Transcripts
1. Intro : You ever wanted to develop your own Black and
White film at home, but have absolutely no
idea where to get started? Maybe you've started looking at developers and have
become overwhelmed or you're interested
in seeing if this is a process you're maybe
wanting to explore. Before we get started, I do
want to introduce myself. My name is Eric, and I'm a
professional photographer that is based out of San
Francisco, California. With over seven years of
film photography experience, I'm going to teach you all the different things that
you will need to know when it comes to developing your own Black and
White film at home. We're going to be talking about
the things that you need, and we're also going
to be breaking down different types of
developers so you don't get confused and how
to use those and also talking about the
entire process as a whole. This is a very informative
start to finish course that's going to increase your
confidence and more importantly, improve your creative flow
as you take the course. I will see you in course one, and I'm so happy that you
clicked on this course.
2. Things you Need: Before we get started
with this course, I would like to
thank everyone for giving me a chance to teach you on everything you
need to know in regards to Black and white film. We are going to go over a lot of information in this course. So if you are ready to
get started, so am I. So before we get started with the actual
things that you need, you won't necessarily need
to write any of this down. It's all going to be in the
course materials below, and it will be attached
as a Google link, and you'll easily be able
to download this, print it, or keep it for record
to keep an idea or to get a record of what
you're going to need in order to succeed in black
and white development. We're going to talk
about things that you'll need outside of the
lab and in the lab. That way, you can get an idea of what
you're going to need. If you've taken my color
development course, you more than likely already have all the things
that you need. So let's get started on the
things that you're going to need to develop your own
black and white film. Starting off with a dark bag. Dark bags are
incredibly important, especially if you're in a home or an apartment
that doesn't have a dark room for
you to be able to put your film into
the developing tank, which we'll talk
about in a minute. These dark bags allow you to
stick your developing tank, your film, and other items without exposing them to light. Once the back is zipped
and val wrote in, you are working in a
light proof environment where you can easily put your film into the
developing tank without worrying about
exposing it to light. Inside of your dark bag, you will need a developing tank. I'm going to be
using the Patterson two reel system for this course, and there are a variety
of size different sizes that this company
creates the two reel, three reel and four reel system. The two reel system allows
you to develop two rolls of 35 millimeter film or
one roll of 120 film. Second size that I have here is the one that can develop
three rolls of film, 35 millimeter film, and
two rolls of 120 film. If you've never seen a
developing tank before, we will be going over in
depth how this works, and more importantly, how to put your film into the
actual reel itself. What you'll need also is
a film canister open. I'm going to be going over a few different ways for you to be able to take the film
out of the film canister. My preferred method is to pop the film canister
open in the bag, but you can also
use a film leader retriever if you know
how to use one of those. And then, the other
thing you'll need is a pair of dual tip
scissors so you don't stab yourself but make
sure they are sharp enough to be able to cut the film off of the actual
film canister itself. Once we've done
that, we'll have to focus on the things that
you'll need inside of the lab, starting off with some graduated
cylinders and beakers. These are going to
be really effective when you are measuring out concentrated chemicals
that come in a liquid format for you
to be able to create, for you to be able to
dilute it successfully. So make sure you get
yourself a decent set. I have one attached on the sheet that's
fairly affordable. They're made out of plastic, and as long as you
take care of them, they'll last you
a very long time. Next up, you are going to need
a waterproof thermometer. The great thing about black
and white development all done at room temperature, which is a comfortable
68 degrees. It's going to be very
easy for you to get amazing results
without necessarily worrying too much
about temperatures. Next up, you're going to
need some film hooks. These are the ones that I use. They have a clothes line hook on them and a clip that allow
me to put the film on it. And at the other end, I'll put another clip just to
straighten it out, so it straightens out, so it
dries out fairly straight. You can buy these
in a variety of different packs and sizes, or you can go and
get the legitimate film clips, but be ready. Those are a little
bit more expensive. Next, you're going to need
at least one to two timers. These timers are going
to make sure that you're developing at the
correct amount of time. And if you have two, you can
essentially switch them up. One can be focusing
on your developer, the second on your stop bath. And then while your
stop bath is going, you can update the developer
time to the fixer time. That way, you can jump
between them and not have to necessarily worry
excessively about consistently working with one. And obviously, you are
going to need a roll of completed black and white film that is ready for development. Next, let's talk about
the different things you're going to need
for your chemistry. First off, you will need a
minimum of 21 gallon jugs. One is going to be able to set your developer in or
put your developer in, and the other will be
for your perma wash. Ideally, you want to make
sure that you follow the amount you get
a jug that matches the amount of chemical
that's going to produce with whatever
you either go with liquid or if you go with a
concentrated powdered format. You're also going to
need at least one bottle that is 32 ounces
for your fixer. Now, if you're going to be using a larger developing
tank, like, for example, the three reel or even the
four reel developing tank, you're going to need
to essentially have a jug that's big enough to be able to cover
the surface of that. So you may have to
do a 64 ounce jug, which is fine if
that works for you. If you're going to be doing if you're going
to be working with the two reel developing kit
that I have from Patterson, you're only going to
need a minimum of 32 ounces to be able to cover the volume of
either two rolls of film or one roll of 120 film. If you are going to be using the two real Patterson system
like the one I have, be sure that you
have a minimum of four beakers that you can
clearly label as developer, stop Bath, fixer,
and Perma Wash, to make sure that you're
keeping yourself as organized as possible
in your dark room. Organization is going
to be very key in providing the most
accurate and best results. So make sure that
you are keeping yourself organized by getting a minimum of four beakers that you can write out the
