Starting to develope B&W help and advice...

I didn't see this in here but it may have been mentioned already...
Your first roll should be of something that can be re-shot NOT irreplaceable moments in time...IMHO...or you'll be doing this...:bang:
 
Hello Tom A, and thank you so much for sharing your experience. These last 3, 4 days the temperature of running water in my apartment is about 21º C, so it will be perfect to start in this wonderful world of developing black & white film. About some tips people are giving me, the use of stop-bath vs. plain water for instance, I will do some tests. Already have some rolls of shots for that, and will give it a try with stop-bath vs. plain water and, also try diferent inversions: by the book and in less number gentile inversions... Will be using HC-110 (dil. H) and will stick with it trying the chart time and then remove 10%, 20% of the time to see how the contrast response is. As you say, I also want to take good care of annotating all the passes I'l do to keep a good track at the process/results and can evolve "consistently" :) Let's hope so!
By the way Tom I hope everybody answered the poll about the RFF logo Classic and MiniSofties. I will buy 2 or 3 certainly :)

Rhoyle as I was saying the weather will help a little this time of the year in temperature of the water (and solutions) :)

Hi nikon_sam, I already have 3 rolls of unimportant shoots for the first runs, and take some photos of different materials, lights and contrast to se how the negatives will come out.

Just can’t wait for the fotoimpex order to arrive so I can put everything in practice.
As soon as my rolls are developed I will post some scans and ask all some feedback.

Once again thanks all,
Joao
 
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just to be clear, fixer isn't optional. It's using water instead of an acid stop that is being recommended.
 
Finally my order arrived and I could develop my first black & white film.

I use Kodak HC-110 dilution H for 14 min. at 22ºC (71.6 F). Did the first 30s inversions and 10s every minute. As Stop Bath I used just plain water, as suggested by many. The Fixer was Ilford Hypam and washed 3 times (2 times plain water and the last with Hypo Cleaning).

The task of putting the film on the reel in total darkness was fun and went well. I think I manage not to touch any part of the film rather than the edges and, judging by the photos, no parts of the film touch each other.

The feeling of pulling the film out of the reel and see that the images are really there is wonderful. The minute before I question myself if there will be anything to see in there!? :)

I know that my negatives are far from being nicely developed but as 1st timer I’m very glad with the result but and even more for the whole moment.

I would like to thank the help and support of you guys, and will keep counting on it to find the right track in this fine and pleasing process.

I am posting some images + one crop at 100%. Please feel no mercy! :)

alfama001xh5.jpg


alfama005fp8.jpg


alfama006pi2.jpg


100% crop of the 3rd image:
alfama006cropsh7.jpg


My best regards to all,
Joao

PS: I scanned the film with EpsonScan, disabled all manipulation (no Unsharp Mask, no Noise Reduction, ...)
 
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You can always develop in Diafine and not have to worry about temperature at all. It's a two bath developer - Part A for 3 minutes, Part B for 3 minutes. If you leave the film in longer, no difference. Not matter what type of film you use - 3 minutes and 3 minutes. It really is the easiest developer to use. You can also reuse the developer over and over and over - for months. I wish someone had turned me on to it when I first started developing. BTW - your negs look just fine!
 
jfserejo said:
Finally my order arrived and I could develop my first black & white film.

I use Kodak HC-110 dilution H for 14 min. at 22ºC (71.6 F). Did the first 30s inversions and 10s every minute. As Stop Bath I used just plain water, as suggested by many. The Fixer was Ilford Hypam and washed 3 times (2 times plain water and the last with Hypo Cleaning).

The task of putting the film on the reel in total darkness was fun and went well. I think I manage not to touch any part of the film rather than the edges and, judging by the photos, no parts of the film touch each other.

The feeling of pulling the film out of the reel and see that the images are really there is wonderful. The minute before I question myself if there will be anything to see in there!? :)

I know that my negatives are far from being nicely developed but as 1st timer I’m very glad with the result but and even more for the whole moment.

