Anticipation

Just finished developing a couple more rolls of FP4. Not to get cocky or anything, but I'm starting to feel pretty confident in that: Loading the spool is pretty much no problem, and the rest is just pouring/timing/tapping and watching the clock.

But I'm still left with the question of just what exactly I've got here. I have a bunch of strips of negatives hanging in my darkroom, and what I really wish I knew was which ones are well exposed, which are over, which are under. With a bit of luck, I'll have the rest of my bibs and bobs for enlarging pulled together this week so maybe next weekend I can start putting these to paper to see exactly what I've got.

All together, this is more satisfying than anything I've done photographically for the past ten years.

Epson V500 scanner will give you up to 6 x 6 frames and a included copy of Photoshop elements. Works very well for seeing what you have.
The V700 will do 4 x 5 in a single pass not requiring splicing the image.
3 strips of 4 or 4 strips of 3 in a contact print frame is traditional. Depends on which negative preservers you prefer.

The "is it under/over exposed/developed" question is one you'll get a feel for once you start enlarging. Scanning is generally a pretty poor guide in this regard because it allows you to make some corrections that are not possible in the darkroom.

In short though:
- if you have as much shadow detail as you want, the exposure is sufficient
- if the shadows are black holes but the rest of the image is OK, they're under-exposed
- if all of the film has significant exposure, then it's probably over-exposed (exception: some high-key photos)
- if there is shadow detail but you need to print at higher grades (e.g. #4) to use the full range of the paper, they're under-developed
- if you need to print using a #1 or lower grade, they're over-developed.
- if the highlights are muddy and of poor contrast, it's probably over-exposed and/or over-developed.

You'll quickly figure out what those variations look like. Helps if you can find someone locally to show you want a "good" negative looks like though.

If you have the paper but not enlarger, you can contact print with a piece of glass.

The excitement of seeing my negs for the first time as I hang them to dry is still one of my favorite things about processing my own film. With experience you will be able to see at a glance which frames are under or over-exposed. Generally, under-exposed negs (thin negatives) are tougher to get a usable print from, but most B/W film has a generous exposure latitude that you can work with. Darkroom printing is a craft unto itself and the challenge is in creating the printed image you envisioned from the visual information contained in the negative.

There are many great books about processing film and printing and I often refer to Ansel Adams' "The Negative" and "The Print", David Vestal's "The Craft of Photography" and Bruce Barnbaum's "The Art of Photography". Bruce's book in particular has been very helpful to me on many technical and artistic levels and I highly recommend it to all photographers.

It sounds like you're on the right track, though - standardize your film/chemicals/processes until you know them well and can predict what type of results you will get. Pay attention to temperatures and cleanliness in the darkroom and you will have few errors that you can't figure out. Once you get more confident, start playing with different films/papers processes and chemicals (not to mention cameras and lenses) to see what results you can achieve. With analog the possibilities really are endless and sometimes the "accidents" will give you some surprising results.

Above all, Have Fun!

why not put your film in negative sleeves and make contact sheets ?
easier and less hassle than buying a scanner ...

you can also put a negative sheet under glass with a sheet of RC paper
and leave it in the sun for a few hours, you can see your film that way if you don't want to xpose paper in the darkroom

contact sheets in the darkroom take no time at all to take ...

test strip, expose
decide the time, expose ... repeat

if you don't wan to deal at all, and your film is thin enough
put them in negative sleeves with a sheet of paper behind
and scan them like a print ... quick and dirty and cheap

A scanner? For corn sake. I kinda liked post #4 best. But watch out on the books angle. Sometimes book authors get you lost so they can find you, if that makes sense. The number 1 thing is to trust your own eyes and instincts when you are looking at the roll of wet film while you're busting a gut for it to dry.

The OP will have to train that instinct first. Polyglot's advice is good.

You can also examine your negs with a light box and a magnifying glass. You should be able to see if you have the details you want in the shadows and highlights. Details in the shadows are subject to proper exposure in the camera. Details in the highlights come from proper development of your film.

A basic method for negative evaluation was described years ago by many - called the "proper proof" by Fred Picker (his Zone VI Workship is a good book also, if you can find it, very conversationaly written).
Set up for contact printing - glass under the enlarger if you have it. Expose a test strip, choosing the exposure that is just enough to make a maximum black in the film rebate area (clear places around the image). Adjust contrast till the highlights look good, maintaining the black rebate. You'll get a sense of uniformity of exposure, and other things that are good to know. If you wind up using an extreme contrast grade on either end, you might need to adjust development time. Quality of shadow detail will indicate exposure. Enlarging will give you more sense of where you are, using the contact as a guide.
There is much more to say about all of this, but this is one way to start.

Someone posted a link in an answer to a similar question lately. The link had examples of under and over of both exposure and development. I just don't remember where it was - if I find it, I'll post back. But there is such a page on the web somewhere.
If you're going to be printing them in a darkroom, then a contact sheet will help more than scanning.

winger said:

Someone posted a link in an answer to a similar question lately. The link had examples of under and over of both exposure and development. I just don't remember where it was - if I find it, I'll post back. But there is such a page on the web somewhere.
If you're going to be printing them in a darkroom, then a contact sheet will help more than scanning.

Click to expand...

It was probably this link: http://www.ephotozine.com/article/assessing-negatives-4682

And I've already posted it in one of the OP's other threads

Scanner thought was that since OP was sans set up darkroom at the start, knowing he had reasonable content and which frames were worth exploring was a good option. Exposure etc.. contact print and begin. Not a fan of scan but it does give me a starting point for which negatives to pursue and which frames missed the boat.