Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Developments

Just developed my first roll of b/w film in... years?! Yes, the bug has bitten me again. So I took stock of my chemicals the other day and found that most were dated 2008, and one was dated 2004. Not good! (As a rule, I put masking tape on my bottles with the month and year of mixing it, or write it on the label if it's pre-mixed. It doesn't last forever, especially the developer. Fixer lasts a little longer.)

Luckily I did have one packet each left of Kodak fixer, developer and hypo clear in the drawer, and made all new batches after cleaning out the bottles. Then I developed the roll of film I had from my Konica T-3 that I finished shooting last fall -- I had found it with film in it from I'm not sure when! All shot with my very cool Konica mount Sigma 35mm lens. We'll see how it turns out when I scan the negs.

my notes - yikes!
While refreshing my chemicals and prepping the darkroom I found my well-used development notes, the ones I pieced together from various sources and modified through trial and error like any good recipe. Decided I'd type them up and print them so I can actually read them this time around!

Was surprised that I remembered how to load the developing tank reel in the dark -- guess I've had more practice at that than I thought. Again, the important thing is knowing where everything is (bottle opener, scissors, tank) so you're not fumbling in the dark. It wasn't all quite like riding a bicycle, but it came back pretty quickly, especially the smell of the chemicals. You develop a fondness for them, somehow. So to speak.

This time around I'll be scanning the negs instead of printing them, and uploading them to flickr after flipping them in Photoshop. Coming soon!

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:14 PM

    would like your help in a little restoration project for a Zeiss Iknonoflex 1c that I recently aquired. Need a film roller (one at top of camera) and a cable release. Also, would love to have the camera looked at by a professional to see what else might be wrong, so that I have it in top notch working order. Can you help?
    Love your blog, and your passion for photography!!

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  2. Anonymous10:45 AM

    Hello I have come across a Voigtlander Vito 2 with another lense and in it's case in pretty good nick. I was wondering are the worth anything please emy.lou@hotmail.co.uk thanks Emma from HULL, UK

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  3. I have just shot three rolls of T-Max 400 after a delay of many years not shooting any film. I gathered my development gear, checked out my remaining chemicals, added some fresh chemicals and I read my previous development notes. I have both the older and newer T-Max 400 film here. The new version adds some more time to the development. Almost ready to; "remember how to ride that bicycle".

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