Developed my first roll tonight...

[abr]

and I'm pretty sure I totally ruined it, but it's drying in my shower just in case. I did manage to get the reel loaded properly in the dark, which was my biggest concern. The part I didn't worry enough about ahead of time was the amount of developer, the time, the amount of agitation, the stop bath process, the amount of fixer, when the film becomes light-safe in the process, and what (if anything) should be done with the film after the fixer. Rinse? squeegie? Nada? Should've thought through all of that more. What I wound up doing was this:

FG-7 developer at 1/15 concentration (60ml to 840ml) for 12 min. Agitated for about 30 sec. to begin, then 5 sec every 30 sec., until I got focused on trying to get the water a decent temp for the stop bath and missed a few, then agitating as much as I thought I'd missed, until I thought I was back on track. Hmm.

Then, I ran lukewarm water as a stop bath, and after about a minute of that, thought I might be doing it wrong and OPENED THE TANK. Ooops. Then, used Ilford Rapid Fixer at 1/3 concentration, agitating about 30 sec/min, for a while... probably 4-5 min?, while I worried that I'd ruined the film by opening the tank early. Then, I hung the film in the shower, squeegied with my fingers and left to dry. There are actual images on it! I'm pretty sure they're a mess, but they aren't solid black squares, so there is at least that, right?

Had to have a first time once, and I've now gotten that over with, so it's bound to get better from here, right? Now, to find some resources so I can get a clue what I'm actually supposed to be doing...

 

[photomem]

You really don't have to worry about the temp for the stop and fixer. I generally use mine at room temperature and have no problems. However, opening the tank before fix is a no no. The fact that you got images is lucky.

Plus.. the recommended film dilution for Ilford Rapid Fix is 1:4. I am not sure you harmed anything by mixing it stronger.. but save money on your chems.

Here is the data sheet...

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006130218312091.pdf

 

[MattKing]

Try the "Getting Started" section on Ilford's site, in particular the "Processing your first B & W Film" link on this page:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=31

Have fun!

Matt

 

[photomem]

I always forget about that area of Ilford's site.

 

[rwboyer]

A little light before the fix is not a giant issue as long as there is no (or not much) developer left on the film - if you put the water on it before opening the tank then opening it before the fix probably did not affect things at all. If the negatives don't look good it is probably due to not enough/too much development.

4-5 mins fix is fine as long as your dilution was okay (not familiar with that fixer).

As for temps of stop/fix/wash - they are not critical but... should be as close as possible to dev temp. Changing temps too much in your process can lead to graininess and in the extreme reticulation and emulsion damage.

RB

 

[edtbjon]

First, congratulations on your success.
There are two ways of looking at developing. While it's correct that the stop/fixer/wash stages are less critical, it's good to be precise while you learn the whole process. Once you've really got the hang of keeping the temperatures, tank agitation and timing at a constant more or less in your sleep, but only then, you can start to experiment. This because you by then have some experience with the process and you can better relate the information to what you are actually doing.
The key to success with developing is to do the same thing every time and if you change anything, just change one thing, so that you can analyze what that change leads to. So try to learn a easy steady agitation scheme which is the same every time. See to that you can get and maintain a constant temperature. (If that is a problem, there are temperature compensation tables at e.g. Ilfords website.)
The reason for this is that with the negative processing you need predictability, while doing the print processing you can apply all the creativity you want. Another way of saying this is: Film processing is a mechanical process, while printing is a creative process. (Which is why many of us use e.g. Jobo processors to assist film processing. The CPA2/CPP2 and CPE2 processors makes the agitation and temperature exactly the same every time and the ATL processors makes all the work for you. Now, I'm not saying that you need to get a processor. I just happen to like them.)