different chemicals on. And we're going to go over that and how important
that is when we mix our chemicals and actually start the developing process. Next up, you're going
to need a bucket or a collapsible bucket. This is going to be
used if you're going to be mixing powdered chemicals, like, for example,
Kodak d76 or Eco Pro. These will come in
a powdered format that you have to
dilute in water. It's very important
that you have a bucket to be able
to do this in. That way, you can
generally reduce the amount of dust that
you're going to create. It is never ideal to
use a funnel to put chemicals into a bottle because funnels are made for liquid, and sometimes these
developers can actually end up getting
clogged within the funnel. So you may have to
have work, you know, exposing yourself to dust,
which is never a good thing. So getting a bucket is always
a great thing to work with. And we're going to
talk about more when we get to that portion, but it gives you more volume
and a little bit more of a safety guard when it comes to mixing powdered chemicals. Next up, you're going
to need some funnels. These are going to allow you to transfer your developer into the dedicated bottles
and other chemicals into their dedicated bottle so you don't make
a massive mess. And then you're also
going to need dedicated stirring spoons so you can stir your powdered chemicals
in an effective manner. Then lastly, you're
going to need a gallon of distilled water. You can find this generally in the water section of
your grocery store. It's very affordable and
highly recommended when it comes to mixing chemistry because it is clear of purities, and it's actually
going to increase the life of your chemicals. Before I move on to safety, it is very important to note
that if you are planning on using things in your dark room that you use them for
that reason only, under no circumstance did
you go to your kitchen and get a spoon to mix your chemicals with
only to put it back? That could get you and
your family very sick. So make sure that you are
buying things that are only for your dark room and only going to be used
for that purpose. Next up, let's
talk about safety. For this course, I would
strongly encourage you to wear safety goggles that will protect your eyes from any
accidental splashes, since you are going
to be working with some pretty dangerous chemicals that if they get into your eyes, they can cause either
temporary or permanent damage. So keep that in mind when you
are working with chemicals. Always be very careful and never be reckless
with your chemicals. Next up, make sure
that you're wearing safety gloves that are
chemical resistant. So you protect yourself
from these chemicals. You don't want to intentionally expose yourself to
these chemicals, and you want to make
sure that you're taking good care of your health by wearing gloves and ensuring
that your skin is safe. Next up, you're also
going to need an apron. This is going to allow
you. This is going to protect you
from any splashes. And, of course, we all know that underneath our clothing is skin, and we don't want any of these chemicals
touching our skin. Next up is an N 95
respirator mask when you are mixing
your chemicals. Since you are going
to be working with powdered chemicals, if you decide to go that route, you are going to have to make
sure that you're keeping your airways and the
mucous membranes in your airways safe
and not causing any additional or
dangerous reactions that can occur if
it gets in there. So make sure that an
N 95 mask is worn. That way you minimize your exposure to
these types of dusts. And we'll talk about the whole process when
we get to that. It's not going to be as
challenging as it sounds. I just want to make
sure that you're being precautious when you're mixing
all of these chemicals. Next up, let's talk about
the different chemicals you're going to be working
with in this course. Going to be you're going to
be working with a developer, a stop bath, a fixer, a perma wash, and
lastly, photo flow. In the next portion
of this course, we are going to talk about
all of these chemicals, how they work, and
more importantly, which ones are best for
your developing methods. So let's jump right
into that now.
3. Chemistry : Welcome to the chemical
portion of this course. If this is your first time developing black and white film, there may be a chance
that you will get incredibly overwhelmed
when you check out the developer section of your photo store or while
you're browsing online. There are a ton of
different developers, and a lot of different
brands will make them. And you're probably asking
yourself the question, why is there so many developers? What do these do and which
ones are best for my needs? This part of the
course, we're going to be talking about developers. We're going to be talking
about the stop bath. We're going to be
talking about the fixer, Perma Wash, and lastly,
the photo flow. Let's get started off
with the developers. For the sake of time, we're
going to be talking about three different developers
and how different they work. This is also going to encourage you as a film photographer and a developer to
research a little bit as well on what developers
going to fit your needs best. But this is designed
to kind of show you how different each
developer can be. We're going to be
talking about Kodak d76, Ecopro and lastly, we're going to be
talking about rodanl. Let's go over a few
different scenarios that you may be experiencing if you are a Black and
white photographer. Scenario number one, you are a black and white film
photographer that shoots primarily medium
to high ISO films. When you think of medium
to high ISO films, think about FomaPan 200, Kent Mir 400, HP five
plus, Kodak T 400. There's so many types of films that will be
medium to high ISO. And let's say you're
also not doing any special type of processing, you're going to be shooting
strictly at box feed. In this situation here, you would need a
developer that is essentially very balanced and versatile to handle
this type of grain. And that's where
Kodak d76 comes in. Kodak d76 works
with fine grain and also will give you a really nice tonality in
your final image, and it's also suited for a lot of different mid
to high ISO films. And for that reason, I
would choose Kodak d76. But let's say you're film you're a black and white
film photographer that is shooting low ISO films. What if you're
shooting Delta 100 or Roy RPX 25 or you're shooting specialty low ISO
films where you have virtually no grain inside
of your final image. In this situation, you
would have to resort to using a dedicated developer
that works with that. Rodanal is a perfect
example of a developer that will work with these
types of low grain films. It is well suited for
this because it creates very nice crisp
images and also will reduce grain in those
lower ISO films. And let's talk about
the flip side. Let's say, for example, you didn't do any
research at all and just bought whatever developer
you saw at your photo store. Let's say, for
example, you purchase odanol and you are shooting
mid to high ISO films. In this situation,
when you develop, you're going to notice grain and a little bit more
grain that you may be used to in your final image, almost a grunginess
and texture to it. It could be very off putting if that's not what
