Help me before I give up on Photography

Jimi said:

Its very cool that everyone here left comments to help me out in a time of need, but Ive come to realize that there must be something else fundamentally wrong. It cant be kodak photo-flo or edwal, tap water or distilled, squeegee fingers or normal drying because there have been maybe people on this thread(and from the research I did) who completely contradict each other and swear by their methods. Its a big let down for me, but I promise to keep on trying until I find what works for me. Thank you all very much.

Sincerely,
Sebastian

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*******
Things you should know. You are beginning with a film that sometimes gives experienced darkroom workers fits. Secondly, drying marks are 99 percent a problem with your final rinse/drying technique.
I was taught darkroom by down and dirty darkroom rats who had been working every day in labs since the early 1930s. There are no magic bullets. Just consistent, proper, technique.
Lastly, start a new thread: and do it the way I do--ignore all those other folks......!!.

Kodafix is a rapid fixer, despite what some people say. The bottle that I have states that it contains ammonium thiosulfate, not sodium thiosulfate. I routinely fix my films (Plus-X and Tri-X) for only 5-6 minutes when fresh.

nickrapak said:

Kodafix is a rapid fixer, despite what some people say. The bottle that I have states that it contains ammonium thiosulfate, not sodium thiosulfate. I routinely fix my films (Plus-X and Tri-X) for only 5-6 minutes when fresh.

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Kodafix here in Canada is a powder, and is not a rapid fixer.

So it may be an issue of packaging.

Matt

Fill the tank with water, put one drop in. I've been doing this and haven't had issues like yours for three years. Just Try it, but I can assure you that 25 drops is overkill.

I too think it is an underfix problem (pink tinge) and washing (marks).

I use Agepon (Agfa version of PhotoFlo) and add 1 cap (small 125ml bottle) to 1L for washing. When you hang the film after the wash-aid step, the water should slide down the film, if not, it's exhausted and you need to mix a new batch. I weight my film with film clips, (or two clothes pegs if I run out) and this ensures no collection of water anywhere along the film.

When I use TMax film, I always fix longer than my other films - simply because of the pink "stain" taking longer to remove. Admittedly, I've got a few rolls that I didn't fix for longer and they still have a slight pinkish tinge, but that hasn't affected my printing.

And I also agree with John, TMax film can be a real b**** for a first time user; I much prefer Tri X which is so much more accepting of errors for first time users.

Don't give up on film photography - as all of the posters will tell you, it is a trial and error process, fraught with mistakes that can drive you crazy, but once you nail your technique, you'll never want to give up on it! (I've fixed before developing - where did all my images go??; left a film in water overnight - hmmm why is the water all black and slimy?? Oh no! No images here either! )

We've all done it - it's part of the learning process, and one of the many quirks associated with the wonder of Silver Halide photography.

Sponge and Blade Squeegees

Jimi said:

Also, what about using a sponge to collect the water
on the surface of the negative?

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In my early years at processing film I used the
Yankee Sponge Squeegee on scores of rolls. I don't
recall any problems. Now I use an eight blade squeegee,
a Jobo. A marvelous accessory for any darkroom. Be sure
to wet it in the Photo Flo solution used for the film. With all
the surface water removed film dries fast. Dan

Jimi said:

Also, what about using a sponge to collect the water on the surface of the negative?

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I realize there are members here who think this is heresy, but this is the very method I use on 35mm and have no problems. I've found the secret is, use one sponge reserved for this, and keep it clean. Dampen it and wring it out really well before using and finally, when using it (make sure it's large enough to do this) fold it around the strip of film and very gently apply pressure, almost no pressure really, you're just bringing it barely in contact with the film. Move slowly down the strip. You're not wiping the water off so much as absorbing it as you go. No scratches and the strip dries very quickly to say the least.

I was taught by a very good darkroom worker to use a chamois on the film before drying. Well washed & slightly damp in the photo-flo mix. I might go back to doing that & turn off the dryer heat.

MattKing said:

Kodafix here in Canada is a powder, and is not a rapid fixer.

