"Pull" film during processing...

Hey folks,

I have some 120 roll film that I need to "pull" during processing and I'm not quite sure how to do this. I'm guessing each roll has been overexposed by 3 stops (not in all the frames, but in most). I was shooting 400 iso film through a Holga in pretty bright sunlight.

Anyways, if I cut the development times, will this effectively "pull" the image? What I'm worried about is that the images will tend to look underexposed. Or will the +3 stops of light negate this? Also, how long do I cut development times to pull 1 stop? Could I simply multiply this time by 3 to pull the film 3 stops?

Thanks for your help,

Jason

BTW, I was shooting Kodak Tri-X and TMY-2. I chose ISO 400 film because I am going to be passing my Holga around to some friends to shoot with. I'm providing the film and will process the negatives for them and also provide scans. I figured ISO 400 film would be a good film speed to work with. The Holga has a flash for indoor shots. Should be a fun "project!"

Edit: OOPS, I will be using HC-110 to develop the film. Sorry, but that is all I have at the moment!

True, 100 speed film is more appropriate for bright sun in a Holga. You're probably just 2 stops over. Not such a big deal. I would recommend cutting development time by 20% on the first roll you process and see how it looks/scans/prints, and then make further adjustments if necessary with the remaining rolls.

You know, many photographers overexpose film and cut development time as standard practice (to increase shadow detail and reduce contrast of bright sunny days), so just cut the HC-110b time by 20% and you'll be close to optimum.

Thanks David, I'll give that a try.

The only issue is, I know the conditions in which I was shooting in, so I can make a ballpark estimate of how long to cut the development times for. However, when I start to develop the rolls of film that my friends used to shoot with, I'm not so sure what to expect. Especially if they use flash indoors, if I cut development time, I may run into some issues. Perhaps I should dissuade the use of flash or better yet, remove the batteries all together.

Any takes on this?

Jason

No, use the flash. That is the great thing about flashes -- they give you bright sunlight in all your shots. Gives them uniform lighting. And then you can pull by 20% or so and be sure that they will all come out very close to optimal.

You're passing around a Holga? Going to show everyone how to advance the film?

OK, well I just got out of the darkroom. I developed one at 20% less than normal developing time. There's no blown highlights, but definitely seems a tad brighter than I would like. So for the next roll, I developed at 50% of normal developing time. This seems to work better for me. I won't know for sure until I scan in the negatives tomorrow evening, but 50% of the developing time seems to be OK.

Yeah David, I'm passing around a Holga to some friends. It's just a fun project for myself and hopefully for my friends too! I'll show them the basics on how to use the Holga, but the creativity process will be their own. I'm going to ask them to keep mental (or even better yet, a handwritten journal) of what they are capturing on film. This will help me in the processing phase. I haven't used the Holga much myself and other than the 2 rolls I shot and developed today, it is all new to me as well. The results should be interesting

Thanks for your help!

Jason

The standard is -20% per stop for pull development and +25% per stop for push development. With that in mind, be sure not to pull too much...denser negatives are better than thinner negs.

Why dont you just use 100 speed film, rather than pulling 400 speed film by 2 stops?

Thanks for that info jfish.

Geoff, I decided that 400 ISO film would be a good balance for both outdoor and indoor shooting. I won't be shooting with the Holga, but my friends will, and I'm sure they will shoot in different lighting conditions. Perhaps for the next round I'll use ISO 200 film.

Jason

Developing for N-3 is a stretch. In my film calibrations (different materials) I have to dilute the developer by ~50% and decrease the time by ~50% to get N-2. All of these recommendations are just guidelines so you are doing it right to gradually test according to your on conditions. Of course, testing before you take real photos is always easier.

jeroldharter said:

Developing for N-3 is a stretch. In my film calibrations (different materials) I have to dilute the developer by ~50% and decrease the time by ~50% to get N-2. All of these recommendations are just guidelines so you are doing it right to gradually test according to your on conditions. Of course, testing before you take real photos is always easier.

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Mine isn't a guideline. Mine is from doing film professionally for 30+ years, and thousands and thousands of rolls..of course (thankfully) not a large percentage of that was pull processing. But there were enough situations to know that it is the correct formula.

GeoffHill said:

Why dont you just use 100 speed film, rather than pulling 400 speed film by 2 stops?

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Well, it also gives a different look than just using 100 speed film, and therefore might be a creative choice.

Thanks again for the help guys. Diluting the developer was something I did not think about, but seeing as I am using a 1:50 ratio of HC-110, diluting it even further seems like a stretch, but may be something I'll have to experiment with.

jfish said:

Mine isn't a guideline. Mine is from doing film professionally for 30+ years, and thousands and thousands of rolls..of course (thankfully) not a large percentage of that was pull processing. But there were enough situations to know that it is the correct formula.

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I didn't mean any disrespect. I have a lot of respect for experience and yours is certainly more than mine. However, your method would not work for me as confirmed by my own testing. And if I understood your post, you arrived at your own method by your own testing in your own conditions. With any questions about method, the answer is always to confirm in real time situations.

For any "pull" processing situation, the solution is always less development. Whether that is achieved through temperature, concentration, or time remains to be tested.