you are expecting. But if you're a creative
film photographer that is doing a
project with this, then that shouldn't be an issue. Let's say, for example, you
decided to choose Kodak d76, but you're shooting
only low ISO films. This right here would
create the exact opposite. You would end up getting
lack luster images that lack contrast
and look fairly flat. Again, very disappointing if that's not what
you're expecting. So this is where
developers can be a key part in your
developing process, and it's really
important that you take some time to experiment to see what you like before you really set yourself to
a single developer. Now, if you are just getting
started, for example, and you have no
idea where to start and you're doing
everything at box speed, I would say go with Kodak d76 for now and later on maybe
try something different. And now comes special processes. What if you're a black and
white film photographer that is doing more advanced techniques
like pushing your film, which is a technique in which
you essentially underexpose your film in camera and make
up for that in development. Kodak d76 wouldn't work with this for a variety
of different reasons. One, it will blow out your
highlights and it will crush and it will
crush your shadows, creating almost a very
odd looking image. Rodanal would do just that
and increase the grain, which would be really upsetting. Now, let's talk about Ecopro. Ecopro developer would be a perfect example of
a developer that you would use in a situation
where you are pushing film. It handles it very well
without overexposing your highlights and also
not crushing your shadows, allowing you to pull detail when you're editing your photo, which is obviously
a great thing. But you can see right
off the bat the amount of different developers that are out there and what they do. And it can be very overwhelming. So make sure you do a
little bit of research before you go out
and ask yourself, what type of film am I
shooting and is film and is this developer suited for the type of
film that I have? When it comes down to the overall shelf life and everything else
of this chemical, we're going to talk about
all of that when we essentially will go over the developer and mixing
it and all of that. So if you're worried about
that or concerned about that, we'll be touching
base on that as well. Remember, this is a
very detailed course, so we'll be talking
about that later. Next up, let's go ahead and
talk about the stop Bath. Stop Bath is the second chemical that we'll use in
developing process, and what this does is halt is halt development completely. There's a variety of
different brands out there from Ilford that has
their own Stop Bath, Arista, that has their own, and a few others on the market. They're all very different
but all do the same thing. Example, the Ilford stop
bath has an indicator in it, which means that it has a
tint or a coloring in it. This is designed,
so the developer, when the stop bath goes bad, it turns blue and you
know not to use it. And then there's
others that don't have any indicators
in it at all, meaning they come out clear, which is absolutely fine. I would stick to one that is completely odorless
and make sure that when you're
reading the packaging, it indicates odorless. That way you don't
get uncomfortable when you're developing
in your dark room with a new smell that can either give you a headache or make the space uncomfortable, especially if you're
developing, for example, in a bathroom. After you have added your
developer and it's complete, you'll be adding Stop
bath after stop bath, you're going to be
running into the fixer. The fixer removes any
additional silver that's in your
film and allows it to no longer be
sensitive to light and essentially permanently
imprints the image on the film strip. That way, when you take it
out of your developing tank, it has the archival
quality and you can store it for many,
many, many years. When it comes to
choosing a fixer, my greatest recommendation is to choose one that is odorless. The rapid some fixers could have a vinegary almost
sweet smell to it. And if you've ever worked in a dark room or have maybe worked in the
medical field years ago and you walked past the Xray
department and you smell that vinegar that vinegary
scent, that is fixer. And it can make your space relatively
uncomfortable to work in, especially if you're
going to be doing long developing sessions or
if you're in a bathroom, and it also will
linger for a few days. So just keep that in mind. My best advice is to get
a fixer that is odorless. That way, when you're
working in your bathroom, you're not having to deal with a nauseating smell
that could actually give you a headache and
kind of drive you a little bit crazy after
a long period of time. There are a ton of
different on the market. I would strongly suggest to look for one that is odorless. After your fixer is done, you're going to be
using a perma wash, which is not mandatory
but recommended. The reason you want to use
perma wash is because this pools any additional
fixer out of the film, reducing the washing time. Essentially like a hypo wash. This will allow you to
essentially be able to wash your film in
five to 10 minutes instead of 20 to 30 minutes. And if you're living drought
in a drought county, for example, I'm in California. I'm not sure where
you are, but there may be situations with
your water where you may have to conserve and
you may not be able to waste a lot and that's where this perma wash will help reduce the washing times 30 20-30 minutes to just
around five to ten, since you will have to use fresh running water to
essentially clean the film. Now, of course, there are
other methods to cleaning the film that are outside
of the clear running water. So make sure that you check
the fixer if you want to use the more water conserving
methods as well. And last is photo flow. After you have used after you've developed, you've
stopped development, you've fixed your
film, you've cleaned it of any access fixer, you're going to have to use
a chemical called Photoflow. This one also is not
mandatory but recommended. And what this does
is essentially allow the water to slip off a lot more effectively.
Uses watermarks. Spots that can appear. It's a really helpful
chemical that you can use at the end of
the development process. After you have washed your film, you will add a few
drops of this, let it sit for a minute, take
it out without washing it, and then just let the film
hang to dry after you squeege it with your finger
or with the Kem tech wipe, which we're going
to talk about next. Next up, you are also going
to need some Kim tech wipes. This is something that I did not mention in the
things that you need, but are on there and the
non mandatory section. These are essentially delicate
cloths that you can use. And what this will
do is allow you to use it as a squeegee, and it will remove
any excess water. And then it will also help
with the drying time, as well. These are lint free,
scratch proof, and they're just a really
great thing to have, especially if you're
developing a ton of film. You can grab two of them and then just run it down the line, and it will just
work very simply. That we've talked
about the chemicals that you'll be using
in this course, the next portion of
this, we are going to talk about mixing the chemicals.
