Darkroom Photography Techniques : How to Develop 35MM Film

[EntitySeventySeven]

Does this process work for color film?

[moomman89]

Why are they still using this?I still have all my dark room stuff.Just use 12 mag and send to BayPhoto

[zippyuk86]

you explaied this beautifully, thank you for all your help

[fungusfiend]

Wow, thankyou very much for taking the time to post this video!. It is clear and concise and I (as well as many others no doubt) am extremely thankful that someone has made a video like this!

Thanks again! :)

[halojustin01234567]

this is SO SO SO AWESOME!!

THANK you so much!!

[mintyct]

can anyone plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz tell me where to get the developing wheel, or the name of it?? :(

[glenruben]

Did she not press the film release button on the bottom of the camera?!

[trainroomgary]

Well done, I am a retired High School Photography Teacher and it was fun to watch your video, are people still doing B & W film? It is a digital world........

[airfixman1234]

@trainroomgary i certainly am

[lauserlu]

@trainroomgary me, b&W film is the best thing you can do

[karen29ana]

She didnt do all the steps cause she exposed the film.! Ashhh

[ElliotGuthriePhoto]

Paterson Auto Load reels are easier. I use them with my Paterson Super System 4 Tank.

[902107910]

Wow which model camera is that?

[DackIsBack]

Jesus Christ... Cut those fucking nails...

Disgusting >:(

[mintyct]

@DackIsBack oh wow......

[ersalanni]

what type of chemicals, I am new to this. Could anyone recommend a beginner kit? Or a list of things I need?

[emy2257]

@ersalanni i would enroll in a college course if you are interested in learing about film photograhy to the full extent. it is not something you can teach yourself it is something you need direct, in person, assistance with. one littel move will mess up the entire prosscess and there are MANY variations of each step and what to use for each step of everything along the way

[KeithWasHere1]

doesnt like putting chemicals in and out of the tank...with leftover chemicals in the tank wont you get some cross work..like you go from developer to stop bath then to fixer,then to wash...but wont leftover droplets of each chemical stay in the tank and cross react?

[rick92rr]

omg! i just realized i have the same camera on this tutorial, it's the nikon F3 right? ;D

[whotaughtyou]

JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER JACKIE HOLDING

DPP

PRIVATE

ADRIAN SWADE

[KeithWasHere1]

so everything must be done in absolute darkness?

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 just when you are about to load the film into the tank, when you close the tank with the film inside you can turn the lights on

[KeithWasHere1]

@rick92rr what two chemicals do i need to keep the film from further exposing and turn into negatives?..see i have some old film in a disposable camera that i just want to be able to to turn into negatives at home and then use a negative scanner to make prints from.my girlfriend gave it to me as a Christmas present and said it was special and not to show anyone,so to keep from embarrassing her (i live in a small town where everyone knows everyone) i cant take it to the photo mat.

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 well, if you don't want them to see the pictures, you should tell at the photo lab, not to print them, so they just develop the negatives, i think they won't be able to notice the inverted little image, if you want to develop yourself, you'll need to buy the chemicals, the tank and learn a little bit more, but hey! is your film black and white or color film? =)

[KeithWasHere1]

@rick92rr its color 35mm film ,yeah i was told i could do that,but man oh man if the pictures were copied or duplicated or someone who knows someone else saw them and then started carrying tales...i think my girlfriend would beat me half to death or at least very severely about the head and neck with a pair of truck nuts!!

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 ow, so that makes it diferent, on this video they don't show how to develop color film, it's black and white. Actually, developing color, has to be at a certain temperature (102ºF or 38ºC), you need to buy the developer, the bleach, fixer and stabilazer, also, those chemicals are more dangerous than black and white chemicals, so you'll need to follow some precautions, the process that you're looking for, is "C-41" the process showed on this vid is "D-76" there are just a few...

