Record keeping when developing

I have made a log for recording exposure settings etc. for each roll of film. I record the settings in the field as I shoot. There is also a space for recording details about how the roll was developed. This paper log goes into the 3-ring binder next to the negatives in their PrintFile pages.

Does this forum allow images? I tried to post an example of my film log, but when I try to upload a JPEG image of my film log I get an error:
"The following error occurred - There was a problem uploading your file."

runswithsizzers said:

Does this forum allow images? I tried to post an example of my film log, but when I try to upload a JPEG image of my film log I get an error:
"The following error occurred - There was a problem uploading your file."

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Yes - but you need to have the file small enough to be compatible with the uploader.
A jpeg is usually small enough if you resize it down to 1000 pixels or less on the long side.
Sometimes colour images need to be slightly smaller.

MattKing said:

Yes - but you need to have the file small enough to be compatible with the uploader.
A jpeg is usually small enough if you resize it down to 1000 pixels or less on the long side.
Sometimes colour images need to be slightly smaller.

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Thank you. My image is a grayscale JPEG, 927 x 730 pixels - but it will not upload. I guess I can put it on one of my SmugMug website pages, and then link to here from there.

Here is what part of a page from my film log looks like. I have tried to avoid a lot of handwriting by making it easy to just circle selections whenever practical. It is not particulary fast or convenient to use, and honestly, of somewhat questionable value. Having the data did allow me to narrow down random over-exposures to one particular lens. Having the Location information is sometimes useful as well.

Do not use cheap ball point pens.
I have notebooks used in my occupation from around 25 years ago. Many of the pages written in ball point have faded away completely.
Stick to pencil or an indelible pen of some sort.

runswithsizzers said:

Here is what part of a page from my film log looks like. I have tried to avoid a lot of handwriting by making it easy to just circle selections whenever practical. It is not particulary fast or convenient to use, and honestly, of somewhat questionable value. Having the data did allow me to narrow down random over-exposures to one particular lens. Having the Location information is sometimes useful as well.

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I cannot imagine using any of that information in the future.

faberryman said:

I cannot imagine using any of that information in the future.

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You're just not compulsive enough. What are you doing here?

runswithsizzers said:

Here is what part of a page from my film log looks like.

Click to expand...

Wow that's comprehensive! I'm impressed.

faberryman said:

I cannot imagine using any of that information in the future.

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I know!

Yet that information did allow me to pinpoint a problem I was having with random overexposures due to one of my two 50mm lenses having a sticky aperture. And I also noticed one of my two cameras was consistently under exposing - although there are much simpler ways to discover problems like that.

As I become more confident in using my camera's built in meters and/or my hand held meter, I will probably drop that kind of detailed record keeping. Then I will be able to shoot twice as much film in the same amount of time.

Here's the negative lab notes I use.

I only develop films and scan them.

I keep a giant spreadsheet (Excel and Google Sheet, two copies). Every row in the sheet is a distinct roll of different films. It includes information such like date, camera, lens, film, developer dilution, temperature, time, roll count (a batch can include up to 4 rolls), fixer roll count (fixer is reused for up to 20 rolls), agitation pattern, push or pull, etc.

Each row in the spreadsheet has its own color depending on the film type. So with a glimpse at the colors in the spreadsheet I know the amount of different film types I've shot.

After scan, the pictures (tiff file) are stored into directories, one roll per directory. The name of each directory includes development date, camera, lens, film, roll count. Inside each directory, I also keep a text file with all the information recorded in the spreadsheet. The name of each tiff file include development date, and file counter. If multiple rolls were developed in a batch, the file counter will increase across multiple directories so that they do not overlap even if being put into the same directory.

The pictures are post-processed by Lightroom, and exported into jpeg files. Jpeg files are also stored into directories, one roll per directory. The name of each directory includes all the information of the tiff file directory, plus the location and event the photos were taken.

For sheet films, I also recorded the time (on top of date), aperture, f stop, exposure time, exposure index, location, subject, and development notes (N, N+1, N-1, etc).

I shoot 4x5. For every shot I record date and exposure, film holder number, film type and a description in a small notebook.

I tape the page into a bigger lined notebook when I get home. After development I record the negative number. If I print it I record the date too.

In my neg log I record date and neg number, description and put this in a separate binder and store it elsewhere with the negatives.

Pieter12 said:

You're just not compulsive enough. What are you doing here?

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I was looking at some slides from when I was just starting out years and years ago and noticed that I had written on the slide mount the name of the camera body and the focal length of the lens I had used, which is kind of funny because I only had one body and a couple of lenses. I probably did that because I noticed that that information appeared in the captions of the photos I saw in Popular Photography and Modern Photography and concluded it must be important. I think the only thing I learned by keeping that information is that I am still using some of the same cameras and lenses. Every photographer works differently. Perhaps that and other information is important to keep. I just don't know what photographers are using it for. The same information (and a great deal more) is automatically recorded by digital cameras in the EXIF data. I wonder what that information is used for too.

I'm not a fan of Excel so I have a Word file (basically a chart I keep adding to) that I use to keep all my developing info. Here's how I do it:

1. When I'm shooting I usually write on the roll basic info needed (date, place, ISO, etc.). If I'm travelling and/or shooting a lot of film at once, or testing, I will also write in a notebook to keep all the information needed.
2. When I develop film, as I load the reels I will transfer the info from them onto my Word chart. The chart is normally kept blank (white background).
NOTE: I develop film in the kitchen, and my computer is in the next room. So I do both (develop and update the chart) at the same time - I can update the chart during the presoak, or the wash times, etc. It gives me something to do while I'm waiting.
3. After the film is dry, cut, and placed into Printfile sheets, I write on the sheet (in the space provided) all of the info that's in my Word chart. Once that has been done, I will "colour" that section of the Word chart to know that the film has been properly recorded and stored. If anything is left blank (white background) I know that it is something I have left to do. Here's an example:

The "F" column is the number of the film I developed in a year. This is from 2018, so you are seeing the chart from the 23rd roll I developed that year. The "D" column is the order that I developed the rolls, since I tend to bulk develop in major sessions (usually over a few weeks) according to film/rating/developer. The a/b designation means the two rolls were developed in the same tank. That's useful to know if there is a problem with the film - if the problem appears only on one film, then I know it wasn't the developing that was the problem (unless I mislabeled the rating). The # column is for the number I put on the film when I was shooting, if I did so (usually only when I'm shooting multiple rolls in the same location). Developer/Dilution/Times are all pretty standard, the Notes are for location and dates and any other info I want to put in there.



On the first page of the chart, I also have a "cheat sheet" of my preferred developing times for different film/ISO/developers, and sometimes cameras (I like to overdevelop Holga images to boost the contrast a bit). While I tend to stick to 2-3 developers (usually Rodinal with Acros, Finol with HP5+/Delta 400, and D76 for everything else), sometimes I am forced to try different things, either due to how I rated the film on the day, or the developers that were available to me at the time. All that goes into the cheat sheet, and I update it when I move or have come to realize that I have moved away from my original preferences. You can see in the HP5+ section that I have the "recommended" times (by the manufacturer), but also the times that I prefer to use. Looking at this now I feel I may have to update it to reflect my preferences now, as I think it has been a while.



Anyway, I don't know if any of this helps, but it's what I've been doing for the past ten years or so, and I like it.

As for prints, unless I'm testing different developer/toning regimes, and/or I'm working on a complicated print with lots of burning and dodging, I rarely write on the print or in a notebook, since I've come to realise, like others, that I rarely refer back to those notes. However, I have some nice big notebooks that I keep in the darkroom specifically for that purpose, should I want to do that.