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Developed my film roll of film: some thoughts
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Ok, I did it wrong and half of the roll is kinda milky(I’ve since been told that this is because I didn’t fill the tank up fully).
I nearly punched my girlfriend in the face trying to get the roll onto the spindle thing to put it in the tank(out of anger and frustration,”want me to do it?” can be really annoying when you’ve dropped the thing on the floor the third time).
And as of yet I have no prints, but some test prints.
All in all it was the single most frustrating thing I have ever done it my life, but I loved it and intent to get it right!
Developing your own stuff really make you appreachate digital all the more, but there’s something about film that digital will never have (I bet they say that about digital in 100 years time when the next photography revolution is in full swing).
Like everything in photography is all about practice, so I’m going to head back in and to it all again and try to cut down the number of mistakes :lol:Hi Joker,
Check out my thread regarding the Darkroom workshop I am running on 25th August. It may be of interest to you as it covers a lot of the problems that darkroom beginners face.
Regards,
PeterLoading a film spiral for the first time can be frustrating but gets easier with practice. Get yourself an out of date roll of film and just keep loading it while looking at what you are doing. Seeing and understanding what is happening when you load it will help in the long term.
Two tips that ought to make loading a little easier. 1. Trim the corners of the lead edge of the film to about 30? so that they are less likely to get caught as they slide through the grooves and 2. make sure your spiral is absolutely bone dry before putting any film on it.
What Thor said..
Also.. make sure your hands are grease free, bone dry and cool. As soon as your hands start to sweat, the moisture will start to make the film stick. I blow a cold air hairdryer through the black bag before starting to load, this seems to keep it dry and also blow it up to make working easier. If the spiral starts to stick, take your hands out, let them dry off and then carry on (making sure no light gets in).
Si
:D
You’ll get it next time… for sure. Like Thorsten, I practiced on a dead roll in daylight, over and over, and then practiced some more in daylight but *with my eyes closed* … Now, when I go into the cupboard to load up a reel (or even use a changing bag) I still close my eyes. Just habit, I guess.
C.
Maybe try a different film next time. Ilford and Fuji are easier to open than kodak. There is a small film opener which is may be helpful, i think i seen them in Gunns. For Kodak i actually use a large pliers.
Here is a useful tip for washing negatives so you wont get drying marks or dirty negs. After normal washing ,get a bottle of de-ionised water (car shop suppliers, its used for car batteries). Put 4ml of wetting agent and a litre of the water into a spray bottle. Hang the washed negatives in the drying area, bathroom, ensuite, or somewhere dust free after they are washed. Spray them at close range both sides with the de-ionised water and wetting agent. Hold your hand behind the negatives to control the spray preventing it from going on walls. The water will last for ages.
Leave the room slowly so as not to create dust and dont be tempted to look and handle the negatives. Return only when they are dry and ready to be filed in negative sleeves.
Eddie wrote:
Ilford and Fuji are easier to open than kodak. There is a small film opener which is may be helpful, i think i seen them in Gunns. For Kodak i actually use a large pliers.
No need to go to all that trouble! When you rewind the film, make sure you leave the film leader sticking out of the roll, just like it was when you placed it in the camera. Then you can cut the tab off and prepare the film for loading onto the reel, and you can start the film on its way and can see what you are doing. Once the start of the film is on the reel, move to your cupboard/darkroom/changing bag and continue loading all of the film onto the reel in complete darkness. When you reach the end, simply cut the tail end off using a scissors and feed in the last few inches of film onto the reel. Place into your tank and close the lid and turn on the lights to complete your film developing. There’s no messing with film canister openers in the dark and the film stays protected while it’s transferring from film canister to reel, instead of flying around all over the place, getting scratched.
Eddie wrote:
Maybe try a different film next time. Ilford and Fuji are easier to open than kodak. There is a small film opener which is may be helpful, i think i seen them in Gunns. For Kodak i actually use a large pliers.