[KeithWasHere1]

@rick92rr do they happen to sell them in kits? like 24oz bottles and whatnot.do you need a special license?..i also have a ton of film my family never got developed over the years..all the way back from 1980...lord knows whats on it!,and i wanted to try and save money developing it myself...some of it is even on those weird film things that look like an elongated B for the thin compact kodak cameras,havnt seen any of those film types since like 1983-84

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 yeah, they sell the kits, you ask for them depending on the processing, for 35mm color it's C-41, and so on =)

Is that big sized film 120mm film? you can also develop it, just do some research =)

[KeithWasHere1]

@rick92rr you mean the film that is shaped like elongated B?..no its small less than 35 mil,id have to say,not really knowing..something like 8mm or 16 mm...its old stuff,dont even think they make it anymore.

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 oh, if you buy the chemicals, you should try developing it to see what comes out =)

[KeithWasHere1]

@rick92rr any suggestions where i can pick the c-41 chemicals? perhaps a ballpark price range?

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 any photo lab i think, where i live, there isn't small kits, i had to buy more than a liter (i've seen on videos that in united states they sell small kits) they can come in powders or concentrated, they sold me the equivalent to make: 2 liters of developer, 2.5 of bleach, 5 of fixer, 2.5 of stabilazer, it cost me like $40, but i think in your country it should be something like $20, since mine was kodak, and there's no way they make it in this country xP

[rick92rr]

@rick92rr They should give you the directions of how to mix it, how many times you can reuse it, etc. When i bought it, they didn't gave me any direction, i researched and found the manual for those chemicals on internet.

Or you can buy a kit on internet, but I think it's easier to find it were you live =).

[KeithWasHere1]

@rick92rr Hey what about something like this?

Rollei/Compard Digibase C-41 Midi Color Processing Kit - 20 roll capacity...its from Freestyle Photography supply...32.99

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 I think that's fine =)

[KeithWasHere1]

@rick92rr My father said he has developed film as well,but said i need a special "cup" to load the film on and that it cannot touch itself during any of the "baths" and that the cup has a special corkscrew feature to prevent this.....does anyone know where i can get a cup like this? i was going to use a aluminum/black plastic coffe cup (a brand new one) with a black lid for the bathing process.

[rick92rr]

@KeithWasHere1 you need to buy a "film developing tank" there are two types, stainless steel and plastic, they come in different sizes, with reels that you can adapt to different film sizes also, and all of them are designed, to let you put the chemicals inside and pour them out without light getting through the film (before you develope and during developing, light MUST NOT touch your film, because the pictures will blow, they only time the film is exposed at light is when you took the photos)

[rick92rr]

... tutorials of how to do it at home, but you can do it, I bought the chemicals because i'm really into photography, i haven't developed yet cause my tank leaked and had some issues to solve o.o

[KeithWasHere1]

where do you get these chemicals at and how much? are they restricted?

[KeithWasHere1]

if this is suposed to be in the dark room? do you have to use night vision to see what your doing? or is there a special bulb that wont destroy the exposed film?

[KeithWasHere1]

once you have the film rewound into the container or magazine..how to you stabalize it so when its exposed to light it wont be destroyed? and what is the time limit on film like 35mm i have some that is almost 20 years old and has never been developed and some that is 10 years old and still in the container and never been developed.

[KeithWasHere1]

can you do this with film from disposable cameras?

[redcarpetphotography]

You have must have the most strait forward and easy to follow film developing video on youtube. Thank you very much for making the process much clearer!

[Paigeyreowxoxo]

how much would all of this process cost? is it expensive or not?

[MrHongkongguy]

I accidentally cut 1 finger with a scissor when I follow instruction. Also photos are overexposed, i develop inside room with my windows close. what is wrong?????

[rick92rr]

@MrHongkongguy you left the film developing for a long time, or you overexposed it when you took the pictures

[tartredarrow]

How sensitive is the undeveloped negative to fingerprints and such?

[dgmfoto]

@tartredarrow Very sensitive. Handle only by the edges, and then carefully. Film can scratch and also get dings in it (little crescent moons).

[tartredarrow]

@dgmfoto

Thanks for the reply, so if you use a light bag to load a developing spool, how easy would it be to screw up?

[dgmfoto]

@tartredarrow I've never loaded film reels in a changing bag, but I'd imagine you could mess up some film that way.

[zwolfpower712]

About how expensive is it to set up a darkroom with chemicals, equipment, etc?