4. Mixing Chemistry: Welcome to the mixing chemical
portion of this course. Since if you have never
done this in the past, I completely understand
and share the anxiety you may have if you're going to
be using powder developers. But as long as you're being careful and not reckless
with your chemicals, you're going to be
absolutely fine. And I'm going to
walk you through this process step by step. Before we actually
start mixing chemicals, let's kind of talk about
the different formats these different developers
are going to come in. Starting off with the
powdered versions. Powdered versions
will usually be diluted in a specific
amount of distilled water, and it will be turned
into a working solution. You can generally
do it as a stock, which is highly recommended. It's going to give
you the best results, and it's also going to give you the least amount of
developing time. And the second type
are the ones that come in liquid concentrate
that need to be diluted. It's highly recommended that if you are going to be buying these highly concentrated
developers that come in a liquid format that you
don't mix it all in bulk. It's always recommended that
you mix whatever amount you need when it's time
to develop your film. That way, the stock can
last a very long time. Rodinol, for example, has
indefinite shelf life, as long as you keep
it in a cool place. Even if it starts to turn a
weird color, it still works. I mean, I've had my Rodino now for about a year and a half. And it's still going strong. So that's always a good thing, and it also allows your
chemicals to last. Now, that's only rodanl If
you're using other chemicals, like, for example, Ilford, I think it's called
IlfsFl three, for example, that one,
when you open it, it goes bad within
about a month. So it's all going to vary. So make sure you do
some research on how long things last
before you actually open the bottle and make
sure that you go through that bottle if it does
expire relatively quickly. In this portion of the course, I'm going to be I'm going
to be mixing some Eco Pro. The reason I use Eco Pro is this works really well
with my workflow. I shoot medium to
high ISO films, and then I do I also will push my film when I'm
doing street photography. But if you notice, I
also have rodanl as well because I do like shooting
low ISO films as well. And this is something
a contradiction. You might find yourself
as a film photographer. You might have your favorite mid to high
ISO developer and, of course, a
developer to develop your low ISO develop
your low ISO film. So that's absolutely
fine. Don't worry. So let's get started with
mixing the chemicals first. Since we are going
to be mixing Ecopro, this will come in two packets, a part A and a part B. If you're mixing Kodak d76, it will be a single packet
that you just mix into a decently warmed water,
and then it will dissolve. But since we're doing Ecopro, we're going to go ahead and mix in one gallon of water
for the instructions. Once we mix part A in, we're going to put 32 ounces
of water and put part B in. So so Ecopro will make you a gallon and 32
ounces of chemical, and I have a
dedicated gallon jug that can hold this
amount of liquid. So let's go ahead and put one gallon of water
into this bucket here. Once you have done
that, it is time to add in the part A of your developer. So what you should do is
cut the entire top off, and then once this is done, you'll be able to easily and carefully pour the
chemical into the water. When you're doing this, make
sure that you're keeping your chemicals as close
to the water as possible, obviously not
touching the water, but just hovering above and making sure you're pouring
it little by little, mitigating the amount of
dust that you can create, and then also
stopping and stirring it to make sure that
it's dissolving fully. Once you have mixed in the
entire contents of P A, continue mixing and you'll see the water is a very
interesting, murky color. And then once that is done, we're going to go ahead
and mix in part B and also add in the
additional 32 ounces of water that is needed. You're going to follow
the same exact thing we did for Part A, and we're going to
open the top of this, and we're going to go
ahead and pour it slowly, ensuring that it's as close
to the water as possible. It's okay to take your
time during this process. There's no need to
rush and be careless. You don't want to
create any types of unnecessary dust
that can cause you to cough or potentially make you end up in
the emergency room. So just make sure
you take your time and don't rush this process. Now that we've gotten
content B into the bucket, we're going to go ahead
and continue stirring. As you can see, the
water has gone from a murky consistency to
now a clear consistency. And there may be there may
be times that when you look through to the bottom that you'll see clumps
that have formed. This is a great time to
use your stirring spoon to crush those down so they can become a little
bit more manageable. And of course, when you pour your chemicals into the bottle, some of these clumps will stay at the bottom of the bucket. No need to put those
into the container. Just leave those as is. Some will still make it in, but as time goes, they will eventually dissolve, and that shouldn't be
an issue to begin with. And that's pretty
much it. Next up, we're going to go ahead
and put this into its dedicated bottle and make
sure that on your bottle, you label the date that
you mixed your chemical, and also if you're
going to be using multiple developers that you list out what type of
developer this is. Next, let's talk about how
to use your developer. Developers will always be
used as a one shot solution. What this means is that once
you're finished developing, you have to dispose of it and
you can't reuse this again. The reason you cannot reuse the black and white
chemicals is because these ones lose potency
each time you develop, and it gets harder and
harder to determine how much additional time to add, which can really
cause inconsistent results in your developing, which is obviously
something that we don't want as film
photographers. We always want to make sure
that our rolls are coming out crisp clear and more importantly,
developed correctly. So if you're wondering how to
dispose of your developer, always check with your local
county and regulations. The EPA will usually let you know what you can and
cannot pour down the drain, and that's a great
first place to start before you start throwing
chemicals down the drain. Developer is usually
safe to pour down the drain in
small quantities, and that shouldn't be an issue. But again, make sure
that you check with your local city regulations before you pour anything
down the drain. Next up is f life. Developer has a shelf life
of anywhere 3-6 months, and it all depends on
how you're storing it, and more importantly, how
careful you are with it. If you're somebody
that's leaving the developer open for
long periods of time, that will cause it to oxidate. If you're living in an environment that's
a little bit hotter, that will cause it to oxidate. If you're using
your developer and you've gotten to more than
halfway of the bottle, that will amplify the
oxidation period. So it really depends on
where you're storing it, how much you're using of it, and also how much time you're going in between
developing times. Generally speaking,
a majority of the powder developers
will be clear. And as time progresses, they will start going through a process known as oxidation, which your chemicals may
start looking like this. It will start turning a yellow, and indicator this
is an indicator that the developer is
now losing potency. And this is a warning sign, and usually you shouldn't use the developer at this point. And then eventually it
will get to this color, which is a deep orange
or a bright orange. This is an indicator that your developer is completely
exhausted and should not be used under any circumstance unless you want to have shoddy developing and
potentially inconsistent in the developing process
where it may not even work. And that obviously would
be a horrible thing. Imagine spending all day out
getting amazing pictures, only to use developer
that is exhausted, where your image, your role is going to come out
completely blank. Yeah, that would not
be a fun thing to do. And also, the other
thing that adds to the shelf life and everything in between is using
distilled water. So make sure you're
using distilled water to mix all of your chemistry to ensure that it is always
going to last longer than, say, using tap water that has
a ton of additives in it. Next up, let's talk
