Please help me identify these marks on my negatives.

[marek_]

Hi All

I would very much appreciate your help in identifying the cause of these smudge-like marks on my negatives.

These have appeared on most shots taken on 35mm, 6x6 and 9x12, irrespective of method, film and chemicals. Tmax100, Tmax400, Fomapan100 films. Developing in Tmax and Rodinal, both with inversions every minute and stand development. Using fresh and used fix. Using tap water throughout and distilled water for the developing and wetting agent stages. Washing for 10 minutes in running water and using the Ilford wash method. Squeegeeing the negative with my fingers and drip-drying the negative.

Considering the above, could one of these below be the culprit?

When spooling the negative, could the grease from my fingers be a possible cause? (I wash my hands thoroughly before doing this)

Would using distilled water for the fix be advisable? (because of impurities in tap water)

Air bubbles? (I give the tank a good tap after each round of inversions)

Residue/contamination from previous film development?


I’m stuck, and any help and advice would be a great help.

Thank you in advance,

Mark

 

[MartinP]

The marks are darker in the positive image so would be lighter on the negative . . . however, are you sure they are on the negatives, checking by printing or with a magnifier? It could just be that you have a dirty scanner . . .😉

Probably a good idea to not squeeqee the film, between your fingers or anything else.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Are the spots something embedded in the film, or is the neg clean but has clear spots in the image? If that, then its dust inside your camera that landed on the film before or during exposure.

 

[Ronald M]

If it is across different formats and cameras, it is process related.

NEVER rub your finger over film. You can not wash them clean enough.

Scrub down tank and reels with a brush.

Water and air filters and GLASS bottles which are reserved for one chemical and never reuse chemicals for film. Fix being the worst culprit. I have HEPA air filters, 3 micron water filters and I filter 10 gallons of wash water at a time thru the 3 micron and then cotton wool strainer. You also need to hospital clean the darkroom, ceiling walls, floor, shelves, everywhere. All the problems went away and I can`t remember where the spotting brushes are.

Nobody wants to hear this, but that is what it takes.

Examine your negs with a loupe after fix, after wash, after photo FLow, and see when the issues start to appear.

 

[marek_]

Hi,

Thanks for your advice and suggestions.

I've done some comparisons and looking at a contact print and a scan, the contact print doesn't seem to have any marks. Looking again at the negatives with a basic magnifying class, they seem free of marks. I'm beginning to think it may be the scanner - the glass scanning bed, as suggested in one of the posts. They seem to appear when scanning directly from a negative.

Think I'll try using another scanner to confirm this.

Again, thanks for your advice and suggestions.

Mark

 

[whitecat]

Also make sure that glass on the scanner is super clean.