MisPantalonesEstaEnfuega Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 So I "aquired" some items and have successfully put together a darkroom. I have no knowledge of developing film or making prints and after reading through some books at Barnes and Nobles I have an understanding of how to do this but naturally with teaching yourself anything you run into problems. So I am trying to develope a roll of Tri-X 400. I'm using Kodak D-76 Developer and "Nu-Fix" Fixer. (Tri-x box says developing time is 6 minutes with D-76) Here is what I am doing: -Put film on reel, reel in tank. -Pour in proper amount of developer, agitate gently for 6 minutes. -dump developer -pour in proper amount of Fixer. -As I read in this book, Agitate for 30 seconds, let it sit 30 seconds and do this for 4 minutes -dump fixer -pour in water as stop bath, shake it like a baby for 45 seconds -rinse film -remove excess wetness -hang to dry So I tried developing three rolls of film tonight and collectively about 4.5 frames developed the rest did nothing. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smart Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 so, you're sure you're winding them on the reels correctly and no parts are touching? the chemicals are up to date? Are you working in total darkness? have you tried going a little longer with the developer? And doesn't the process go: develop, stop, fix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmeup Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 why would you want to develope your own film anyways? id think that would suck... especially if you fucked up a roll with pictures you couldnt get flicks of again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Quickwood Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Originally posted by E MARTYR why would you want to develope your own film anyways? id think that would suck... especially if you fucked up a roll with pictures you couldnt get flicks of again... negatives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisPantalonesEstaEnfuega Posted March 14, 2004 Author Share Posted March 14, 2004 Like I said, I'm a complete amature so it could very well go; develope, stop, fix. I tried developing for 9 minutes instead of 6 and I got more actually developed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smart Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I'm pretty sure... develop, stop, fix. try a roll in that order for about 7.5 minutes, see how it turns out... if it's better but still not right try adjusting the develop time up or down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarcasm Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 my guess is that when ur reeling in ur film, the film touches eachother (which it isn't supposed to) and you should make sure when u reel it in, its going in evenly.... or maybe some light may be exposed to it... i dunno..but when i developed film, i was in a room pitch ass black... to the point where i put my hand in front of my face, and couldn't tell the difference..... sooooooo... i dunno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackson Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 You need to wash it for longer than 45 seconds, leave the tap running onto the negs for like 10-15 minutes. -And tease, develpoing your own film is a great thing to do, you should try it, its fun and it teaches you a lot about photography. Pantalones- how are you gonna make prints? have you got an enlarger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sneak Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Originally posted by MisPantalonesEstaEnfuega shake it like a baby for 45 seconds *shake it like a polaroid picture...heyyyy yaaaaa* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEE38 Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 there could be a slight possibility that those remaining pictures were maybe nothing... like.. hmm, it make have been taken wrong or something? and the first few were taken ok. im thinking also light exposure... it would be a good idea to get a red light.. like everyone else said its a big chance the developing process went wrong somehow with chemicals, etc. by the way......... how much did your startup cost? i took photography in school and absolutely loved it. i'm really interested in setting up a dark room too, i got a pinhole and a woca camera and stole a shitload (i mean borrowed) of film from school......my teacher said it wouldent be more than 60 dollars to start (chemicals, etc) my inspiration: my son. he's like a runway model.. i mean if he could walk. i take the most absolute stunning pictures of the lil guy. well i know i wasent much help but good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisPantalonesEstaEnfuega Posted March 14, 2004 Author Share Posted March 14, 2004 My tech art teacher and I were talking about photography one day and I asked him about developing and he busted out an enlarger and looked at it for a minute and was like, "Now, this enlarger was a gift to the art department and it isn't on any inventory lists, so if I let you borrow it and you don't return it to me by the end of the year that is totally fine, do you understand?" So my teacher gave me the following for free: Englarger Trays Safe lights I went to ye-old-camera store and bought the following: Photopaper - $15 for 25 8X10 Kodak D-76 Developer - $5 76 Paper Developer - $5 Film tank - $5(used, it's worth spending the