about the fixer. Fixer will usually always be one to four when it
comes to the delusions. If you don't know delusions
at all, you're not alone. I always get extremely
flustered when I see one to 25, one to 50, one to four. Your brain starts asking you,
like, what does this mean? So if you're wondering
on how to do delusions, there is a dilution
calculator in that form that has all
the things that you need, and it will take you to a link
that will allow you to use different measurements
for you to be able to create
your own delusions. That way, you don't
make the mistake of wasting chemicals and
doing things like that. The fixer is a
chemical that you can reuse until it is exhausted. So after you have finished
fixing your film, you can pour the fixer
back into the fixer bottle and you'll continue
to use it until it eventually goes bad or exhausts. Checking your fixer
is incredibly easy. You don't have to buy that
expensive little drop to let you know if
it's good or not. It's honestly a waste of money. You you can easily
check your fixer by using the leader that you cut off of your
film in the dark bag, which is an undeveloped
piece of film. And what you will do
is pour a little bit of fixer into a tiny bit, a tiny bit a beaker. You'll put the
undeveloped film in it. And then what you'll
do is just agitate it. And if it becomes translucent, the silver has essentially been taken out and you
can see through it. Your fixer is still good. Now, let's say you put an
undeveloped piece of film into fixer and you
swash it around, you look up, and you see
that nothing has happened, even after, let's say,
20 to 30 seconds. That means your fixers bad. Don't use it, replace it. Unlike developer that can be put down the drain
depending on where you're at, Fixer can never be
poured down the drain. Fixer contains silver
particles that are highly toxic to aquatic
life and also to water, and it can cause a pretty
dangerous situation, and it can get you
in a lot of trouble. So make sure that
if you are going to be getting rid of
exhausted fixer, that you put that in a
dedicated container to take to your local waste center so they can dispose
of that properly. So that's the one thing to
keep in mind with the fixer. So I went ahead and
mixed my fixer already. It's in this bottle here. Very simple. All I did was followed the dilutions
that were on the bottle, and I was able to
essentially fill out my 32 ounce bottle that I have here for my two reel
Patterson system. Next up, let's talk
about Permo wash. Permo wash is another chemical that is fairly easy to mix. All you need is 3
ounces of this stuff, and it will create
an entire gallon of working solution that will last you a very, very long time. So all you'll have to do is measure out 3 ounces
of this chemical, put it into your
gallon container, and then fill it up
with distilled water. The other two chemicals
that you're going to be using is stop bath
and photo flow. You don't have to essentially bulk mix these
chemicals in any way. The stop bath, I'll show
you how to use when we develop very, very easy. All you have to do is essentially use less
than a cap full. I'll turn your water either
a nice little orange color or if you're using the clear one, you
won't see anything. And then it'll be ready to go. Your photo flow, you'll only use one to two drops
per roll of film. You don't want to use too much photo flow because when you do, it's going to develop a sticky
substance on your film, and it's going to attract dust, and it's going to do the exact opposite of what
it's supposed to do. So with photo flow,
less is more. So one to two drops
per role film, and you'll be pretty
much set to go. So now that we've gone over the different chemicals that we'll be using in this course, now we're going to talk
about how to develop the film using different techniques that
I really like to do. So let's jump into the dark room and start
that process now.
5. Developing Tank : Part of the class is
going to be going over the developing tank
and how it works. That way you can become a
little bit more familiar with the parts and also how it works. So your developing tank
will be composed of a lid. You'll have a developing hood. This is where the liquids
will be going through. And this is what also makes the tank light proof
once it locks in place. Then inside, you're
going to have two reels. I only have one for
the demonstration and a center rod which keeps your film pretty
much centered out. The most important part
is this right here. This is the developing reel. You'll have to get yourself very comfortable with
this because you are going to be working in complete darkness with this if you do opt to utilize the
film canister opener. Keep in mind this entire part of the class must be
done in a dark bag. So just imagine my
hands inside of a dark bag and working in complete darkness while
I'm doing this process. You will have to get very
familiar with this reel before you start putting stuff
into your dark bag, so you understand how
everything works out. I'm going to be going
over two different ways that you can remove the film from your canister
and two different techniques, and you can decide which
one is easier for you. I'm going to go ahead and
go over my first one, which is my favorite utilizing the film canister opener in complete darkness
in the dark bag, I will pop this open, and then from there out, I
will remove the film. And with that, there's the centerspool that
is on the film. You cut it off, and then you'll end up with
this right here. Have to get very familiar with these reels and knowing
where everything is. So on this, you're
going to notice two jagged edges here
along with a little box, and these are have these
little bearings in it, where the film is going
to get fed through. So it's very easy to be
fooled because there's other edges on here as
well that can trick you. So make sure that you are kind of understanding that
you're looking for a more sharp edge along with a little box or a little
other edge on the inside. Bit complex, but
you'll get the hang of this once you start
doing this more often. And the way this works is in
your dark bag, you'll feel, and then you'll be able to
easily pop this in, like so, and then you'll slowly start
doing this twisting motion, and then you can see that
the film is starting to go in into the developing reel. And the reason it does this, it's going to start
to wrap around. And then this way, you get even development during your developing
process. Very gentle. Do not be aggressive like so you can end up
ripping the film. And once these little
tiny edges rip, it becomes a nightmare trying
to put it into the reel, and it can even rip your
film and damage frames. And if your film
rips inside the bag, there's really no
going back from that. It makes it just as much
harder to put into the reel. So once it goes
into place like so, it will just stop spinning, and then you will know right away when you will usually
hear a little bit of a noise, and then you can see
that it's inside of the developing inside of
the inside of the reel. Once you get that done, you'll
put that directly inside the reel or inside of the
center rod, put it in. And then what you'll do is
you're going to go ahead and hear for that locking noise, which means that
the tank is locked. Now that it's locked, it is
officially now light proof, and you can easily
take this out of your dark bag without worrying about the film inside
being exposed. That's option number one as far as removing the film
from the canister. If you do opt to utilize a film leader retriever
like this one here, what you can do in a
completely lit room is your film will look
like you'll utilize this, first of all, to take
the film lead out. And then what you can easily do is you can cut off the lead, and then you can not
fully exposing the film. Don't don't get a
little pool happy and remove the whole
film from the canister. But just remove a
little tiny bit, there's usually a
little bit anyways that usually gets exposed beforehand or doesn't have any exposures. So just pull out your
film a little tiny bit. And then what you
will do is you will actually put this in
a lit room like so. You will just put it in, and then you will push
it in very lightly. And then once it's fed through, you can put this
in your dark bag and finish the process in there. So once this is inside of your dark bag and
the bag is sealed, you'll start taking
this out very slowly, and then you'll
start twisting it inside of the real, like so. And then once it gets
to the very end, you'll just keep
going I completely ruined this roll film. That's completely fine.