[dgmfoto]

@zwolfpower712 Depends on the size of the enlarger -- and the sizes of the trays, etc.  This is sort of like asking how much to buy a car.

[zwolfpower712]

@dgmfoto Okay, thanks.

[slayerfan1994]

where can you get the developing chemicals?

[Hinahime17]

@slayerfan1994 Probably Amazon[dot]com and probably freestylephoto[dot]biz which is a company that has a lot of the stuff for film... just take out the brackets and substitute the dot part for an actually dot :)

[dgmfoto]

@slayerfan1994 Any photo supply store. Just google it.

[fschifano]

I see you're using Hewes reels. You're right, they are the Cadillacs of processing reels. If you're going to use stainless sreel reels, these are the ones to get, and are well worth the extra cost.

[dgmfoto]

@fschifano Yes indeed and thanks for your comment.

[MrSjfrance]

She's touching on the basics of film developement and will help draw interest into our

dark world. Overcomplicating things would only be detrimental to the cause. Lets create art not snobery.

[dgmfoto]

@MrSjfrance Thank you. I did these videos for a friend and I believe some details were left on the cutting room floor! 

[Yarbols]

if you are going to go to trouble to make a video on film development, you might want to include things like: what developer you are using, your means of agitation, how you mix your chemistry... I mean you didn't even mention how you wash your film.

I get that this is an introduction, but partial information only helps to confuse people. Of all of the darkroom videos on youtube, I've yet to learn a single thing.

[dgmfoto]

@Yarbols There are books filled with the information on how to develop film. Perhaps you'd be better served by looking up Ansel Adams' book The Negative. And if you look closely, you'll see what developer I was using AND my agitation method. Some of the information, I believe, was left on the cutting room floor. As I did several of these for a friend, some of what you want to know might be found on them. Thanks for watching and for your comment.

[ironkatia]

thank you for this video!

[dgmfoto]

@ironkatia You're welcome!

[nicoboy345]

Tmax-400 is better than Ilford :).

[dgmfoto]

@nicoboy345 That's a matter of opinion.

[nicoboy345]

@dgmfoto Mhm even my photography prof told me T-Max 400 has better quality than Ilford.

[dgmfoto]

@nicoboy345 In my experience with TMax, unless they've changed it, there is a magenta cast that requires extra fixing to eliminate. Back in the old days, labs would charge extra to process this film. Actually, it's not the type of film that matters -- what matters is the proper exposure versus the proper developing time. The old "expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights" routine. Are you learning the zone system? Have you read your film on a densitometer?

[apetalxinxthexwind18]

this seems so magical! so much better than just uploading pictures onto your computer.

[TheOn3LeftBehind]

@apetalxinxthexwind18 True! And the ways to manipulate it are as well! Like dodging and burning with a piece of cardboard with a hole in it to dodge, etc. *is taking traditional photography next term* :D

[dgmfoto]

@sidneywatts42 Overnight? I don't think so. Unless your negative is so dense you need to turn the enlarger on and then go to bed!

[arrowsbydish]

when you say in the dark....do you have a red light in the room?

[lolatmyaccounts]

@arrowsbydish The red light doesnt affect the paper

[dgmfoto]

@arrowsbydish  Some use a red light, others safe lights. You cannot expose your undeveloped film to either. You must be in total darkness.

[dgmfoto]

@arrowsbydish Not while you're loading film. That must be done in total darkness. Safelights are okay for papers, but even then, they can fog a print if the safelight is old.

[Marcotsu]

She said "If I can remember how to open the camera!"

But it sounded like she said "Fuckin' open the camera!"

LOL

[dgmfoto]

@Marcotsu Although I have been known to use that word in the darkroom, I didn't use is here! That was the first time I'd used a film camera in a several years!

[rorrt]

Great video, for my college course we only do 120, so i only know how to do 120.

but we have to do 35mm film sometimes, i thought when developing FP4+ its around 9 mins, and fix for 4, with all chemicals at 20 C.

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt There is also a clip on 120.