Here is a useful tip for washing negatives so you wont get drying marks or dirty negs. After normal washing ,get a bottle of de-ionised water (car shop suppliers, its used for car batteries). Put 4ml of wetting agent and a litre of the water into a spray bottle. Hang the washed negatives in the drying area, bathroom, ensuite, or somewhere dust free after they are washed. Spray them at close range both sides with the de-ionised water and wetting agent. Hold your hand behind the negatives to control the spray preventing it from going on walls. The water will last for ages.
Leave the room slowly so as not to create dust and dont be tempted to look and handle the negatives. Return only when they are dry and ready to be filed in negative sleeves.
Great tip! cheers
Si
Thorsten wrote:
Eddie wrote:
Ilford and Fuji are easier to open than kodak. There is a small film opener which is may be helpful, i think i seen them in Gunns. For Kodak i actually use a large pliers.
No need to go to all that trouble! When you rewind the film, make sure you leave the film leader sticking out of the roll, just like it was when you placed it in the camera. Then you can cut the tab off and prepare the film for loading onto the reel, and you can start the film on its way and can see what you are doing. Once the start of the film is on the reel, move to your cupboard/darkroom/changing bag and continue loading all of the film onto the reel in complete darkness. When you reach the end, simply cut the tail end off using a scissors and feed in the last few inches of film onto the reel. Place into your tank and close the lid and turn on the lights to complete your film developing. There’s no messing with film canister openers in the dark and the film stays protected while it’s transferring from film canister to reel, instead of flying around all over the place, getting scratched.
I have used this method and would recommend it also , but be careful with the following, 1. Label the film so you dont re-expose it. 2. Put the exposed marked roll back into its plastic holder, if you throw it into the bottom of your camera bag the dust flaps might pick up some grit that will scratch the film as you pull it out. 3. Pull the film out very slowly to avoid static electricity hitting you film as you pull it from the canister.
Stick your thumb in the slot,
and peel it apart.That’s what I did with the Kodak ones anyway-
and anything else I couldn’t flip the top off-Eddie’s observation about grit is enough to stop any more talk about leaving tongues hanging out-
You didn’t mention,
but I presume your reels are new?As they get older,
they’ll pick up colloidal silver,
and if you think its difficult now,
you should try 120 (or god forbid, 220) on a dirty reel-
impossible-I’m sure there’s a chemical solution :roll: to the problem,
but a good rub of the slots with a chewed up match removes the stuff-
and ensures that you don’t get telltale bright crescents from the kinks-Which I’m sure your girlfriend will be ecstatic about-
j
I use a bottle opener to open the film cannister. I then take the film out and thread the leader through the opening and put the film back in the opened cannister. This works with Ilford film anyway.
Good tips on washing the negs Eddie.
To reduce dust I run my shower for a few minutes to get some steam before I hang the negs in the bathroom. That seems to remove some of the dust out of the air. (Where I live is very dry and arid during the summer so there is a lot of dust in the air).
Eddie wrote:
I have used this method and would recommend it also , but be careful with the following, 1. Label the film so you dont re-expose it. 2. Put the exposed marked roll back into its plastic holder, if you throw it into the bottom of your camera bag the dust flaps might pick up some grit that will scratch the film as you pull it out. 3. Pull the film out very slowly to avoid static electricity hitting you film as you pull it from the canister.
Good point. If you’re worried about the fact that you might re-use the film, just rewind it right back in and then use a film leader retriever to pull it out again later. I still think this is an easier option than using a “bottle opener”, but whatever works best for you is the way to go really. Two pieces of 35mm film together make an excellent film leader retriever if you can’t find the “real” thing and have gotten me out of a tight spot on more than one occasion.
Thorsten wrote:
I still think this is an easier option than using a “bottle opener…”
I like to practice first with a nice bottle of pale ale. :D
hey, thanks for all the reply guys.
Lots of things to try next time i’m in the darkroom :D
As for the age of the stuff I’m using, most of it is pretty old but has never really been used.
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