First film development and print

[fabian628]

I purchased an enlarger this week and some film chemicals.

I was able to develop a roll of black and white for the first time, I think it was successful. I also used the enlarger to print a few pictures. I had a multigrade filter from ilford and used one which made the picture more contrast, which may have been a little too strong.

Here are my first 3 prints :)

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/Untitled-1.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/Untitled2.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/Untitled3a.jpg

I have a few questions about the chemicals. I have made dilutions into 250ml water, the bottles say they last only for 1 day when diluted. Is this true? How long would mixed up chemicals last, and how many times are you generally able to use developer/stop bath/ and fixer?


My next question is about colour film. What different chemicals/process is involved in developing and enlarging basic colout film. What extra equpitment do i need for printing?

Thanks for all the previous help! :p

[Scromple]

Greets... Man some of the questions may not be suited to this particular forum, but here is a it of info. Apologies in advance for the brain dump about the chemistry.

Images
The pics look ok. Getting people wearing the snorkeling gear is always a good way to get a laugh.

I think that they are pretty good for your first time printing black and white. The prints appear to be a bit dark, but this could be a couple of things. The obvious one being the time of the exposure for the print.

If you don't know how to make a test strip to work out the time you need for a print it would be a good place to start.

Do some hunting around for a device called a focuscope. It will let you focus you image grain sharp on the easel of the enlarger before you make the actual print. Don't forget to use a piece of the printing paper on the easel when doing this or you focus will be off. This will help that soft look the prints have. The print is basically slightly out of focus.

It would be good to know if you have taken a digital image of the print with your camera, or if you scanned the prints to post here. You get different results depending on what was done.

Become one with the arts of dodge and burn. Yes this is where the photoshop tools came from. To dodge is to lighten, or to block light hitting the printing surface. To burn is to darken, or to let more light hit the printing surface.

You can have print on a high paper grade, say a 4 which is getting more contrast into the base image, but it's the skills at doging and burning that will allow you to bring your image out.

I have no idea what your times were for these prints, but as an example, where you have the guy in the black leather jacket. Because he is basically merging into the background you will probably want to perform something around a 5-10 second dodge on at least that area to lighten the jacket a bit and get some separation. If you included the plant as well you would start to bring out the texture in it as well which may help a bit with separation.

One of my favorite dodging tools is piano wire and blutak. The piano wire is quite thin and does not show because it is thin and in constant motion by you and the blutak is easily molded into different shapes.

You will definitely want to get you hands on a copy of Ansel Adams book "The Print" which is one book of a 3 book series that he wrote. The Camera, The Negative and The Print. If you happen to find all three all the better.


Black and white chem questions:
I am guessing that you have the Ilfosol 3, Ilfostop and Rapid Fixer.

The developer it's single use. I use the 1+14 dilution for my dev runs and have no dramas.

I can usually get around 10 rolls of 35mm through a batch of stop and fix. That is when mixed at the specified 1+19 for the stop and 1+9 for the fix diltutions. I tend to shoot a number of rolls, then mix, process and dump. So the chemicals are usually not sitting around very long.

That said I have quite happily used chemicals that were a week old. This has not caused any problems with the films I deved but you need to be aware that the older the chemical the more exhausted it will become over time. My worst dev run came about when I was out of fresh chemistry and it took 20 minutes to fix a roll. It was a pain in the butt.

As for stabilizer, my recommendation is to go to the supermarket and by a 2ltr bottle of demin water. So after you have devved and washed, leave it in the demin for about 10-30 seconds before hanging. I have not, nor would I recommend, using squegees or your finger to remove excess water from the film when hanging. The risk of damaging the soft emulsion is great.


Colour chem questions:
Colour film basically falls into positive (transperancy/slide/chrome) and negative. I think from memory that both the e6 (transperancy) and c41 (negative) processing requires 6 separate chemicals not including wash and stabilizer. Some of the chemicals are multi part.

Usually the processing is done in a minilog which has a timer unit, heating unit and coloured lights that guide the user through what needs to be done. Agitate, rest or drain and move to the next tank. If you got the cash you can get a Jobo.

The chemicals are expensive and you will get fined if they are not disposed of correctly. ie You can't throw them down the drain.

Your best bet would be to find a place that still processes film. I know two in Brisbane where I get mine done, but alas none down south.


Colour print questions
I am going to leave this one alone. I have been taught how to print from colour neg film. It was the biggest pain in the buttocks I have ever come across working in the darkroom at college.


Anyways.... If you made it this far great. Again, sorry for the brain dump. Some of the info is abridged as my notes are many. Let me know if it helps at all.

The images you posted are a great start.
Get a focuscope so that you can focus your print.
Shoot, shoot, shoot.

Thanks
Simon

[TOM]

hey Fabian, congrats, and I love shot 2.

[fabian628]

Thanks scromple and TOM.

Very interesting info.