This is a course, and I want to teach you Anyways. You'll just keep going
all the way down. And then once you
get to the very end, it will stop tugging, and then all you'll really
do is just cut that off, and then you'll finish that off, put that on your center rod, and then you'll put that
directly into the tank. Super easy. I never have any luck with the
film leader retriever, which makes it really
frustrating for me, which is why I got
so accustomed to just propping open
the film canister. Once you do that,
you're going to go ahead and just again,
lock it in place. Make sure you hear
that locking noise. If you do not hear
that locking noise, do not take the
film canister out because it will cause
your film to fly out. So once you lock that in place, you'll put the lid
on as well and then just go over
to your dark room. If you are having issues with developing with
the developing reel, there are other options
that you can opt for. There are some companies out
there that make them with a lot easier grids and things
that you can put into. So that's something
you can do as well. And if you are planning
on developing 120 film, that is a little bit
more challenging 120 film is a lot larger. And that, of course, comes
with its challenges. You will not be able to utilize
a film canister opener. In that case, you will have to unwrap the film from
the backing and then actually work in
complete darkness to put your film into
the reel itself. So this reel does turn into
a 120 rod, reel again, so you can just make a little
twisting motion like so, and then it turns into
a 120 reel, like so. Yeah, that's just
thing to keep in mind. Also, be very gentle with your film when you're
working with it. Do not be aggressive with it. Do not, you know, fold it or, you know, grab it aggressively because that will cause the
film to become damaged. And you will see these
little crescent moons that appear in post processing. And obviously, that's
not a good thing because it will
require more editing. And if you're doing
portraits and weddings, that will be a
complete nightmare because if it's in
those fine details, it will make it very
hard to remove. So just make sure you're
being very careful with the way that you're
putting your film into the actual tank itself.
I'm sorry for that noise. Then once you put it in, make sure you put it
all the way down, do not leave it up like so because these do have
a bit of tension, so you will have to
forcefully put it down, put it in a tank, lock it in place, and
then seal the lid. That's pretty much
the developing tank.
6. Developing Your First Roll: I've made it to the developing
portion of this course. I'm so excited to
finally get into the dark room and start
developing this role of film. Before we get into
the dark room, make sure that you have
your film inside of your developing tank
and it's ready to go. The next step we're going
to have to take now is deciding how much and how long we need to
develop our film for. Every film and every
developer will have its own unique time due
to the developer potency. In that case, I went
ahead and added a link into the course materials to a site called digital truth.com. This is a large catalog of different developers
and different films, and you can decide
which developer to use and which film
you're going to develop. And once you click Search, it will generate how much time you need to
develop your film for. In this case, we're
going to be developing a role of Kodak TMax 400. On digittruth.com,
you're going to go ahead and select the developer, which in this case, is
Ecopro and the film, which in this case,
is Kodak TMax 400. Once you click Search, it's going to bring up a large grid. On here, you're going
to be able to see different ISOs if you
decide to push your film. In this case, I went ahead
and shot it at box speed. On here, you'll see that I'll
have to develop this film for a total of 6
minutes and 30 seconds. What I'll go ahead and
do is essentially take this time and put it on a painter's tape and stick
it to my developing tank. That way, when I get
to the dark room, I know exactly how
long to develop for. Generally, when it comes
to the developing process, the only time that will usually always change is going
to be the developer. Your stop bath will
always be for 1 minute. Your fixer will
be for 5 minutes. Perma Wash will
be for 3 minutes, and your wash time can range 5-10 minutes depending on the
type of fixer that you use. In this case, since I'm
using Eco Profixer, I'm only going to need a wash
time of around 5 minutes. If you use Ilford Rapid Fix, you're going to need
to wash your film for about 10 minutes because the
fixer is a bit stronger. Now that we've gotten all the different developing
times out of the way, let's go ahead and
get organized in the dark room so we can
start developing our rules. Before you start developing, make sure that you have
everything nice and organized. You want to make
sure that you have everything clearly labeled, and so you know
exactly what chemical is in each container. So there's no confusion
when the process starts. Once this process starts, there's really no stopping. You're going to have to finish
it all the way through. And it's important that you
don't add fixer first or a different chemical which could actually ruin the
entire roll of film. So make sure that organization is something that is
key in your space. It's very easy to just
mark your containers. That way, anytime you develop, you know what chemicals
you're putting inside of these
different containers. Once you have labeled all of your containers,
like in this case, I have one for my developer, one for my stop bath,
one for my fixer, one for my perma wash. Once you essentially poured
out all of your chemicals, you are going to have to
essentially make sure that everything is at a
comfortable 68 degrees. If your chemical is
too hot, for example, 70 to 72, then you're going to have an
acceleration of development, which means you're going
to over develop your film. If they're too cold, what's going to end up
happening is it's going to decelerate the
overall developing process, making it so it develops slower, making it so your developer
doesn't work all the way. So keeping all of
your chemicals at a comfortable 68 degrees is going to be key to ensure that
everything works out well. If you're wondering how
much chemical to use, if you are using the
Patterson system like I am and you flip the tank if you flip
the tank to the bottom, it will show you different
measurements that you can use. For 35 millimeter film, you will need 10
ounces of liquid. And for 120 film, you will need at least
18 ounces of water. If you are developing two rolls of two rolls of 35
millimeter film, just times two, and you'll
need 20 ounces in total. Now that you've got that out of the way and we have all of
our chemicals ready to go, let's go ahead and start
the developing process. Go ahead and add in your
developer to the tank. Once you've done this,
you're going to go ahead and click the start button on your timer with whatever
time you added to it. For for the first few seconds, you're going to do a
total of five inversions, making sure that
you're doing this in a slow and steady motion. Under no circumstance should
you ever agitate or invert your tank in a hard
or rough manner as this can cause
underdevelopment. So make sure that your
agitations are nice and slow and that you're flipping
the tank upside down and bringing it
back to it back down. Just like I'm doing
in the video here. You will do this inversions, and then once these are done, you will invert
the tank only once every minute until
the timer is up, making sure that you're keeping this inversion consistent
