D.R.A. #1: Your weakest link
when developing black and white film
This is the first post of the series I am calling (D)ark(R)oom (A)dventures, and it deals with the process of developing black and white film and all the pain involved.
Why this post
In my opinion, when it comes to developing film, this old saying holds incredibly true: "The chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
It's a fairly discussed topic over the internet, with tons of blog posts and YouTube videos discussing this extensively, so why bother writing another one? Well, probably because I read so many of those [even before buying the chemicals and equipment (!)] I felt a little bit like Quixote reading chivalry novels when, instead, I was actually watching developer comparisons from YouTube channels with 112 subscribers.
The good thing is that I noticed that some extremely crucial details were scattered across multiple blog posts, so this is an attempt to bring all of the most relevant ones to one single place that is concise (we'll see about that) and simple, so even I can come back to this from time to time if I forget something.
In other words, this is just a road map that leads you to where the information lies. I only included some examples of things I did wrong so you can avoid them while simultaneously embarrassing myself publicly online.
What's here
We all know the process, so here is an oversimplification:
Film Development 101:
The Dark Side of the Tank part
The spooling nightmare
Adventures into the light-sealed tank
The Margarita part
The developer arc
The stop bath (or simply water)
The part that was the hardest to invent
The 10 min flood
The watery water
The Hang and Dry(ing) part
Return from the dark side of the tank
The dust agony streaks back
Scanning / Printing in the darkroom
Bonus track: Extra stuff I didn't know where to put
Prepare your water the day before
Divide et impera
So, if you are unfamiliar with the steps above, this post probably isn't for you, and you will be better off using your time elsewhere, such as @AnalogResurgence's excellent YouTube video.
As I mentioned, what I am trying to do here is to point out some details that were critical to me and led to some unwanted results (!). So this is for people who have done it before and want to see other people's process or who are just gathering as much information as they can before starting but who have a pretty well-rounded idea about the entire process.
So, the rest of this post will be divided into the above-mentioned steps.
1. The Dark Side of the Tank part
[1.a] The spooling nightmare
Well... this part is probably one of the most intimidating of all the subsequent steps (just below the final moment when you actually see the results), and it gave me some cold sweat, so I am MORE than sure you also had this (don't lie to me). Below are a couple of tips to make this less scary:
(i) Be gentle, for Ansel Adams's sake.
When spooling, it is incredibly easy to ruin some frames if you are not gentle with the film. Please remember all your precious memories are still light-sensitive, and if you smash them into the reel, you will damage the edges (example below), which is extremely annoying when scanning or printing in the darkroom.
Below is an example of a damaged edge on my film. I was lucky enough to only slightly ruin the actual picture, but it was tough to keep it flat, given that it was all crumbled.
Needless to say, I was frustrated, so again, be gentle (please). This is how the scan of this negative looked:
(ii) Practice in plain sight
So the thing is, if you are taking photos on film, you are already familiar with compromises. You can perfectly take (even better exposed) pictures with your phone, but you (somehow) are still loading those expensive rolls into a more than 30-year-old film camera. Hence, if you are willing to make sacrifices, then I (strongly) encourage you to sacrifice one (holy) roll for practice.
Practice your spooling before going to the changing bag (or darkroom) to see what you are doing, and then practice again inside the changing bag until you feel comfortable doing it (gently). This will give you some confidence, eventually (I guess).
Full disclaimer: I am no master myself, but I hope I can stop breaking a sweat every time I do this step in the (near?) future.
(iii) Cut the lead correctly
For this part, I don't think I need to write anything, considering the incredibly and outstandingly informative design I made below (using paint):
The point is that if you don't have a clean cut (without half sprockets), you will have an agonizing time trying to advance the film through the reel.
Some people also cut the corners of the film, but I am too scared of getting asymmetrical cuts (or cutting my finger) in the dark, so I don't do it. Again, this is up to you; if you have a better way, leave a comment below (PLEASE HELP).
(D) Bonus Track: watch this.
[1.b] Adventures into the light-sealed tank
Now you have your reel(s) loaded and ready. I think the only thing I can add is to make sure you lock the lid before you go to the bright side again. On Paterson tanks, you should hear a soft clicking sound. Make sure you hear that. Otherwise you will find an blank roll in the end.