I would like to thank the help and support of you guys, and will keep counting on it to find the right track in this fine and pleasing process.

I am posting some images + one crop at 100%. Please feel no mercy! :)

...

My best regards to all,
Joao

PS: I scanned the film with EpsonScan, disabled all manipulation (no Unsharp Mask, no Noise Reduction, ...)
Click to expand...

Those shots are awesome :) I live in a mundane land, so don't have the joy of pulling film from exotic locales from the tank :) That said, I'm surrounded by folks from exotic locales, so one of these days I'll get out and document that.

Your shots are excellent, and the developing also :thumbup:. It's soooo easy, isn't it?

"The feeling of pulling the film out of the reel and see that the images are really there is wonderful. The minute before I question myself if there will be anything to see in there!?"

I totally agree. But without that certainty that "it isn't going to work," the joy of seeing the images emerge would be so much diminished.

Now that you know how easy it is, you can start experimenting with pushing and pulling and using whatever temperture water you can get (adjusting the time, of course) without worrying that there will be nothing to show for it. But honestly, the satisfaction of seeing your images come from the tank never really diminishes. Every time you think it has disappeared, you find a frame that makes you wonder how [you[/i] got that shot, and the elation comes back.

Thank you for sharing.
 
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I know there's a school of thought, with perfect logic on its side, which says that the image is everything, and that how it got there doesn't matter, but for me, that doesn't hold true. For me, the photographic experience starts in the camera, and carries on throughout. It doesn't matter to me that those who see my photographs only have the image to consider, and will know nothing of how it came to be there. The journey can be worth as much as the destination.[/QUOTE]


I concur with this wholeheartedly. Over the last 40-45 yeras I have developed 10's of thousands of rolls of film. I still have "butterflies" in my stomach when i pull them off the reels and hang them up to dry. I am not worried (well not much!) about the technical aspect of developing - after a while you get a bit blase', although there will be a day when somethings screws up. The excitement of seeing what you shot in negative is almost palpable!
It is the same with "wet " printing. The day the 'mystery" of putting a sheet of paper in a tray of liquid and watch an image form goes away, I might consider ink-jet printing! Until then i still dip my fingers in the developer and enjoy the smell of hypo!
 
Yes, yes, the experience is magical and always thrills.

As far as Diafine goes, I have rarely seen Diafine-developed film that matches a properly developed neg in HC-100, D-76/ID-11, Rodinal, FG-7, etc. Sorry Aria, but they look like mud most of the time.
 
Congratulations on your success, Joao! I'd say not getting the film stuck to itself and ruined on your first try is very good indeed. Good quality reels will always help with this. I'd stick with HC-110 for a while- it's an excellent developer, and as Trius said, film run properly in a good developer like HC-110 will always look better than Diafine.
I wouldn't bother with Diafine unless you have a roll where your exposurers were really all over the place. For consistently exposed negatives, something like HC-110 will always be great.

As for stop bath, as most have noted, it's not neccesary with film. There are two potential benefits to using a stop bath. First, with short development times it can be helpful to chemically stop the development for slightly more precise results. Second, using one will improve the life of your fix. But this doesn't mean you need to buy stop bath- regular white vinegar is the same kind of acid as commercial stop baths. I have used distilled white vinegar diluted about 1:20 with water as my stop bath for both films and papers for years with no ill effects whatsoever. It works fine, is very cheap, and I always have some in the kitchen anyway for cooking and cleaning. But if you just rinse your film a few times in water between the developer and the fix, you'll be fine.
 
Ariya, when I start looking on the film developer I should use, one that can be easy and with good results, I decided that a liquid one was better to start. One other thing here, in Lisbon, is that black & white process products exist only in a couple of photo stores and if I would by Diafine, I have to order from Paris (The only place that I found) at an unjustified price. Maybe one day I travel to NYC and have the opportunity to visit B&H or Adorama I would buy some…

40oz the uncertainty is a big part of pleasure; in photography and in so many other things like, for example, in a women’s mind :)
You are right, I would like to test a lot and see if I manage to find “my film speed” by shooting with different exposures and midtone measurement and compensations for dark areas, to see if I can find a good “rule” for exposer / development.