and not rushing. Once your timer is done, go ahead and pour
out this developer either into a waste
bin or down the sink. Do not ever reuse developer. Once this is out, you're
going to immediately put in your stop bath and set
your timer for 1 minute. You won't have to
do anything other than let it bathe
in the stop bath. This is going to halt
the development entirely so your film role
does not overdevelop. Once it's mid is done, go
ahead and pour this out. And next we're going to go
ahead and add in our fixer. Your fixer will be in for
a total of 5 minutes, and you're going to
follow the exact same extractions
as your developer. You're going to go
ahead and essentially invert the tank a total of five times and then after those
five inversions are done, you're going to invert the tank once every minute until
the timer is done. Unlike the developer, you
can reuse your fixer. So make sure you have your
funnel ready to go to put this back into
its dedicated bottle. Once the fixer is done, we are ready to add
in the perma wash. Permo wash will be done
for a total of 3 minutes. This will remove any
additional fixer from the film and allow washing
times to be greatly reduced. So go ahead and pour that
into your developing tank now and let it sit for a
total of 3 minutes. You won't have to
do any agitations, and this is going to
be the same exact step as the slot bath. Just let it bathe and
hang out for 3 minutes. Once the timer is
out, you are ready to essentially wash your film
under fresh running water. In this case, since
I'm using Ecopro, I will only need to wash
the film for 5 minutes. If you are using
Ilford rapid Fix because the fixer
being a bit stronger, you will have to wash
it for 10 minutes. So during this time, just take time to relax,
clean up your space, and then we're going
to go ahead and add in the photo flow once the
washing is complete. Remember, when it comes to
adding your photo flow, only add a few drops to
your developing tank, making sure you
don't add too much. And you'll let this film sit there for a total of 1 minute, allowing the chemical
to get onto the film. And just like that,
your roll of film is now essentially ready
to be put up to hang. Go ahead and twist your developing reel to
unlock to essentially take the film out and go ahead and put this on to
your film hook to dry. During this time, go ahead
and take time to take a Kim tech wipe and wipe down the film
in a single motion, ensuring that you take off
as much water as possible. This is something that's
going to help your film dry quicker and also
reduce any water or stains that can occur from the actual wash. And just
like that, we are all set. Now comes the incredibly
boring part of letting it dry. Dry times are
incredibly important, so don't rush this process, go have lunch, go hang out, go do something, and let this
essentially dry completely. It can take anywhere from an hour 2 hours to dry completely. Just like that, we
are moving on to the next portion of this
course while that hangs out, and we're going to
talk about what the next steps are of turning this roll of film into a working image. I
will see you there.
7. Film Scanning: That we've developed
our roll of film, it is time to start scanning. This method involves turning your film strip into
a working image. This way, you can post
it on your social media, put it on your website, and fill your walls
at home with art. In order to do this, there are a few different methods that
I'm going to be going over. Keep in mind, this
is only going to be a high overview of these
different methods. I'm not going to be able
to break down how to scan your own film because that is an entirely different
course in itself. And if you are wondering
how to get better scans, I will be producing a
different course that goes over the art of scanning
using different methods. So that should be coming
out in a few weeks. Now let's talk about
the different ways that you can scan
your film at home. First off, let's go ahead and get started with
flapEt scanning. Flapt scanners are incredibly popular among the
film community. Specially the EpsinV
550 and Epsin V 600. Unfortunately, Epsin
did discontinue their V 550 and their V 600, but you can still buy
these refurbished, and they're a great
place to start. Let's go over some
of the pros and cons of using the
Epsin scanners. Starting off with
the price point, coming in at roughly
250 to $300, it is a great place to get
started in film scanning. This entry to mid
level scanner can get you great quality scans
right out of the box, and it's incredibly
easy to set up. Once out of the box, you'll have to connect it to
your computer to a power source and then update a few drivers to your computer,
and you'll be set to go. The overall film scanning
capabilities are pretty decent. You can scan your
film up to 6,400 DPI, although not recommended because the ES and V 600
caps out at around 2,300 to 3,200 DPI
in real life tests. And then this scanner also does have digital ice technology
which removes dust. Unfortunately, this
will not work for black and white photography
but will for color. And then lastly, is the
software capability. The Epsin scanner does come
with its own software, but it is also compatible with others for more control
over your final scan, such as View scan
and Silver fast. Next, let's talk about some of the cons of using
a flatbed scanner, like the eps and V 600. One of the biggest
cons of this is unfortunately the
time efficiency. Could take you
anywhere 15-20 minutes to scan your film at home. And that is because this is
not a dedicated film scanner. It will take an
additional time of anywhere 15 to 20
minutes to just scan a roll of 36 exposures, which can be a pretty long time. And that number goes up if you decide to change to
different resolutions. Next up is,
unfortunately, again, because this is not a
film dedicated scanner. You may not notice you may not notice the sharpness that you would like in your final image. And then comes the
dynamic range. This scanner does not have
a very good dynamic range, meaning that in your shadows,
you may lose detail, and in your highlights, you may not be able to pull as much. That's definitely
something to keep in mind if you're planning on
using this scanner. And then, of course,
comes the software. Although this does come with
its own dedicated software, it's not going to be the best. Epsin generally will make updates to the
software every decade, so optimizations don't
always come out as intended. So you may have
to actually spend money on an external
software that can get you more editing
capabilities and more functionality to get the
best out of your negatives. Next up, let's talk
about using a mirror less camera or a DSLR
to scan your film. This is known as the digital
camera scanning method, and it's one of my
favorite options. Before I moved on to this
specific setup that I have now, I was actually utilizing
a flatbed scanner for a majority of my work when I first started in
film photography. Unfortunately with
digital scans, you will need to essentially
have a digital camera. And if you don't own
a digital camera, this method may
definitely be out of budget for a lot
of different reasons. Let's go ahead and
break down why I enjoy doing the DSLR method and
some of the pros and cons. Starting off with
some of the pros, utilizing a digital camera is a great way to get the most
out of your negatives. Because you're going to
be using prime lenses, you will be able to get very
close to your negative, essentially filling
your sensor up and utilizing the megapixels
that your camera has. So you can get some
very decent file sizes and be able to essentially get
some pretty decent prints. You're also going to have a