2. The Margarita part (or chemical-shaking)
[2.a] The developer arc
(i) The Massive Dev Chart app
You should probably use the Massive Dev Chart app to both get your developing times and also a really nice timer; it is incredibly handy. It is not free; in fact, it would make you around one roll poorer, but I think it is totally worth it. If you choose this path, keep in mind that the developing times provided are the average of (self-reported) users' results. If that keeps you awake at night, you can always rely on the official documentation of each developer. Here is an example of the one I use most often: Ilford DDX. Now, whatever developing time you choose, ensure you follow the correct working solution ratio for your film (water-to-developer ratio).
(ii) Consistency
There are different types of agitation (see video below), but the most critical part of getting replicable and consistent results across rolls is sticking to one agitation method either from the beginning or after some experimentation. That's up to you.
(iii) Pouring the developer into the tank
I've noticed some controversies about this part, and I found an incredibly reasonable argument about using a "non-standard way" to pour the solutions into the tank. The video below starts exactly in the part that explains how this goes. In this case, this was done for two 120 rolls (same working solution for 3 rolls of 35mm).
So, instead of pouring the liquid into the tank, he:
TURNS OF THE LIGHTS (!) (You need a darkroom for that)
Opens the tank
Takes the reels out
Pours the chemicals inside
Dumps the reels into the tank
Closes the tank
Starts agitating
I currently do not use this method because I develop my rolls using a smaller tank suitable for two 35mm rolls. Hence, the time it takes for the liquids to fill the tank is only about 10 seconds. Additionally, my developing times are around 16 minutes (yes, I push my poor rolls a lot), so proportionally speaking, those 10 seconds are not as significant as for shorter developing times (say below 4 or 5 minutes).
(iv) Extra precautions!
These are some parts of the development process when everything can go south...
(iv - Part I) Pour the developer gently!!!:
if you spill out some of the solutions outside the tank, you are pretty much... cursed (to use a softer word). You will not have time to prepare the replacement of the working solution because you can not tell the chemicals to wait for you to activate while you measure the rest of the solution. Actually, the best you can do if that happens is to continue the process, but if the quantity is large, you will end up with something that looks like this.
This photo was taken by my partner (@lousy.shots), and I just told her I did it on purpose to get an eerie effect on her pictures, which she replied to by not talking to me for over a week.
kidding; she took the risk with me as a partner and, now, as the developer of her pictures, so she wasn't mad (you can also fairly easily fix this on Lightroom with a linear mask). However, (un)surprisingly, she just gave me this book for Christmas. Touché, I guess.
(iv - Part II) Prepare a bit more solution than recommended.
Related to the previous point, I've also seen people recommending preparing 10% (or more) extra solution relative to what the tanks recommend just in case you spill out some of it or simply to ensure that the film will be submerged in the chemicals the whole time; otherwise, you will get the effect I showed you earlier.
You will also need a tiny bit more if your tank has some leaks that will gradually reduce the amount of actual solution flowing over the tank. You will run over your chemical stokes a bit quicker, but it is better than ruining your pictures, I guess. Again, it is up to you.
[2.b] The stop bath:
Once the development time is over, you need to stop the process to avoid over-development. This is usually done with something called stop-bath. I honestly think a better name would be stop-development, but anyway.
You can use a dedicated chemical for it, and apparently, it is advisable when using shorter developing times. As I mentioned, my developing times are around 16 minutes, so I do not use it. Instead, I simply do 20 agitations using tap water (it takes me around a minute).
Also, I read here that:
The acid of stop bath immediately halts development and prevents the alkaline developer from exhausting your fixer. So if you need absolute precision in developing time or want to absolutely maximise the life of your fixer you can use stop.
[2.c] The part that was the hardest to invent: The Fixer
Up to this point, your film has been developed, so your precious memories/bangers/blurry shots/etc are ready. However, they are still "light sensitive", meaning that if you open the tank, you will ruin everything. To avoid this, we need to fix the images, which we do, unsurprisingly, using a fixer solution. I use Ilford Rapid Fixer for this, which apparently is the most mainstream stuff.
After you are done with the agitations for the fixer cycle, you need to get rid of the used solution, but there will be some silver halide (a heavy metal) in your used fixer, so... watch this video made by the incredibly knowledgeable Alex (@shaka1277).
Spoiler alert: Do not pour it down the drain!!!
After you fixed your film, you could safely open the light-sealed tank, but wait, don't do that just yet.
[2.d] The 10 min flood
After you have fixed your film (and safely stored the used fixer solution for later disposal), you need to run water over it for 10 minutes to get rid of some of the chemical residuals. Here, the only thing I will mention is to read what I asked on Reddit here. You will learn about the concept of Reticulation; nothing crazy, but try to keep the water at -+ 5 degrees Celsius from your developing temperatures.
