Backlog of Film Developed!

[aoresteen]

Ever since I shut down my FL darkroom in 2007 I've had a huge backlog of B&W film to develop. I finished my new darkroom in Jan of 2016 fixing all the leaks that plagued it.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/at-last-building-out-my-darkroom.108767/

I've been on 3 major trips that added to the film backlog since then.

Since Oct 3rd I've developed 152 rolls of film - 35mm, 120, 127 and a found roll of 116 in my grandfather's camera that dates to around 1950's or so. Sadly, not much was on the Verichome film except a lot of fog.

I finished the last 10 rolls of 120 Friday night. and yesterday filed them in negative pages. I went through 2 gallons of fixer and 3 bottles of HC-110. Most of the film was Ilford HP5+ of course

That's the good news. The bad news is now I have around 190 rolls to make contact prints of. That starts tomorrow! I've mixed up the Dektol!

Sorted by year from 2007 to 2018.

Edit: Forgot the photo.

 

[mshchem]

Good job. Get those contact sheets, no substitute for a good contact proof sheet.
That's quite an accomplishment!

 

[Sirius Glass]

If you stood the whole time, I would bet that your legs are getting tired.

 

[aoresteen]

If you stood the whole time, I would bet that your legs are getting tired.

They really are tired! From now on I will try to not let the film back up!

 

[scheimfluger_77]

...The bad news is now I have around 190 rolls to make contact prints of....

I hear tiny violins.

 

[jim appleyard]

Take some tunes into the darkroom!

 

[NB23]

That’s good.

I developed 100 films last week.

My backlog of films to contact print is about 1000-1200. No jokes.

I’m still printing my films from 2014...

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

What's an FL darkroom?

 

[wyofilm]

What's an FL darkroom?

I took it to mean a darkroom in Florida.

 

[aoresteen]

I took it to mean a darkroom in Florida.

Bingo!

There's photos of it in the beginning of this thread:

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/at-last-building-out-my-darkroom.108767/

 

[aoresteen]

That’s good.

I developed 100 films last week.

My backlog of films to contact print is about 1000-1200. No jokes.

I’m still printing my films from 2014...

That's a lot of film for a week!!!! The last year that I've printed are 2006 images. I have fears of dying and like Garry Winogrand leaving tons of film un-processed, un-proofed, un-edited, and un-printed. "At the time of his death Winogrand's late work remained undeveloped, with about 2,500 rolls of undeveloped film, 6,500 rolls of developed but not proofed exposures, and about 3,000 rolls only realized as far as contact sheets being made."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Winogrand

Here's his last Leica M4:

https://www.cameraquest.com/LeicaM4G.htm

Right now I have enough film in my freezer to last me 3 - 5 years. My plan is to shoot it up and once it's gone to focus on printing. And sell off a lot of my cameras.

 

[aoresteen]

Take some tunes into the darkroom!

Yep. I have an old Aiwa stereo that I play my iPod through. You can see it in the thread on my darkroom build.

 

[MattKing]

Just a suggestion - don't put off developing and contact proofing new films because you haven't proofed the old ones yet.
If all new photography remains current, there will be less of a problem catching up with the old.

 

[Bill Burk]

They really are tired! From now on I will try to not let the film back up!

Bet your arms are tired too.

I recently caught up a similar backlog. I don’t plan to contact print, but I did “catalog” subject matter for ALL my negs. Then I made a single sheet list of shots I have been meaning to print, some for life memorials since it’s been so long (that part is a bit sad). But the list is my place to start, and as I remember shots to print, it’s pretty easy to find negs now.

Big step forward from having to look through everything to find one shot.

I have a small set of negs I want to print but can’t find. Think it’s down to three since I found the rest.

 

[Vaughn]

Impressive numbers! Great work.

On a whole different level...and not higher...I just developed 15 sheets of 8x10 that I exposed a month ago. Dried and in envelopes with their data (date, exposure, development, etc) written on them. I don't make proofs. Still have three sheets of 11x14 to develop...tomorrow night. My big backlog is in printing -- no hope in getting an upper hand on that until I can't carry a camera anymore.

 

[ericdan]

Is a 152 rolls really that much? I shoot about 5 rolls per month at home. When I go on trips much more than that.
I had to prepare for an exam and had no time since August this year. I have 34 rolls waiting to be developed.
Usually I do 5 at a time in my 5-reel Paterson tank. It'll be a little more work this time.

 

[Jerevan]

Well done!

And how much is much? I am still agonizing over my 40-50 rolls of film languishing in the drawers ... as noted above, it is what others can process in a week.

 

[guangong]

I’m jealous. I keep shooting, but family medical problems (now under control) and several large projects have caused undeveloped film to just keep piling up. Now the OP will have the pleasure of discovering pictures that he never remember taking. Have fun!

 

[Kino]

I am jealous! I have a lot to process as well and no finished darkroom... yet...

 

[Pentode]

Wow.... I get anxious when my undeveloped films number over a dozen! I’m at around 8 right now.

I’m still not set up to print at home and that’s still at least a couple of months out but as soon as I am I’ll have over 100 contact sheets to make as well. Little by little I’ll chip away at it.

 

[Cholentpot]

And I was feeling all puffed up because I did 17 rolls of C-41 from over the summer in the course of 3 evenings...

To be fair, every roll of C-41 is like 2 of b&w.

 

[aoresteen]

And I was feeling all puffed up because I did 17 rolls of C-41 from over the summer in the course of 3 evenings...

To be fair, every roll of C-41 is like 2 of b&w.

That's why I send my C-41 to the lab for developing & scans. Saves me lots of time that I'd rather use developing B&W.

Yesterday getting ready to print I found 5 more rolls of 120 that I missed. I developed them and now the backlog is really zero with a roll count of 157.

Today I put the negatives in order from newest to oldest (thanks for the tip MattKing!) and the contact printing begins !

 

[Cholentpot]

That's why I send my C-41 to the lab for developing & scans. Saves me lots of time that I'd rather use developing B&W.

Yesterday getting ready to print I found 5 more rolls of 120 that I missed. I developed them and now the backlog is really zero with a roll count of 157.

Today I put the negatives in order from newest to oldest (thanks for the tip MattKing!) and the contact printing begins !

Oh I love scanning the negatives over a season. I go oldest to newest though as the newest become old by the time I get to them.

 

[OptiKen]

and I was feeling sorry for myself last weekend when I had 37 rolls to process.
HA!
Small time

 

[aoresteen]

Developed 2 rolls of 220 TXP that I shot today. The film expired Dec 1982.

As jim appleyard suggested, take some tunes into the darkroom!

I listened to Paul Potts while developing.

Made the evening very pleasant!

You can find these old stereos at Goodwill & thrift shops for $20. As long as they have an AUX input you are good to go. Just get a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo cord and plug into the earphone jack. The iPod is a 5th GEN 30GB model. Works great!