Edible Film Developers

Alan Johnson

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Only a very faint image was produced from Plus-X in 500ml Cranberry Juice plus 5 teaspoons washing soda,pH about 11,semi-stand developed 45m 70F.
Cranberry juice I used contained 300mg/L vit C and 400mg/L proanthocyanidins.Neither of these is a good developer at the level found in the Cranberry juice.
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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Interesting I never tried cranberry juice, but I think the berry extract I tried also contained proanthocyanidins IIRC and was also very weak

I'm going to have to try mint next
 

srs5694

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DarkroomExperimente said:
I just tried Tri-X Mountain Dew for 45 min with 5 tbsp of sodium carbonate...didn't get an image
Click to expand...

I tried something similar once, but I didn't bother to make precise measurements. It was diet Mountain Dew, sodium carbonate, and a film leader in a small container. As I recall, the combination ate away the emulsion, leaving me with clear film base. (I did this in normal room light and I didn't bother fixing it; it was just intended as an initial test, and given the results I didn't take it any further.)
 

rwyoung

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It isn't the caffeine, it is the caffeic acid.
 

Clay2

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Not exactly edible, but:

Maybe 15-20 years ago a news photographer from one of our Toronto
papers used water from Lake Ontario to get a faint image on film.
Story was of course about pollution.

/Clay
 

Sirius Glass

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The use of cranberry juice would also eliminate the film or paper developing a yeast infection.

Just my thoughts.

Steve
 

tony lockerbie

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I have also heard the one about (or should that be aboot) lake Ontario. Seems you need a developing time of about 24 hours, gives a whole new meaning to high dilution- full stand developers

Just imagine the edge effects!

Tony
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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well THAT is amazing...24 hours!

I never got vanilla to work...I guess I just didn't leave the film in the developer for long enough

after all...if I used chocolate, it's only fair that I use vanilla too
 

Photo Engineer

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The edge effects of lake Ontario are mostly mud.

Grant Haist suggested wine and urine. Maybe all of that finds its way into the lake and results in a weak developer.

PE
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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OK, I admit it

I'm having wayyyyyyyyy too much fun

here's patent information on a biodegradable developer using mint and/or vanillin:

Dead Link Removed
 
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David A. Goldfarb

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If you search for "parodinal" you'll find a developer made with Tylenol and lye. Maybe that's what that whole Tylenol scare thing was about.
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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OK, just for fun I mixed up Ibuprofen, Aleve, and aspirin with sodium carbonate

left a strip of Tri-x in it for an hour....

there was a portion that did look developed...but....after putting it back in the fixer...it disappeared
 

srs5694

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DarkroomExperimente said:
what about these as developers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin

I suppose if aspirin worked I would have heard about it by now....
Click to expand...

I don't know about its function as a developing agent, but salicylic acid is used in some developers -- specifically, Ryuji Suzuki's Dead Link Removed film developers and his Dead Link Removed paper developers. I seem to recall from an earlier version of his Web site that they're intended to increase shelf life. I don't believe Suzuki has ever mentioned them functioning as developing agents in these formulas.

Concerning paRodinal and acetaminophen developers generally, they do work. My understanding is that the acetaminophen is converted by the hydroxide into p-aminophenol, and it's this which is the developing agent, not the acetaminophen per se. None of the pain relievers you mention, DarkroomExperimente, contains acetaminophen, AFAIK, and the reaction is specific to sodium hydroxide (sodium carbonate won't do the trick), so it's not a surprise that your pain reliever concoction didn't work. (OTOH, perhaps you could find some way to make it work by adding other things; I'm not a chemist and I know very little about these substances.)
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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thanks, I didn't expect it to work, but since it was there I decided to give it a shot while waiting for another concoction (mint) to get to temperature
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Another thing for these tests is not to use film that has been sitting out in white light forever, or it may be solarized, so it won't necessarily turn black even in real developers.
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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thanks Dave

I normally use film with images on it, but for quick tests I have used film that was just sitting out in the light

thanks for the tip
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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BTW...the mint didn't make the negative green....I was hoping it would

one of the berry extracts left a nice purple tint...chocolate & coffee left a brown tone
 
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DarkroomExperimente

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I haven't tested these yet...but it seems Thyme, Rosemary, and Oregano look promising

a couple of compounds are related to caffeic acid....one was a "dymin" of caffeic acid

I don't know about parsley and sage, but Paul Simon was right about Kodachrome's bright colors, so they may be worth a try too
 
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