I think the pictures came out dark with the contrating filter and maybe how i developed the paper itself. I was not aware that how you agitate the paper/film affects the image, i read that somewhere last night :)

[Scromple]

Paper does not matter about the dev... It's something like 60, 10, 60 seconds for the dev, stop and fix. But you cannot get extra contrast during the dev for paper. The filtration controls the contrast.

Film dev is pretty easy... Based off my own method of calculating run times, base time for film/temperature variance + 60%, I Agitate for the first 60 seconds. Then every 30 seconds for the rest of the run. If you want extra contrast in the film, give extra agitation. It'll take a bit of experimentation to get it right and results will vary depending on what you have shot.

Another thing you will want to read up on, if black and White is something you want to pursue, is the Zone system of exposure. It not only will help with black and White shooting and printing but with colour as well.

Learning how to make a textured zone ruler for shooting and contact sheets and test strips for printing will help a lot.

I did ask my teacher at college about home colour dev. She said that there used to be a company that had a home kit, but they are no longer around.

You're off to a good start though so keep at it.

[MattC]

Well done! Printing is the next step I have to try.

I have been reading a fantastic book that I borrowed from the library - some great basic information, which I have found very useful. I find out the exact name when I get home.

As far as developing the neg - I have found this (http://www.feelingnegative.com/) site very helpful.

[fabian628]

I did a few more prints last night using a different filter that was less contrast. I think my pictures were a little under exposed. Time to get some more black and white film :D

[hoffy]

Colour processing is easy, and not expensive.

Here is a round up on doing it cheaply for C-41
http://athiril.blogspot.com/2010/05/processing-c-41-colour-negative-film.html


Im also coming out with a new colour neg developer concentrate, highly dilutable like rodinal and one-shot. makes it economic and easy.

I wish it was the cheap doing RA-4 prints :(

Good to see, though, we have another home printer in our ranks. It is fun and quickly addictive

[Athiril]

I wish it was the cheap doing RA-4 prints :(

Good to see, though, we have another home printer in our ranks. It is fun and quickly addictive

Expensive part is the paper, though vanbar might dump some RA-4 paper on me when I come down to Melb.

Vanbar has the tetenal 5L whole kit for $90, they even have Ilfochrome P-30 kit which seems like news :)

[StanW]

You'll find the FADU website very useful for your work with film.

[MattC]

You'll find the FADU website very useful for your work with film.

Stan - can you expand on what the FADU website is , and perhaps offer a link?

[MattC]

Well done! Printing is the next step I have to try.

I have been reading a fantastic book that I borrowed from the library - some great basic information, which I have found very useful. I find out the exact name when I get home.

As far as developing the neg - I have found this (http://www.feelingnegative.com/) site very helpful.

The book I have been reading is called 'The Basic Darkroom Book' by Tom Grimm. This looks to be the 3rd edition, printed in 1999, but still relevant.

[GlennSan]

Yummy, some nice grain to enjoy. Welcome to the wonders, frustrations and delights of film Fabian. Others have given the answers to your questions. I'm just curious as to what film you used and how you got these images onto AP. I'm guessing scan of the print?

FADU? (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=fadu) - I'm guessing it's the second one that shows up.

I participate in APUG (http://www.apug.org/forums/home.php) for my film-specific fix. Pun intended... :D

[fabian628]

Yummy, some nice grain to enjoy. Welcome to the wonders, frustrations and delights of film Fabian. Others have given the answers to your questions. I'm just curious as to what film you used and how you got these images onto AP. I'm guessing scan of the print?

FADU? (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=fadu) - I'm guessing it's the second one that shows up.

I participate in APUG (http://www.apug.org/forums/home.php) for my film-specific fix. Pun intended... :D


thanks. It was ilford hp5 400. I was told it would be better for a begginer for development. I would like to use some finer grain film, but will use up a few more rolls of this film first.

I printed a few more pictures using a lesser orange filter, however they came out a little flat. I would like some nice contrasty pictures, should I over expose a little more and then use a strong contrast filter when enlarging?


Yes i have scanned the print and uploaded. My scanner is very poor however :(

a couple more pictures :p

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/film/a3.jpg

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/film/a2.jpg

here i edited slightly in photoshop, thats how i would like the prints to come out, with slightly stronger blacks and a little brighter.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/film/a1.jpg



I took some pictures of what I was doing on the first night.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/ID3_0372.jpg

here is my darkroom :lol: i have since upgraded from the floor to a desk.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/ID3_0368.jpg

[Jorge Arguello]

Hello Fabian:

Congratulations on having your dark room. I like your grainy photographs in B&W.
I am happy to find someone in AP getting fun in the “dark”:cool: area of the films. Sometimes I still use my film camera.

All the best with your endeavour.

[colemansmithadam]

Hey dude, congrats on getting into darkroom process.
How much did it cost you to get your darkroom up and running?

[fabian628]

Hey dude, congrats on getting into darkroom process.
How much did it cost you to get your darkroom up and running?

I was lucky, I purchased a second hand kit off ebay, with enlarger, lens, photo paper, film tank and a few other bits a pieces for $190. I puchased the basic cheicals (film developer, fixer, paper developer and stop bath) for $90.