Hi Alex, I agree 100% with your statement that the way of doing is an important piece of the result. I would go a little further, saying that results sometimes aren’t really what matters; what matters the most is the passion one person put in a creative process. And photography is a world for passionate people! As Tom’s saying, before I do this 1st roll, I was missing the fun part - the anxiety, the doubt and uncertainty that are the part of the great pleasure of this process. If in the end we come out with a great photo, we are just receiving a bonus :)

drewbarb said:
Congratulations on your success, Joao! I'd say not getting the film stuck to itself and ruined on your first try is very good indeed.
Click to expand...

That’s what I thought when I pull out the film and let to dry! :)

Best to all,
Joao
 
Hi, Joao.

I am so glad that you get such a "BUZZ" from developing. Believe me, I still feel the same even after 20 years and countless rolls developed. It is what keeps me interested in analogue photography, and I just cannot feel passionate about digital in the same way. It really is all about the journey, as much as the final destination.

Regards, John.
 
jfserejo said:
The feeling of pulling the film out of the reel and see that the images are really there is wonderful. The minute before I question myself if there will be anything to see in there!? :)
Click to expand...
At the moment, that happens every time I dev a film.
jfserejo said:
I am posting some images + one crop at 100%. Please feel no mercy! :)
Click to expand...
Ok. You've got useable negatives, that's the first stage nailed. I was reliably told that you need to get used to a film/developer combination first, before you can consider changing it. And when you do change, only change one thing at a time. So, stage 2... work on any exposure and composition problems. :)

Someone's mentioned about being indifferent to digital photos... I'm in agreement with this one. The only chance of an increased heartrate, with digital photos, is if I'd be parting with money for printer inks. ;)

Wait till you start printing the photos in a darkroom. Seeing negatives on a roll is one thing... seeing a printed photo visibly appearing is something else. :)
 
Trius said:
Yes, yes, the experience is magical and always thrills.

As far as Diafine goes, I have rarely seen Diafine-developed film that matches a properly developed neg in HC-100, D-76/ID-11, Rodinal, FG-7, etc. Sorry Aria, but they look like mud most of the time.
Click to expand...

jakecropping.jpg


That's not mud.

FP4 shot at 200 in Diafine.
 
markinlondon said:
Nice pictures, it's all so much easier to do than describe isn't it?
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Yes, it can’t be consider a difficult task! If I knew it before. :) But the important is starting up, and now keep practicing and studying what the great black & white photographers had pursued and done!

350D_user said:
Wait till you start printing the photos in a darkroom. Seeing negatives on a roll is one thing... seeing a printed photo visibly appearing is something else. :)
Click to expand...

I can't do printing because my space is very limited! But who knows!? Maybe sooner than I think I can manage a place for nice darkroom and test that feeling! :)

Dave I think that the fact of doing my own development process will lead to a better exposure and composition approach – I believe this is truth (there is a thread about this, isn’t it?). I'm reading "The Negative" again and some other great stuff to remind things that get lost with time… John as pointed me a great website - Barry Thornton's Fine Print – that as amazing articles about exposure and development process.


By the way :) I have another roll drying for an hour or so, and it seems everything went well. The temperature here is getting up, and instead of try to cool down the solutions I came here (net) to see if there was no problem to develop at 24º C (75.2 F). The HC-110 “Unofficial Resource” as chart for that temperature – 6 min. with Dilution B, so I gave 12 with the Dil. H

I went to finish this roll in Lisbon’s first public water supply starting point, where an aqueduct is born and distribute water for the old town, some centuries ago. Is a barren heavy stone building with great walls and nice speculars, and I think will be a good subject to see if the shadow area is being done the way it should in the exposer moment and if the development is catching detail or not. I post some scans in here as soon as I can. :)

Regards all,
Joao
 
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