much higher dynamic range, which is always a lot better, meaning that you're
going to be able to conserve more detail in your highlights
and in your shadows. And then comes efficiency. This process here allows
me to scan an entire role of 36 exposures in
under 1 minute, which makes the process
a lot more efficient for me so I can start getting
to editing a lot quicker. Then comes the
updated technology. If you're utilizing newer
a new mirrorless camera, you're going to have a much
more sophisticated sensor that's going to be
able to capture a lot of different details, and also because you'll
have more control, you'll be able to get a
lot more sharper images. And now let's talk about the
cons of using this system. If you don't already
own a digital camera, this is definitely going to be a very expensive option with digital cameras
costing anywhere 2-2500 and also all of the additional items that
you're going to have to buy, like a copy stand, prime lenses, light tables, film masks, and also software to essentially
convert your images. I can definitely be something that sounds a little
intimidating. In the next course
that I release, I'll be going over the method
of DSLR Mirala Scanning, so you can get an idea
of how that works. And next comes the
overall time efficiency. Now, I did note that
this does allow you to scan your film
relatively quickly, but there is a lot of work
that has to be done in post. Because you're going
to be essentially photographing the
negative as a raw, you are going to have to
put this into editing software and make tweaks
on each and every image, which can take additional time, especially if you want to adjust specific cues
or different things, that will take additional time. And it will even do so if you decide to do
black and white, because you are going to have to essentially white balance the image and then also make any individual tweaks
to each image. So just because it scans film a lot more effectively
and efficiently, doesn't mean it's not going
to take more time to edit. But this is my favorite method, and I'll be going over this in a few weeks and
going over how to scan your film at home using this particular method
and the Epson scanner. Next up, let's talk about utilizing apps to
scan your film. This is not my favorite method, and I'm not going to talk
too much about this, but I will say that utilizing an app is a good way
to preview your film, but not a great way to photograph
and archive your film. I usually will use a film
app called filmery which allows me to kind of go through my roll of film as a preview. So when it's hanging up to dry, I'll just kind of
put my phone on it to see what images look like. But I generally will
never use this as an archival method
for the reason that your phone is just not
the best option to scan film. The sensors are relatively tiny, and the fact that
you have to put this on like a flat surface, a light table, only to
get subpar results, it's just really not my thing. On top of that, you are going to have to pay
subscriptions for some of these services
which are going to add up in the long run and are more than likely
going to probably add up to either
an Epsin scanner. So my advice would probably
be to buy a scanner if you don't want to do
the DSLR method. The app options are there if that's something
that you want to use, but you are going to
see a noticeable amount of noise or grain because
of the sensors on the camera as not
being essentially fit enough to essentially
scan your film. So again, not my
favorite method, but that option is there if you would like
to check that out. You can go on your Android or your iPhone and
click film scanner, and there'll be a ton of
different options that come up. My advice is to go for the apps that are a little
bit more highly rated. That way you get better results. Let's talk about the last method you can get your film scanned, and that is utilizing
a local film lab. In my opinion, if
you don't want to purchase any of
these other methods, this may be a really
great place to go. And let's break down
some of the pros and cons of utilizing
a local film lab. Starting off with the pros. Not only is it convenient, it's easy, and you're going
to get professional service. A lot of the different
laboratories or film labs will utilize
high end film scanners, like the Naritsu and Frontier. These are film
dedicated scanners that cost tens and
thousands of dollars, and they do really
well at scanning and essentially getting
really good file sizes, as well as capturing
detail and sharpness. And then you'll also
be able to choose from a variety of different
sizes that you choose. Now, let's talk about some of the cons of utilizing a lab. Starting off with cost, a lot of times labs
will charge you for standard or deluxe prints, and these can add
up really quickly. Some laboratories will bundle the developing with scanning, and if you decide
to get scans only, they could charge you per frame, which could end up
costing a lot more. So make sure you
do some research on what lab you want to use. And next up comes the overall
file sizes or file type. There are a lot of labs
that will either use JPEG or charge you
extra for TIF files. If you can get TIF files, that would always be recommended because
you're going to be able to do extra tweaks, which brings us over to
the next issue, editing. Behind every individual that
scans at a lab is going to be somebody that has
their own unique style that may not match yours. Maybe your style is
a little bit warmer, and the person editing your film has a bit of a cooler
look to their images, and they'll add
that to your image. That's where things get a
little bit tricky and murky. So make sure that if you
are going to be using a lab that you do some
experimentations with different laboratories
to ensure that you find one that at least
suits your overall style. And if they don't,
ask if they have TIF files available for you
to be able to edit at home. Then lastly, comes waiting. Some labs will have a rather
fast turnaround time, while others you
may have to wait three to four days to
get your scans back. And that, of course, can be
a bit of a waiting game and also a bit of anxiety producing because you want to
get your images right away. But the lab option is always there if that's something
that you want to use. And I always
encourage individuals to check out the
local photo labs or film labs just to get an idea of what kind of things
you can get out of them. Now that we've gone
over different methods on how to scan your film, let's go ahead and talk
about the final project.
8. Final Project : We have made it to the
end of this course. Before I reveal
the final project, I would like to
thank everyone for taking time and watching
this from start to finish. I'm hoping that you've gained some new confidence in black
and white development, and more importantly, that you can use this in the future. I hope that everything was clear and everything made sense, and I try to make everything
as information as possible. If you do have any questions, please feel free to
write those below, and I'll definitely
get back to you. For the final project, what I would like you to do is choose your favorite image
from the role that we developed and use one of
the scanning methods. Go ahead and upload that
in the projects below and also include a small description on why you chose that picture. I already went ahead and added mine to
jumpstart the class. I can't wait to see all of your work, and more importantly, I can't wait to see
all of you grow in the world of black
and white development. My name is Eric, and thank you so much for
taking this course, and I will see you
in the next one. Goodbye.
Eric Cabrera