As rwboyer pointed out, nothing bad really happens if you get some light on the film between the developing and the stop/fix stage. The developer is exhausted anyhow. If you don't believe me, check this out: Fred Picker on BTZS Tubes. (Do check the part 2 of the video too.) On the other hand, this isn't what is normally recommended and "you don't need to know this" at this stage. Just see to that you get the hang of processing your film in a standard way first and feel relaxed about it. Then you can learn about where you need less accuracy and attention.

//Björn

 

[Denis R]

after fix, WASH
after wash, PHOTO-FLO

 

[lorirfrommontana]

Congratulations on your first roll!!! I've found that I try to do everything the same every time. Read, Read, and Read some more about the process. Get it ingrained in your head. Makes it so you don't have to think so hard when you go about doing it. Tuesday we will have several students over to shoot and develop their first rolls of film. It is always so exciting to see those images on the film. I've only been doing analogue photography for about a year and it is still so exciting, every time, no matter what! Again, Congratulations! Have fun making more images!
Lori

 

[Rick A]

Kudos for trying-most people wont even try. Might I suggest using a "story board" when you develope. Nothing fancy, just a list of steps, times, and temps on something large enough you can read it at a glance. Next, use a tray or tub large enough to hold your prepared chems in sequence(or labeled) to bring them to temp before you start(water bath), you can do this in the kitchen sink, just fill a couple of inches of warm water(adjust temp as required).Now, thankfully, you got your mistakes out of the way and you can get on with souping your film effortlessly(lol)for the rest of your life! I've been doing this for over 40 years, and just yesterday I lifted the wrong lid on my developing tank--I haven't pulled that one in nearly as long--just so you know, we all flub up from time to time. The important thing to remember is to keep on trying, and keep lots of notes. Keep on shooting, and WELCOME to our world.

Rick

 

[Venchka]

Given all the information available on the internet and, Good Grief, in print, doesn't anyone read anymore?

Forums like this are full of "How to" advice on developing film. Those threads usually wander off into "discussions" about water versus acid stop bath or fixer formulae, but they generally explain the process. The other good news is that if you ask 100 people how to develop film, you'll get 110-120 answers. Pick the answers that work for you.

Developing B&W film is so easy. You can write the steps on the fingers and thumb of one hand.

Next time, have a plan. Write it down. When you can develop film with your eyes closed, throw the list away.

Welcome to the club. Membership is for life! Enjoy!

 

[aldevo]

abr,

Congratulations; and welcome to film.

Developing film does get easier. I think you'll find that after as little as a dozen rolls of film under your belt it even becomes second nature.

It will definitely cut down on your frustration to plan ahead and understand the steps in the film development process. I definitely recommend the "Getting Started" section of the Ilford site. Beyond that - have all the chemicals ready ahead of time and invest in a decent thermometer to make sure the developer is at the correct temp.

Most people struggle with loading the reels on their first try; if you managed this successfully you are already on your way. The rest is just being prepared.

 

[fschifano]

Hmmmm. Well, it worked so you couldn't have been that far off. A couple of suggestions might help you out. First, an acid stop bath is fine, but isn't necessary. I like to use one, and have never had a problem by doing so. Of course, one must use as directed. Maybe some of the people who have problems with it are using it at too strong a concentration. But if you don't want to use one, that's fine. Two or three changes of clean water will suffice. Set aside a sufficient amount of water in a container along with your other chemicals to temper and use that as your stop bath. Fill the tank, agitate, dump and repeat twice more. Trying to control the temperature of your tap water while preoccupied with something else is like herding cats - an exercise in futility. Do the same with the final wash water. Ilford has published method that makes for a very effective washing procedure. It's not as carefree as just setting your tank to wash in running water, but it does work and eliminates the problem of using either too warm or too cold water for the final wash. Do get some wetting agent like Photoflo. Use it and you'll not need to wipe down the film. The water will just sheet right off. A very little bit goes a long way. Use only enough to make the water sheet off the film and no more. With my water supply, a ratio of 1:400 is more than enough to do the job. Your water supply may need a little more or less. Use too much and you cause more problems than you fix.