So it may be an issue of packaging.

Matt

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Ah, in the States it is basically Kodak Rapid Fixer with the hardener incorporated in. I don't know why they feel the need to sell two separate versions of the same chemical, but they do.

nickrapak said:

Kodafix is a rapid fixer, despite what some people say. The bottle that I have states that it contains ammonium thiosulfate, not sodium thiosulfate. I routinely fix my films (Plus-X and Tri-X) for only 5-6 minutes when fresh.

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That's not very rapid in my book for those films, with fresh fixer.

If you hang the film vertically, use a weighted clip at the bottom, mix your wetting agent exactly as instructed and dry underlow heat, you will have no problems. There is no need to use sponges, squeeges, a chamois or anything else. If you simply air dry in a open environment then you way wish to use one of the tools described to assist in rapid removal of excess liquid as it will take much longer for the film to dry without heat. However, you must be extremely gentle, the tool must be perfectly clean and used as little as possible. Beware that some sponges and even a chamois can leave bits of debris on the surface of a piece of film. A squeege can easily scratch. There are pitfalls to using tools such as these. The less you contact the film the better off you will be. Get yourself a drying cabinet or make one and your darkroom life will be much better, guaranteed.

alchohol...q

i'd stay away from the rubbing alchohol, could be part of the problem...

I'd have a friend, more accomplisghed process one roll, or send to a lab. it'll cost ~15 to have them develop - either way you'll have a benchmark. better still have a more accomplished photo friend process a roll with you, monitoring your technique from start to finish.

I haven't read all the comments but there is a product called PEC-12 that can be used for cleaning negatives.

Mix the Photo-Flo per instructions, 1:200, hang and let air dry. Keep everything off the wet film as you can NOT improve the drip dry process. NO fingers, sponges, squeegees, cloths or anything else. In fact I sometimes spray the hanging film with PhotoFlo/wash water to be sure any contaminated water runs down..

If you still get the drip marks, do the final rinse with distilled water and 10 drops of PhotoFlow.

Some get away with a drop or two, but my 50 year experience tells me too little is usually the problem.

What you have is minerals disolved in the water that collect at the edge of standing/drying droplets and they dry in place rather than sheeting off.

I just use 3 drops of Photo-Flo in about 300 ml of water (enough to fill the developing tank to the brim). I let the film sit long enough for me to wash out whatever containers (beakers, funnels...) that I have dirtied up during the film processing. Then I take the reel out of the tank, shake it a few times to get the bulk of the water off of the film, take the film off of the reel, and hang it in my shower stall. The film usually dries in 2-3 hours and I have very few problems with dust or water spots.

In case it makes a difference, I use Nikor stainless steel reels.

You've noticed that everyone has a preference. What hasn't been much emphasized is that everyone's in different darkrooms with different water in each darkroom, different ways of working, shooting different films etc. So, no wonder there are as many solutions as photographers. You need to find out what works for you.

Be willing to have a bunch of failures on the way to finding how you need to process reliably. It's your investment in your own expertise.

Be methodical. (And it sounds like you already are. Good!) Make exact notes of what you intend to do on each roll, and then, of what you really did when you are done. All that does is makes you purposeful, and gives you a paper trail to track down issues.

Shoot unimportant rolls of film till you have the process down cold for your situation, your water, your darkroom, your way of processing ... Then, do the important film.

You can always just buy some q-tips and film cleaner. It is pretty easy. Get a q-tip damp with the cleaner and then, starting in the center of the frame, wipe towards the edge. I think Edwal makes a good film cleaner. It is alcohol based and leaves no residue.

I'd agree it looks like a photo flow problem, I have read most of the replies but here is two little snippets of advice.
Make sure the film is fixed and washed, lack of washing can leave marks.
Hard water can also be a problem so do your last rinse in distilled water.
Also if you use a drying cabinet place a small bowl of water in the bottom of the cabinet, this keeps the humidity of the cabinet higher and helps prevent un-even drying.


Hope this helps
Mark