First attempt using pinhole camera

[NewbiJPEG]

Hi , I’m making a project about pinhole photography after seeing a nice DIY tutorial about it on YouTube.

I successfully made my pinhole device and got Ilford Multigrade RC Deluxe Satin papers to create negatives. I’m using a home made developing and stopping solution with ingredients listed in the tutorial.

When I load up the paper in darkness then expose the pinhole outside in the sun and later develop it in dark , they just turn out magenta and do not have any visible indicators of being a negative. Are MGRC papers not suitable for this procedure?

 

[ciniframe]

How long are you exposing the paper? What is the pinhole size and distance from the paper?
What are you using as a fixer?
If just starting out with pinhole using paper my strong recommendation is use regular paper developer and fixer. This would give you a standard from which you can experiment later to compare results.

For a stop bath you can use regular white vinegar which should be 5% acetic acid, diluted to, 2 parts vinegar to 3 parts water. That will give you a stop with 2% acetic acid.

 

[NewbiJPEG]

How long are you exposing the paper? What is the pinhole size and distance from the paper?
What are you using as a fixer?
If just starting out with pinhole using paper my strong recommendation is use regular paper developer and fixer. This would give you a standard from which you can experiment later to compare results.

30-45 seconds.
I made a tiny hole with a needle, distance from paper about 11cm.

As for your recommendation, this tutorial said it should work the same as if you would buy ready made developer & fixer. The fixer I used was 200ml of water and 5ml of lemon juice.

The guide I’m using is from the Royal Institution on YouTube “How to make a pinhole camera” & “how to develop your own pinhole photographs”.

Thanks for quick the response !

 

[ciniframe]

30-45 seconds.
I made a tiny hole with a needle, distance from paper about 11cm.

As for your recommendation, this tutorial said it should work the same as if you would buy ready made developer & fixer. The fixer I used was 200ml of water and 5ml of lemon juice.

The guide I’m using is from the Royal Institution on YouTube “How to make a pinhole camera” & “how to develop your own pinhole photographs”.

Thanks for quick the response !

That lemon juice formula is not fixer, that is a stop bath.
Fixer removes the unexposed silver from the paper and now days is usually ammonium thiosulfate.
I believe the purple color your paper is the remaining unexposed silver halide slowly turning into silver.
Just buy some regular photographic fixer, ilford makes a liquid concentrate, and then follow the regular sequence;
Develop, stop, fixer, rinse well with water, hang up to dry.

 

[ciniframe]

It is also important to actually measure what appears to your eye as a “tiny hole”.
This does not require exotic equipment. You will need a magnifier, 5-10x, and a millimeter ruler.
Examine the hole with the magnifier and ruler laying across the hole. Estimate the diameter.
lets say it looks like .5mm, then the equivalent f-stop would be f220 for your 110mm distance from paper.
Ilford MG4 has a ISO of about 6, but that varies depending on the color of the light.
However, lets look at exposure in bright sunlight based on the aforementioned examples.
If the equivalent f number was f220, then using Ilford MG4 The exposure in bright sun would be about 30 seconds, close enough to what you used.
If however the hole was larger than what appears to the eye, say .7 or .8mm then the exposure would be only 12-15 seconds in our example.
Finally, a lot of pinhole work is experimental, take lots of notes, they will be invaluable as you proceed.

 

[NewbiJPEG]

That lemon juice formula is not fixer, that is a stop bath.
Fixer removes the unexposed silver from the paper and now days is usually ammonium thiosulfate.
I believe the purple color your paper is the remaining unexposed silver halide slowly turning into silver.
Just buy some regular photographic fixer, ilford makes a liquid concentrate, and then follow the regular sequence;
Develop, stop, fixer, rinse well with water, hang up to dry.

Oh, I’m not too familiar with these terms so pardon the mixup haha.

It is also important to actually measure what appears to your eye as a “tiny hole”.
This does not require exotic equipment. You will need a magnifier, 5-10x, and a millimeter ruler.
Examine the hole with the magnifier and ruler laying across the hole. Estimate the diameter.
lets say it looks like .5mm, then the equivalent f-stop would be f220 for your 110mm distance from paper.
Ilford MG4 has a ISO of about 6, but that varies depending on the color of the light.
However, lets look at exposure in bright sunlight based on the aforementioned examples.
If the equivalent f number was f220, then using Ilford MG4 The exposure in bright sun would be about 30 seconds, close enough to what you used.
If however the hole was larger than what appears to the eye, say .7 or .8mm then the exposure would be only 12-15 seconds in our example.
Finally, a lot of pinhole work is experimental, take lots of notes, they will be invaluable as you proceed.

