What are these.. blops?

[jano]

Hi,

I've noticed these "circle" like things showing up in the last few rolls of 120 shot in an Iskra 2, developed in xtol 1:1. My batch of xtol was created in september 2005.. I just finished it up last night. I do not remember which direction I had the reel inside the paterson tank.

These "blops" appear most prominently in sky photos, and not necessarily in every frame (I went back through several rolls, and there is no consistency).

What does it look like? Light leaks? Development problem? *shrug* It is NOT residue (did not clean off with isopropyl alcohol).

Picture taken with digicam, and contrast enhanced so you can see the effect.

Thanks.

 

[tetrisattack]

Oh man, this is a tough one. My official speculation is that they might be bubbles on the surface of the developer. I can think of a few things that might have to do with bubbles:

1. You are not doing a pre-soak. This one's dubious, the debate has raged ever onward whether pre-soaking helps to prevent the formation of bubbles.
2. The liquid level is just barely covering the reel. Bubbles at the meniscus of the water are clinging to the film.
3. Agitation cycle is long, exacerbating the effect of bubbles. Shorter agitation cycles would lessen the effect.
4. Photo-flo residue left in the tank causes foaming action when you agitate the developer.

Do the marks go only down one side of the film?

 

[kaiyen]

Foaming.

Either you got some weirdly soft water, or you got some photo-flo into your tank. Give everything a good rinse (perhaps in the dishwasher if you have it) and that should help.

allan

 

[jano]

Okay, seems like it could be lots of different items, each possibly the case in my situation. This shows up only on one side of the film, do not presoak, did notice quite a bit of foaming during agitation. Possibly photo flo has caused this, but I do rinse everything for a few minutes with scalding water when I'm done and keep my work area spotless. I'll try dishwasher and reducing agitation.

Thanks 🙂

 

[kaiyen]

Jano - I have seen _exactly_ what you are seeing, and it's foaming. Trust me on this.

You would not get little circles if you had inadequate dev. Agitation also wouldn't cause the problem - developer on its own isn't viscous enough to form bubbles long enough to cause those shapes.

allan

 

[Finder]

I agree with Allen, they look like air-bells/foam. Do a prewash before your developer. Never put your reels in photo-flo - remove the film and hand dunk it in photo-flo. Photo-flo is designed to coat surfaces.

 

[titrisol]

You need to have a little more developer.
The reel is not fuly immersed and what you see is foam.