MattKing
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There could also be a light leak in your developing tank.
Another 'what happened to these negatives?' thread
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I considered that, but I've had the same streaks when using two different developing tanks.
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MattKing
Moderator
Do the lids get swapped between them?
No, I've never swapped their lids.
If all else fails, I might pick up a Jobo 1500 or 2500 series tank and Hewes/Jobo reels. Kind of a last resort since I already have a set of standard Hewes reels and I'd hate to have to buy a set of Jobo-specific ones.
I do not wear a watch or jewelry when loading film onto the reels.
My loading procedure is pretty straightforward:
I sit in my darkroom in what I believe is complete darkness, use a film canister opener to open the 35mm film canister (that's the only format I've attempted to develop so far), take the film spool out of the canister, snip off the leader with a pair of scissors and load the film onto the Hewes reel. Once the film is fully on the reel I use the scissors to cut the trailing end of the film from the spool. I then place the loaded reel into the tank and put the lid on the tank. I make sure the lid is properly seated before turning the lights back on. That's it. I then take the tank into a spare bathroom and start the developing process.
This whole thing is fascinating to me, but I also feel your frustration. Count me among those who were thrown by your latest batch of scans showing the streak now also running vertically in landscape shots. I think there's a clue there, but it might take some doing to unravel where it leads.
In your case, the streaking always shows up in patches of clear sky, which makes sense -- i.e., for these kinds of density-related anomalies to stick out to the human eye, you'd need the surrounding area to be comprised of uniform tonality (hence, clear, blue sky). It's possible that the streaking shows up in other images, too, but that you can't see it due to the chaotic texture in those other images (e.g., grass, trees, etc.).
If the streaking were always running parallel to the long axis of the film strip, I'd be inclined to attribute it to a development problem. But now that you've shown us a landscape-oriented image with streaking running perpendicular to the long axis of the film strip, I'm wondering if it's related to a light leak or internal reflection in the camera (i.e., where the streaking is related to the orientation of the camera relative to the sun; I recall Matt King suggesting this a couple pages ago). But, on second thought, you also reported seeing this same problem with film shot in different cameras. So now I'm not sure. It seems unlikely that you'd see the exact same flaw in two or more cameras.
A post-exposure light leak (e.g., related to loading into a developing tank) is certainly worth following up. One easy thing that might be worth trying in the interim, however (provided you haven't already tried), is re-fixing your film. When fixer becomes exhausted, its ability to dissolve and carry unexposed silver halide out of the emulsion is impaired, which can result in streaking or a general haze on the negatives. The residual silver halide acts as additional density that can show up as lighter patches in a scanned/inverted negative. With that in mind, try refixing one of the problematic film strips in fresh fixer (followed by washing, of course), then rescan. Comparing the before and after scans will at least eliminate bad fixer as a possibility.
In your case, the streaking always shows up in patches of clear sky, which makes sense -- i.e., for these kinds of density-related anomalies to stick out to the human eye, you'd need the surrounding area to be comprised of uniform tonality (hence, clear, blue sky). It's possible that the streaking shows up in other images, too, but that you can't see it due to the chaotic texture in those other images (e.g., grass, trees, etc.).
If the streaking were always running parallel to the long axis of the film strip, I'd be inclined to attribute it to a development problem. But now that you've shown us a landscape-oriented image with streaking running perpendicular to the long axis of the film strip, I'm wondering if it's related to a light leak or internal reflection in the camera (i.e., where the streaking is related to the orientation of the camera relative to the sun; I recall Matt King suggesting this a couple pages ago). But, on second thought, you also reported seeing this same problem with film shot in different cameras. So now I'm not sure. It seems unlikely that you'd see the exact same flaw in two or more cameras.
A post-exposure light leak (e.g., related to loading into a developing tank) is certainly worth following up. One easy thing that might be worth trying in the interim, however (provided you haven't already tried), is re-fixing your film. When fixer becomes exhausted, its ability to dissolve and carry unexposed silver halide out of the emulsion is impaired, which can result in streaking or a general haze on the negatives. The residual silver halide acts as additional density that can show up as lighter patches in a scanned/inverted negative. With that in mind, try refixing one of the problematic film strips in fresh fixer (followed by washing, of course), then rescan. Comparing the before and after scans will at least eliminate bad fixer as a possibility.
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Thanks for chiming in.
I haven't tried re-fixing any of the problematic strips. I did mix a fresh batch of fixer for each developing session - and only developed one roll per session - so I'd be surprised if this was caused by exhausted fixer, but I'm willing to try anything at this point
I'll give it a shot and report back...I haven't tried re-fixing any of the problematic strips. I did mix a fresh batch of fixer for each developing session - and only developed one roll per session - so I'd be surprised if this was caused by exhausted fixer, but I'm willing to try anything at this point
Just so we can eliminate the possibilities: Can you tell us what fixer you're using (brand and dilution) and what your fixing technique looks like (agitation and time)?
I'm using Ilford Rapid Fixer, 1:4 dilution. I'm following Ilford's instructions for use that says to fix 'General purpose film' for 2-5 minutes and follow this agitation protocol:
- 4 inversions during the first 10s of fixing
- 4 inversions during the first 10s of each subsequent minute
MattKing
Moderator
Do a clip test, and then treble (to be extra careful) the fix time indicated:
https://www.photrio.com/forum/resou...ixing-procedure-for-black-white-negatives.75/
While I use the second half of that resource, some people disagree.