Wow thank you greatly for the advice. I measured the whole to be 0.8-0.9mm in diameter. I’m going to try and find a fixer to use. Do you think I can still use the same developer and stopping solution I’ve used until now ? (With the fixer) .

This is all very new to me but I’m definitely taking notes and looking forward to create some pinhole masterpieces eventually. Your tips are very much appreciated.

 

[MattKing]

Welcome to Photrio.
Looks like you are having fun - hope we can help the fun continue.
It is difficult to say whether the developer you are using will work, because we don't know what you are using.
Lemon juice is mainly citric acid and sugars. Diluted citric acid works well as a stop bath, although I'm not sure whether the sugars are particularly good for the process.
Grocery store plain white vinegar diluted 1 part vinegar to two parts water usually works well as stop bath.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

And at some point, get yourself a safelight. You are using photo paper, so no need to work in complete darkness. You can probably find one used on the internet. Have fun! Pinholing is a blast!

 

[ciniframe]

Don’t know what developer you are using. As I said, if it were me I’d reduce the number of question marks to deal with and just buy a regular paper developer. Can you obtain ilford photo chemistry where you live? Even if you have to mail order them?
If you can then get the 500ml. Ilford Multigrade Developer and the 500ml. Ilford Rapid Fixer. They are both concentrate that are mixed with water to use. Just follow the directions that come with them. Your results will be a lot more predictable by using regular photo chemicals. If you mix up only a quart of working solution at a time the concentrate developer will last 6-12 months if tightly capped. The fixer concentrate will last 12-18 months if tightly capped. The working solutions if full and tightly capped will last 12 months. A quart of working developer will develop at least 200 sheets of paper at 4x5 inch size.

 

[NewbiJPEG]

Don’t know what developer you are using. As I said, if it were me I’d reduce the number of question marks to deal with and just buy a regular paper developer. Can you obtain ilford photo chemistry where you live? Even if you have to mail order them?
If you can then get the 500ml. Ilford Multigrade Developer and the 500ml. Ilford Rapid Fixer. They are both concentrate that are mixed with water to use. Just follow the directions that come with them. Your results will be a lot more predictable by using regular photo chemicals. If you mix up only a quart of working solution at a time the concentrate developer will last 6-12 months if tightly capped. The fixer concentrate will last 12-18 months if tightly capped. The working solutions if full and tightly capped will last 12 months. A quart of working developer will develop at least 200 sheets of paper at 4x5 inch size.

I was able to locate a domestic distributor which has Ilford Multigrade developer, rapid fix, wash aid and FOMA citro-stopping solution relatively cheap. Also, in hindsight I should have read the user manual included with my MGRC deluxe package as it states everything needed in there. Figured making it myself would be more fun, but this should give me the results I’m after.

 

[NewbiJPEG]

And at some point, get yourself a safelight. You are using photo paper, so no need to work in complete darkness. You can probably find one used on the internet. Have fun! Pinholing is a blast!

I’m using a red bike light !

 

[NewbiJPEG]

Welcome to Photrio.
Looks like you are having fun - hope we can help the fun continue.
It is difficult to say whether the developer you are using will work, because we don't know what you are using.
Lemon juice is mainly citric acid and sugars. Diluted citric acid works well as a stop bath, although I'm not sure whether the sugars are particularly good for the process.
Grocery store plain white vinegar diluted 1 part vinegar to two parts water usually works well as stop bath.

Thank you! I was using ingredients listed in a tutorial by Royal Institute on YouTube. Brewed dried mint leaves, 2 vitamin C 1000 Tabletts, baking powder for developing , and water and lemon juice for stopping. I tried this with my Ilford MG RC deluxe satin but they were using IV RC deluxe resin which could perhaps yield different results. I ordered Ilfords own developer, rapid fix and wash aid now and will try it out soon as it gets here.

 

[MattKing]

I’m using a red bike light !

Be cautious with this. It should be at least 120 cm away from the paper, and is best if you bounce the light off a wall or ceiling.
In addition, many red LED's have significant green and blue components, which will fog paper.
In a dark room, hold a CD or DVD near the light and move it too see how the reflections from the surface change. You may see red light only - that is good.
But if you see bits of green or blue as well, that is a sign of problems.
There are much more detailed safelight tests that I recommend, but they may be a bit of a challenge for you right now. One test you can do though is to, in complete darkness, cut or tear a sheet of paper in half. Expose one half to the safelight for the normal length of time, including the time to develop it. With the other half, keep it in complete darkness for the entire time up to and including the stop bath. Fix and rinse both halves and then compare them. If there is some fog in the safelight exposed one, you need to adjust the setup.