Light leak? Or developing issue?

Hi everyone,

I recently started hand processing black and white film as a result of the stay at home orders. However, several of my rolls have mysterious lines/shapes... I'm trying to figure out whether these imperfections are:

1. A result of my film getting dented/wrinkled from loading it in the film developing reel?
2. Uneven chemistry? Like when you first pour developer in the tank?
3. Water/drying streaks?
4. Small light leaks during developing? I'm developing my film in 99% darkness... although it's not perfect. I don't notice any overall fogging though?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Hoping to avoid this in future developing...

Welcome to Photrio.
I'm going to add a 4th possibility - residue from uneven drying.
If you look close at the negatives themselves - not the scans - can you see (with a magnifier) the artifacts either in the image or, when they are held at an angle to the light, as an irregularity in the reflection of light from the surface?

MattKing said:

Welcome to Photrio.
I'm going to add a 4th possibility - residue from uneven drying.
If you look close at the negatives themselves - not the scans - can you see (with a magnifier) the artifacts either in the image or, when they are held at an angle to the light, as an irregularity in the reflection of light from the surface?

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Thanks Matt. I can see the streak on the negative but cannot discern whether it's part of the negative or a drying issue. I admittedly did not use photo flo... so it could very well be that. Maybe I'll wash the negatives again using photo flo and re-dry?

A surfactant like photo-flo - mixed carefully to the right dilution - is a really good idea.
If it is on the surface (a drying issue) you can usually see it best if you look at how the light reflects off of the surface of the negative.

I just scanned a few more negatives which seem to have the same problem, more pronounced...

Hi aggy1214, welcome to Photrio.

I agree with Matt, it looks to me like drying marks, which are caused by uneven drying. A wetting agent like Kodak Photo-Flo or Ilford Ilfotol prevents them by breaking up surface tension and allowing the water to flow freely off the film when it's hung to dry. Just add a few drops to the final rinse water in the tank (not too much or you'll have greasy film; you need just enough to allow you to make surface bubbles with your fingers), invert the tank five times, dump the water and hang the film to dry.

To remove drying marks, put the negatives in a developing dish of lukewarm water and add a few drops of wetting agent. Soak the film for a few minutes then gently rub over the affected area with a clean, wet fingertip, soft, non-shedding cloth or chamois then hang the film to dry. One bottle of wetting agent will probably be enough to last a lifetime - my Ilfotol is about fifteen years old now!

kevs said:

Hi aggy1214, welcome to Photrio.

I agree with Matt, it looks to me like drying marks, which are caused by uneven drying. A wetting agent like Kodak Photo-Flo or Ilford Ilfotol prevents them by breaking up surface tension and allowing the water to flow freely off the film when it's hung to dry. Just add a few drops to the final rinse water in the tank (not too much or you'll have greasy film; you need just enough to allow you to make surface bubbles with your fingers), invert the tank five times, dump the water and hang the film to dry.

To remove drying marks, put the negatives in a developing dish of lukewarm water and add a few drops of wetting agent. Soak the film for a few minutes then gently rub over the affected area with a clean, wet fingertip, soft, non-shedding cloth or chamois then hang the film to dry. One bottle of wetting agent will probably be enough to last a lifetime - my Ilfotol is about fifteen years old now!

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Thanks for this advice! I'm hoping it is in fact a drying issue, and not an exposure issue. Do you have any advice for if the film is already cut and put in a sleeve? Wondering how I can hang dry the film without much film edge.

aggy1214 said:

Thanks for this advice! I'm hoping it is in fact a drying issue, and not an exposure issue. Do you have any advice for if the film is already cut and put in a sleeve? Wondering how I can hang dry the film without much film edge.

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I use wooden clothes pegs (pins) to hang my negs to dry in my kitchen. To dry an already cut mid-roll strip I clip the very top or bottom corner of the neg strip to hang it vertically. If there's a "sacrificial" negative (poorly exposed, out-of-focus etc) that you'll never want to print at the end; just peg it there and be done. Almost inevitably though, the best negs are at the ends!

When you hang the film do not use a squeegee just let the fluids drain off. If you want put a paper towel at the lowest corner of the film to draw off any collecting drops. Leave the film to dry for 24 hours.

120 film can be a pain... These indeed look like drying marks.

A couple of thoughts.

Do use a wetting agent at the proper dilution. Mix your wetting agent with distilled water. This is especially important if you have hard or mineral-laden tap water. Soak the negatives for longer than the recommended 30 seconds in this if you have hard water to give the minerals in the emulsion a chance to leach out into the wetting agent. Don't keep your wetting agent around; use it one-session (or maybe two). It grows slime and won't last long. In contrast to Sirius' recommendation, however, I always squeegee excess water off by running the film between index and second fingers (clean, soft fingers...) before hanging film to dry.

On the outside chance that the marks are caused during development, check and refine your developing technique. The culprits here would be: 1. accidentally getting parts of the film wet while others remain dry before developing (e.g., when not drying tank and reels thoroughly before reuse), 2. pouring the developer in the tank too slowly and irregularly (this especially if you don't pre-soak), 3. contaminating the film with chemicals when loading the reels (hands not clean and dry), and 4. kinking the film when loading the reels (this makes little dark crescents, though, so probably not your problem). If you don't pre-soak, you need to be really quick getting the developer into the tank, especially if you use multi-reel tanks.

Good luck finding your problem,

Doremus

Doremus Scudder said:

In contrast to Sirius' recommendation, however, I always squeegee excess water off by running the film between index and second fingers (clean, soft fingers...) before hanging film to dry.

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Internet is split on squeegee-vs-not. I've done both, using this one from B&H. No-squeegee party says "you will scratch film". Always-squeegee party says "you will have dry marks, even with a wetting agent". I've never scratched anything with a squeegee but I did have drying marks even on film treated with a wetting agent. But I believe it comes down to technique in both cases:

• If using a squeegee, make sure to store it in a clean, dust-free place and rinse under running water + dip it into the wetting solution right before using.
• If not, make sure your water in the wetting solution is good, distilled is best. I also like to gently tap the film while it's still on a reel, so most of the water will run off across it, versus running down the full length accumulating into heavier drops at the bottom.

You can rehang 35mm strips that have been cut by opening a paper clip a bit, slip a sprocket hole onto it then suspend the upper edge of the paper clip with something. Same at the lower edge, paper clips and even using a few clothes pin as weights.

I agree it looks like drying marks.

There a large number of threads of great length debating how best to do this.
From my experience having moved homes several times, there is no one "right" answer. Your results depend on the quality of your wash water, drying temperature, and humidity. At warmer temps and lower humidity, the water may dry off before it runs off.
When I first started, Ilfosol and a quick run between the fingers did the trick - this house had well water.
I moved to a nearby house with municipal water, and found that a distilled waters soak did the trick.
I moved again to a house at higher altitude with higher humidity and well water and found that LFN drops worked best followed by a wipe with soft guaze.
At my current house, I still use LFN drops, but am going to try PhotoFlo to see if it works better.