the extra $10 on a good stainless steal one.) Two 35mm Reel - $6 Nu-Fix Foxer - $3 Two -gallon chemical jars $8 Tongs - $5 If you're just developing film it's pretty cheap(tank, developer, fixer.) if you're looking for an enlarger check out auctions and thirft stores. I bought one over the summer at a thrift store for $20 but upon futher inspection I realized the lense was cracked. I've seen enlargers as cheap as $150 at some camera stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEE38 Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 jesus how lucky! dope teachers rock. enlargers are $$ so i'm just interested in developing film.. b&w film.. um im not sure the actual name of the type of film i have but it says: 120 - ISO // 125. those longer films (not 35mm) but longer that looks like a long spool of thread thing.:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suburbian bum Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Originally posted by E MARTYR why would you want to develope your own film anyways? id think that would suck... especially if you fucked up a roll with pictures you couldnt get flicks of again... Did you really just ask this? Okay I will lay it out for you. Having someone else develop your pictures is equal to telling someone else what to draw for you. You have total creative capabilities over them. And when you develop yourself, you can always make your pics look way better than running them through the machine at wal mart. Plus, you can make as many prints of 1 pic as you want, as big as you want with a shitload of changes... Your stupid questions sometimes actually make me angry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.T Boy Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 make sure to leave the lights on. always. darkroom is just a figure of speach. i have a darkroom at home, well my girl does, and its here with us, but shes hooks it up. you should look online, theres some site that has directions for every type of film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCosaNostra Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 eh.....i didnt read all this, but i expecially hate develping the negatives, enlargint is the fun part:crazy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duh-rye-won Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 film is sooooooooooo '98. get a digi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pilau Hands Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 It's early and I gotta head out, so i didn't get a chance to read all that was said. I'll just give the quickness. You have to open your film canisters, roll them onto your reel, and cut the ends, and close the can in total darkness. If you get light onto your film before it hits the chemicals, say goodnight. To do this you can make a darkroom by just sitting in your bathroom with a towel over the crack under the door...or any room without windows. Or you can get a what they call a blackbag, which is basically a light proof bag with sleeves that you can slip your arms into like in the simpsons nuclear plant. Any higher level photo store should have them. Once your film is loaded correctly on the roll and the can is closed, you can go develop it. I usually take the temperature of the developer, as this will always affect how long you have to develop the pictures. depending on your type of film and the temp, it could be as long as 13 minutes sometimes. agitate it, turning upside down once in a while and banging it against a surface to knock off any air bubbles and to make sure that the bottom gets covered with developer too just in case you didnt fill it enough. Then i pour in the stop bath, agitate for one minute. Then the fixer...at my studio it says fix it for like 5 minutes but when i did that i always got purple negatives cause i didnt fix it enough, so i usually go for about 7 or 8. Then fixer remover for a minute. The film can now be exposed to light. Then i just leave the film with water running into the can for about 5-10 minutes to really wash it well. Then photoflo..this soap-like agent that helps you decrease water marks on your film. You pour the photoflo in like the other chemicals and just leave it in there for about a minute. if you shake it, it will bubble up and suck. Wipe off the photoflo by squeeging with your fingers and hang to dry. I don't know if all of these are REALLY necessary, it's just my setup. if you don't have any of the chemicals i mentioned and want them, they shouldn't be too hard to get. make sure you're using all the same brand of chemicals, kodak, sprint or whatever. have fun email if you need anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sneak Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Originally posted by suburbian bum Did you really just ask this? Okay I will lay it out for you. Having someone else develop your pictures is equal to telling someone else what to draw for you. You have total creative capabilities over them. And when you develop yourself, you can always make your pics look way better than running them through the machine at wal mart. Plus, you can make as many prints of 1 pic as you want, as big as you want with a shitload of changes... Your stupid questions sometimes actually make me angry. plus, there may be photos which you dont want your average shop assistant seeing.... yah get me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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