I do think though that fixer should not be used one shot - it is meant to be re-used.
And FWIW, I doubt your problem relates to insufficient fixing.
https://www.photrio.com/forum/resou...ixing-procedure-for-black-white-negatives.75/
While I use the second half of that resource, some people disagree.
I do think though that fixer should not be used one shot - it is meant to be re-used.
And FWIW, I doubt your problem relates to insufficient fixing.
That fixing regime sounds fine to me. Fixing for longer couldn't hurt (you might try 5:00 just to see).
Another thing that comes to mind reading back through the early posts is that you mention developing in HC-110 Dilution E (as I recall: Tri-X film, 6.5 minutes, 68 deg. F, agitations every 30 seconds). I didn't see any post where you specified how you were preparing Dilution E. The reason I ask is because the Kodak publication on HC-110 (https://imaging.kodakalaris.com/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/pro/chemistry/j24.pdf) contains a couple tables on preparing working solutions that can be easily confused. Specifically, it contains one table that shows how to prepare a working solution from a "stock solution" (which is 1 part HC-110 concentrate and 3 parts water) and a table that shows how to prepare a working solution from the HC-110 concentrate. Most people prepare a working solution directly from the concentrate, where Dilution E is 1+47 (1 part HC-110 concentrate plus 47 parts water). But that can be very easily mistaken in the instructions in the other table that say Dilution E is 1+11 (1 part stock solution plus 11 parts water). This is a long shot, but might these be overdevelopment marks due to higher-than-intended developer concentration?
I've done a clip test and my fixing time is > 2x the clearing time.
I plan to save the fixer for re-use - in fact I have been saving it - but I wanted to ensure I had the freshest chemistry while trying to debug this issue, just in case.
Thanks to you and everyone else in this thread for continuing to think about possible causes for my development issues. It's much appreciated.
On the subject of mixing HC-110, I've been preparing a working solution at 1:47 directly from concentrate. That's 10ml of concentrate to 470ml of water. Filling my two-reel tank to just cover the top reel only requires 400ml of fluid, so I'm wasting some working solution in an effort to avoid developer exhaustion given the dilution I'm using. At some point I might try and switch to dilution B so I can safely use a single-reel tank for developing one roll of film, but I'm trying to keep the dilution a constant for now while I try and track down this issue.
This is a long-shot, and I don't really believe in it, but let's eliminate it anyway. It's inspired by the observation that your streaks now seem to be related to camera axis rather than film axis; also that (to my eyes) the streaks all seem to have a gentle curve to them. You said that you have got streaks when using different cameras. But did you transfer anything between the cameras? Lens? Lens hood? Filter?
Good thoughts. But no, they were three different camera systems and nothing was transferred between them.
That eliminates cameras as a factor. So back to film handling, light leaks, processing errors, ... et al.
MattKing
Moderator
Do your scissors induce static electricity?
I do not see signs of static electricity discharge.
You seem to be doing pretty much everything right. You've effectively eliminated in-camera problems, since the streaking shows up in films shot on three different bodies (both SLR and rangefinder systems). You've eliminated scanning as the problem, since the streaking is present in the negatives. And most, if not all, of what you're doing in development is pretty much what any of us would do (e.g., making sure to use enough developer, thoroughly mixing the working solution, giving adequate agitation, using fresh fixer, giving careful attention to washing and Photoflo usage, etc.).
That said, the one thing you're doing noticeably different from what most people do is you're loading your developing reel and tank in a dark room as opposed to something like a changing bag (that's not wrong, of course, just different). And it appears to be one of the last remaining commonalities shared by each of the wonky film rolls. This might all be attributable to something as simple as a very faint light source in your dark room. I'll be interested to see if the changing bag makes a difference (you could even try loading in the dark room under a large towel).
Another question: When you load film onto your Hewes reels, are you loading with the emulsion side in (i.e., toward the center of the reel) or with the emulsion side out?
That said, the one thing you're doing noticeably different from what most people do is you're loading your developing reel and tank in a dark room as opposed to something like a changing bag (that's not wrong, of course, just different). And it appears to be one of the last remaining commonalities shared by each of the wonky film rolls. This might all be attributable to something as simple as a very faint light source in your dark room. I'll be interested to see if the changing bag makes a difference (you could even try loading in the dark room under a large towel).
Another question: When you load film onto your Hewes reels, are you loading with the emulsion side in (i.e., toward the center of the reel) or with the emulsion side out?
I recommend using a changing bag and stop bath to eliminating two possible problems.
I'm following the natural curve of the film and that seems to be emulsion side in.
I've got a changing bag on order that should be here Friday. I have been using Ilford Ilfostop rather than plain water.
hi logan2z
how are you printing your film, is it all scans or are these prints from an enlarger ? sometimes smudgy glass from a scanner causes problems with scanned film, I don't think it was your photo Flo, I've been putting a couple of drops / film tank or try for 40 years after the film is in there and never had an issue. when you look at the negatives with a "loupe" and on a light table or through a white piece of paper and a bright window is it the same streaks ?
otherwise I'd read what gbleas said
a lot of people use really dilute developer or don't agitate well enough and it causes trouble, and it doesn't matter what developer they used ...
good luck fixing your problems!
john
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