

But that doesn't mean I don't find other ways to ruin rolls of film while processing.

Sorry about your mishap.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Not only did I label all my containers, I wrote on the labels some basic instructions about how to use them! 😱 Why? Because I knew I'd forget those details.

And I still have forgotten some details...

Don't despair. You're not alone. We all understand because we all have done it. 🙂

 

[Moto-Uno]

^ How about answering the film 5 minutes after you put the negs in the developer ? Boy
were they ever developed ! Peter
And yes, that was just yesterday .

 

[Steve M.]

My own experiments with using fixer as a developer yielded sub optimal results. I would like to say it's the sort of thing that you only do once, but I have done it more than that.

On the other hand, some mistakes actually worked. I accidentally turned on the hot water tap instead of the cold one when rinsing my developed film in a developing tank (Shanghai GPS 100) and walked away and forgot about it. An hour later I remembered and came back into the kitchen and noticed that the tank was extremely hot! Assuming the worst, I pulled the film out. It was perfect. No emulsion damage, nothing wrong w/ the plastic film base, and prints from the negs were great w/ nary a scratch or nick in the film.

 

[bsdunek]

Use your sense of smell. Generally fixer smells acidic and developer doesn't. This is assuming you're not using "odorless" chemicals. I use the good old smelly stuff - smell of creativity as someone said.
I have one of those Dymo labelers - makes real neat labels, and they stay on OK and peel off easily when necessary. Don't forget the date!

 

[johannielscom]

Could have been worse. Little story I read here several years ago:


Fellow discarded the used fixer in a juice carton but forgot to throw it out. His wife spotted the carton and put it back in the fridge, where it belonged, right?

Only after a firm gulp of the stuff did he put the pieces together on where his fixer-filled juice carton had gone...

😛 😀 😛

 

[JP Owens]

I always have used developer one shot. Still, after a very late night developing session, I have put fixer in first. Happens to everyone.

 

[gnuyork]

Also, the odor of fixer really bothers me so on the rare occasions when I do mix up some D-76, it's real easy for me to tell the difference between the clear liquids, just by the first wiff when I take off the caps.

Use your sense of smell. Generally fixer smells acidic and developer doesn't. This is assuming you're not using "odorless" chemicals. I use the good old smelly stuff - smell of creativity as someone said.

Ah... exactly, however I lost my sense of smell last year (and I don't know why really)

 

[MikeMGB]

The first time I developed E6 I decided to do one roll first to make sure I was doing it right.

Did you know that if you use a two reel Patterson tank to develop just one roll, you must use the supplied plastic clip or a second empty reel on top of the loaded one or the reel with the film on it can slide up the spindle during agitation?

The bottom half of that roll was developed perfectly!

 

[Ronald M]

The trick is to keep them separate in the dark say when using open tanks.

 

[sepiareverb]

Pouring straight indicator stop bath into a tank of 120 APX25 didn't end well. The emulsion was dissolved into a black goo. The sense of smell told me "wow that's strong stop, did I mix that wrong?" No. I did;t mix it at all.

 

[sreed2006]

All my development chemicals go into numbered and labeled jugs. (1) Dev, (2) Stop, (3) Fixer, (4) Final rinse. The numbers are there to keep me from being stupid when I get fatigued after developing 5 tanks in one day. At least I can still count even if I can't remember if the Stop is before or after the fixer.

I have read about others using fixer before developer. That is, I believe, the only mistake in shooting, developing, and scanning film that I have never made (knock on wood). Almost all of the other mistakes I've made more than once. Not getting the film loaded properly is my all-time record for goofs, though. What a sinking feeling when I go to rewind the film and it is rewound in two turns of the knob. I hate that.

 

[underlord]

I just added a new one! I have recently been in the habit (never again) of expediating my next development session by placing a sheet of kitchen tissue in the bottom of my tank. So the reels are nice and dry for next time. No prizes here for guessing what comes next..
That's right, I just developed a roll of FP4+ and because I used a stock solution I noticed something odd when pouring the developer back into the bottle. This got worse at each stage, so the fixer had to be thrown away. Surprisingly I think I got away with it! The negs show no sign of globs of tissue! Scanning next so the truth will be revealed.