For the newbies out there that are afraid they might mess up ...

So, I was developing some film yesterday, 120 TXP in RolloPyro.

It's a process with it's own rhythm.

Sodium Metaborate Pre-Soak
Developer that is to be mixed 1-minute before dumping into the tank
2 quick water washes
Fix
Sodium Metaborate Post-Soak
Wash
Final rinse

I had just finished the pre-soak, grabbed the beaker of developer and had half of it poured in the tank before I realized that only part A was in, I had not yet added part B which is supposed to be mixed for a minute before dumping in. Luckily part B was in a syringe and I squirted it into the last half of the developer and finished dumping it into the tank without pre mixing.

Worked out perfectly. A little excitement and a nice result. I learned a little too.

For the newbies out there that are afraid they might mess up the developing of their film I say relax and have fun. The processes and materials we use are very forgiving. Get things in the right order and you'll do fine.

mark

will it be your new routine ?
great things happen from mistakes !
( nice save btw ! )

Yeah John I think so, not going to worry about pre mixing; just squirt and pour.

Mark, thanks for posting. Its easy for the noob to be intimidated - especially in the absense of any mistakes being mentioned. My last foul-up was soak/agitate w/ stop bath for 5 min. instead about 30 sec. 'Didn't seem to matter. Fix as usual & the negs seemed fine.
BTW - I'm just over the hill from you in Columbia Cty. Hollar if I can be of any help.

Using stop bath for more than 30 seconds will not cause a problem, since it only stops the developing. Leaving it for a l-o-n-g t-i-m-e could cause a problem. But the film needs to be fixed.

HiHoSilver said:

Mark, thanks for posting. Its easy for the noob to be intimidated - especially in the absense of any mistakes being mentioned. My last foul-up was soak/agitate w/ stop bath for 5 min. instead about 30 sec. 'Didn't seem to matter. Fix as usual & the negs seemed fine.
BTW - I'm just over the hill from you in Columbia Cty. Hollar if I can be of any help.

Click to expand...

Yep there are all kinds of mistakes that can be made without causing big problems.

Been through Columbia City. Thanks for the offer.

Sirius Glass said:

Using stop bath for more than 30 seconds will not cause a problem, since it only stops the developing. Leaving it for a l-o-n-g t-i-m-e could cause a problem. But the film needs to be fixed.

Click to expand...

I did forget a print in the wash water once long enough to dissolve the gelatin.

I had prints in the water so long the emulsion slid off.

I did forget a print in the wash water once long enough to dissolve the gelatin.

I had prints in the water so long the emulsion slid off.

That's something I'm sure I'll do. 'Still trying to figure out how to get some light proof walls up in the garage. And an exhaust fan, and...

'Love your signature line, Mark.

This is a symphony of errors. I was setting up to shoot this at my local park, a couple drove in and started asking a bunch of questions, while they were starting a fire to have a cook out, smoke in my face. I decided I wanted to shoot the scene vertical, had to pull the camera from the tripod and loosen the QR plate to rotate the back, was answering more dumb questions and turned it the wrong way, didn't realize the holder loading gate pointing straight down until I was ready to shoot. Pull the camera and re-do. Start reframe and reset, re focus, etc. finally ready and shoot, open one stop and take a second shot for insurance. Pack up and leave, the whole while they were babbling at me(I bet that camera takes neat OLD pictures, huh. I have an Instamatic!) . Got home and load the film in my processing drum, mixed my PMK at wrong dilution(half strength-didn't catch that until I was 6.5 mins into development)Then realized I forgot to add part B(syringe still on counter loaded to mix --CRAP, stop the drum and figured what've I got to lose and added it to the drum, added 7 minutes to my timer(not nearly enough for half strength , but oh well). Finished developing, pulled the negatives out, WOW, one was a little thin, one was very printable--go figure.

markbarendt said:

Yeah John I think so, not going to worry about pre mixing; just squirt and pour.

Click to expand...

sounds good !

Forgivness

When I started shooting film, I was very very careful about my exposure. I was paranoid about getting it wrong.
Then I saw an exhibit on dark rooms around the world, and it included a number of photos of darkrooms from developing nations and third world nations.
Many of these weren't just converted bathrooms, but converted living rooms and bed rooms. Everything was dirty and stained. The water was brown. And yet, even in these conditions that are so far from the dust-free ultra clean darkrooms we are told are required, people are developing film and making great prints. It made me realize that in comparison to these conditions, I do have an ultra clean dark room with perfect water supply.
Are they spotless gallery quality prints? Maybe not, but no one ever said that was the only goal of print making.
After that I relaxed a bit about my own darkroom, and I started being a bit more relaxed about the entire process. What I've learned is that film is incredibly forgiving in so many aspects. Errors at one point can be corrected for later (exposure and dev temperature in particular caused me the most angst, and yet only need to be "close" to get usable results), or embraced and exagerated when that works.
It's been very freeing and I look at 35mm photography as my garage band / punk photography. It doesn't need to be polished, it can be off the cuff and irrelevant. and it is often more interesting (to me) for that.

I started off working to be very exact. As I made mistakes I learned that there is some forgiveness. I still work to stay on the straight and narrow but I do not worry about small strayings.