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt Developing times can vary depending on your on exposure and lighting conditions. Although many teachers and students want a standard such as you've mentioned, you can only really determine this through testing and reading your film with a densitometer. Study the zone system to figure out what I'm talking about!

[rorrt]

@dgmfoto

since i did that comment,

we have experimented, there were set guidelines with relationship between temperature, and times. so as to avoid wasted film.

we did still developments, and i did a great roll onto of the hill our colllege is on, and did a second quickly afterwards. 1 with all chemicals double the temperature, and the other as a still with loads of air bubbles.

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt Glad to hear you've been experimenting. The best book I know of to really learn about negative shooting and processing is Ansel Adam's The Negative. Now, a lot of it will put you right to sleep, but his film testing method that you'll find in the back really works. It's amazing how easy it is to print a good negative. Where do you go to school?

[rorrt]

@dgmfoto

I go to City Of Bristol College, and im doing a Btec national diploma.

About 3 of the first years units were on film, we had to shoot 120 in the studio on Mamiya RB67s. But i shoot 35mm om a Minolta X-300.

and the 2 rolls of 120 that i shot up the top of the hill were done on a really nice Zenza Bronica ETR, really great camera, the shutter can sync with a flash at 500ths.

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt What were the differences in the two rolls of film?

[rorrt]

the first one , well actually it was about 50% higher, so it was 30C and same for fix. The film became sort of warped, and it means you have higher visible grain. Plus you have a sort of snake skin effect, (google "reticulation film") and youll see what i mean.

The second, the "Still development", with no agitation in the tank, you simply leave in the tank, checking after the 9 mins, for progress.

You get lots of air bubbles, and for a few frames there was a sort of blurry, smudged effect.

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt Interesting. Have you tried shooting with a Holga? I do know reticutlation. Can Photoshop give you the same effect?

Try this. Put your paper developer into a spray bottle. Put your exposed paper into s dry tray or stand it up against the side of the sink., and spray the developer on. You can get some very cool effects that way.

[rorrt]

@dgmfoto

I have a Holga 120n, and i have used it in the studio with some great results.

as for photoshop, you may be able to find a downloadable layer that you can put over the original image, but i think you actually need to heat the negative.

and for hand developing we've painted developer onto the paper, this works best for me with pearl, or matte. with some fun results, and actually with this method i avoided dodging the print

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt I would like to see some of your work. Is it on the web anywhere? Painting developer is a good way to get some interesting results, but nobody could even begin to guess how I did it when I used that spray bottle. Plus you can get a variety of densities by spraying parts of the print, letting that develop and then spraying additional areas. Gee this is almost making me miss the darkroom -- key word -- almost!

[MrSjfrance]

@dgmfoto Liquid light emulsion is available in a VC now. Cool stuff

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt In watching this, I noticed that although I showed a roll of FP4 that I had shot that morning, I actually developed a roll of Kodak.

[dgmfoto]

@rorrt Sorry to take so long to reply: developing time should be based on your film tests, not necessarily what the film instructions say.

[bobcorn1990]

was that a Nikon F3 ?

[dgmfoto]

@bobcorn1990

Yes, it is a Nikon F3. Blast from the past!

[CrazyDrew09]

this is a very helpful video. i am new to photography. i just recently acquired a 35mm Honeywell Pentax from my uncle, who bought it brand new in 1976. it takes good photos. i want to start developing my own film, because it is too expensive for me to take it to someone else. thank you for the tutorial.

[dgmfoto]

@CrazyDrew09

You're quite welcom CrazyDrew09. 

[mohunrr]

This video brings back my old memories. Quite a couple of times I have screwed up by not loading the film properly with one layer touching the other and that patch getting underdeveloped......

[neonmarketing2004]

I used to do some film developing. I want to do it again. This was a great reminder on important details. Thank you!

[ballihothi88]

thank you !!!!

[Berkner80]

I just bought an Omega C700 enlarger off of ebay.

I use to do B/W photography around 1882. Hope to get back into it. Do people still do this or is this a dying art?

[mynameismikooo]

@Berkner80 It's been around 120 years since your last development, but yes, people still take "photographs" and still do "develop" their own film.

[spinet7]

thank you so much!