As you can see in the video, I use a filter for the water. I don't know if it's necessary, but the water I have at my place is rather harsh, so I use it just in case.
[2.e] The watery water: Photo flo.
The final part is to use photo flo (or a water agent) to reduce the superficial tension of the water so you don't get water marks on your film.
I had watermarks when using either too much photo flow or too little. I also got watermarks when using tap water for this step. I only started to get clear negatives after I started using distilled water, but this might be just me and the kind of tap water I have.
The video below has some additional tips, but the main one is to take a dropper to measure the photo flow and only use what is recommended, which is actually just two drops. You will not see a difference in the water, but I promise you it is there.
3. The Hang and Dry(ing) part
[3.a] Return from the dark side of the tank
So, you developed, fixed, and washed your film. Now, it is time to hang it and let it dry. Here are some things I did wrong and some I got right.
Use a weighted clip to prevent the negatives from curling. You can buy the tailored-made Paterson ones if money is not an issue, but if you are creative enough, you can make your own ones or buy a bulky clip, and you are set. You do not need a 5-kilo weight for that. The ones I use each weigh only 31.5 gr, and they work just fine.
However, they have one problem: they are made out of metal, so I've gotten some rust on the ends of the film. I am not sure how bad that is for the rest of the film, but I will move on from them once I find plastic ones (or I will probably cover them in rubber somehow).
[3.b] The dust agony streaks back
Hang your film in a dust and movement-free environment. The only place I could find was the shower (after I showered). The physics of the matter is that, first, the steam makes the dust drop to the ground, and second, the heat also helps the film to dry faster. In my case, speed is not of the essence because I only develop during the evening, running some hot water before hanging the rolls in the shower to get some steam. Then, I place them there and close the door until the next morning (if you need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, well... you can always call your neighbour and explain the whole situation; they will definitely understand).
4. Scanning / Printing in the darkroom
Now, you can wake up and dart to the bathroom to evacuate what you held during the entire night for the sake of clean negatives. Then, you are ready to scan, print, archive, or do whatever you want with them.
As a final word for this section, this video from the legend @pushingfilm might be interesting to watch!
5. Bonus track: Extra stuff I didn't know where to put
Finally, there are a couple of things I also do that have been quite useful in having a smooth development process.
[5.a] Prepare your water the day before
I store all the water I will need to mix with the chemicals in a bottle that I store in the room. I will develop the film (a.k.a. The bathroom). This prevents me from trying to get water at 20 degrees Celsius by mixing hot and cold water (This only will work if the room you'll work on is around 20 degrees Celsius, of course).
[5.b] Divide et impera
I split the process into (I) spooling the film into the reels and storing them in the tanks and (II) the mixing chemistry part. This just reduces drastically how tired I am when starting the developing process, where I need to be quite sharp mentally to not mess things up (which, as you read above, happens quite often).
Also, as I mentioned, I only develop film during the evening so I can close the bathroom until the next day. However, I sometimes spool during the day or a couple of hours earlier than the rest of the process, so during the evening, I can just grab the light-sealed tanks and start mixing the chemicals right away without having to break a sweat trying to spool the film into the reels.
Final words
There you have it. This is all I know so far about this. If you think some of the steps are not correct, or you have a better/different approach, please let me know in the comments. Also, thanks for reading down here; I actually wasn't expecting that.
Also, huge thanks to @oldcamshop for being the main provider of my darkroom equipment and chemicals and even for ordering some special stuff that was not even in his stock at the moment (like photographic paper for my darkroom prints and other random stuff, hehe).
Finally, I didn't start doing this all alone. I took a workshop of Analogue Photography with Ivan Vander Biesen, where I learned the basics of film developing and other analogue related topics (cyanotype, darkroom printing, etc). You can check more about those here. Additionally, if you are in the Brussels area, I know that the @morifilmlab also have a analogue and darkroom workshops. You can learn more about it here.
Alternative names for this post in parallel universes
This post might have had other more catchy (clickbaity) names, such as:
Everything you are doing wrong in your developing!
Before you start developing your own rolls, read this!
I did everything wrong in my development so you don't have to!
or simply
I ruined my rolls; here's why!
But I opted for an incredibly cryptic one just because I wanted to sound cooler, but I don't know if that was actually the case.
Anyways... read you around,
Álvaro Alberto.
Great read. I think you’ve convinced me to stick with digital 😁
Tremendously thorough and highly enjoyable even though I don't develop film.