A few days ago, I developed a roll of 35mm black and white film. It was the first in over 25 years, if not longer. I have been playing around with some of my old cameras and to get the film from them developed, I’ve had to rely on commercial companies. This always adds more time to the process. Even the quick companies tend to take at least a week or two.
Time is always involved in photography, especially when using film. Choosing the proper exposures, being sure the camera is focused and the shot is composed all take time. Whenever I rush it, I introduce the chance of errors. The pictures on a roll of film usually aren’t all taken on the same day; it may be a few days or even a month. So, what is another week or two? Well, let me tell you! I want to see what I’ve taken!
I figured that I could reduce some of the wait by doing the developing myself! I'm still waiting for some negatives that I recently sent out.
My last darkroom work was done in the last century. (WOW that really sounds like a long time ago!) It was sometime in the mid-1990’s. Most of my gear was put away, just in case I’d ever need it again. Last week I took a trip up into the attic and unearthed some of it, the time had finally come.
Having been in the attic for such a long time, the equipment needed cleaned and tested. It is amazing how much dirt and dust can accumulate over a couple decades. Oddly enough, two of my thermometers no longer worked. I thought they'd last forever. Luckily, I checked them before I used them. Proper temperatures are very important in developing film.
Practice was also needed. To develop film the negatives need wound onto a spiral reel. This has to be done in complete darkness, without touching the surface of the film. The trick is practice, practice, practice. I needed to reacquaint myself with the muscle memory that I used to have. Using an old, exposed roll of film I spent a couple days winding film onto the reel, removing it and doing it again, over and over. (I kept reminding myself, it’s just like riding a bike!)
When the equipment was put in the attic, the chemicals weren’t included! I had to purchase developer, stop bath, fixer and some Photoflo. Then I had to figure out the proper times that the film would be exposed to each one and of course, the proper sequence.
Since there is no darkroom in my house, I had to “Mickey Mouse” a location. In the corner of the basement, I cleaned a spot and hung some black plastic up to help control any light leaks. Then, just to be sure, I waited until after sunset, turned off all the lights and checked for any leaks.
Assured that there were no light leaks, I took the film, the canister and the reels and put them on a bench along with a pair of scissors. Checking one more time for light, I then started loading the film onto the reel. I had a bit of a problem towards the end when the film came out of the grooves. I re-did it and it seemed good. After the reel was put in the canister, I put the lid on top and then turned the lights on again. Next came the chemistry.
Even though I have done this procedure hundreds of times, it has been a long time since I did it last. I spent a lot of time looking at YouTube videos and checking manufacturer’s web sites. I also browsed through some photo groups checking on their suggestions. I wanted to have the correct times for all the chemicals. When I was finally happy with my numbers, it was time to head to the laundry tubs.
There is a short hose there which runs water into a basin to keep the chemicals all at the same temperature. My notes were hung on the wall. The film was given a prewash to wet it and then, the developer was put into the canister. This was it, the point of no return! There was no turning back now!
When the developer time was up, the tank was emptied and stop bath took its place. Then came the fixer. After that, I Removed the lid and started the water bath. Finally, after a brief dunk into some PhotoFlo, it was time for the unveiling.
This is the fun part, seeing my negatives for the first time. There was a small problem; some of the final pictures on the roll hadn’t developed properly. The film had rubbed against itself in the reel and this caused some grey splotches. Luckily, those pictures weren’t anything special and thankfully, the rest of the film strip came out great! It just goes to tell me…I need more practice!
I have to say that the best part of the whole process is the unveiling, unrolling the reel and seeing all those separate negatives, nice and sharp. It is only a small part of the whole process, from seeing a potential picture to showing off the finished product, but I still enjoy seeing my still wet negatives for the first time. It is when I get an idea of whether or not I was successful or if I’d screwed up along the way.
Developing film isn’t that difficult; once you have all the supplies and you’ve done it a few times it becomes a lot of fun. A clean spot to work, consistent times and mixtures along with practice, lots of practice, these all add up to getting good quality negatives! Doing this roll brought back all the excitement I used to experience so many years ago. I've already decided, my next "experiment" will be to develop a roll of bigger sized medium format film!
Photography can be so much fun; there are so many different aspects to it. There are countless ways to take pictures, to print them and to view them. Developing my own film is just another small part of the whole photographic spectrum!
Below are a few pictures from this roll.
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2 comments:
Phil,
I remember developing my photos (35mm) back in the 60-80s.
It was such fun. I still have albums of contact sheets printed from rolls of developed negatives.
Where in the world would buy bulk film, chems, and paper these days???
I donated my Nikon and all my equipment to a school many years ago.
Your story made me want it back!
I know you are having fun. I remember those days of developing and the excitement of waiting to see the images. I think you're hooked again and this is just the first of many rolls to be developed.
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