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What's Wong? Film, Developing, Camera/Lens?


kokoshawnuff

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This photo is like all others on one specific roll or Tri-X 400 Developed in D-76. It is unique to this roll, because I developed another roll (of Tri-X) in the same tank shot on the same day with the same lens/camera combination. I have not seen this before, so I am hoping someone with more film experience than I can give some information. Thanks.

 

(p.s. am referring to the honeycomb-like formation in to sky)

 

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From the pattern and sizes my first thought is a pattern of bubbles. What agitation did you use during development? I've never seen anything like this, but for 50 years I've always "rapped" the tank as I set it down after inversions to jar loose any bubbles that might be between layers of film.

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Wow!

 

1) I think you can rule out camera /lens as the cause (unless you have some really weird filter ;) ). Definitely has the look of bubbles or foam on the film surface causing uneven development, although I've never seen such large and widespread marks.

 

2) Did you notice the marks while the film was still wet?

 

3) What developer, time, tank and reel type? Stop bath, or water, after the developer? Did you rap the tank at least once as soon as the developer was poured in? Or only after 30-45 seconds?

 

4) Any chance your tank had been filled with Photo-Flo or a similar wetting agent at the end of the previous film run, and not adequately washed out? Left-over wetting agent dried (or wet) on the tank could re-dissolve in the developer of the next run, and cause it to foam more than normal.

 

5) If you look across the front/back surfaces of the film - any external visible variation on the surfaces (scum, or variations in reflectivity)?

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adan,

 

I didn't notice anything when the film was still wet and even when I look at it now I can only see the marks with a loupe. I used D76 1:1 for 9:45, with steel reels and tank, kodak stop bath, and 99% sure I rapped the tank when I first poured in the developer. And I cleaned the tank as well as I normally do.

 

I guess, since no one seems to have seen anything like this before, I can chalk it up as an anomaly due to developing error (perhaps the fact that this reel was on top of or under the other reel was enough to make the difference). I have a couple rolls I just developed and will check the results on those when they dry.

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The pattern in the sky is what you would expect from detergent bubbles that cluster together. So I would suspect photoflo is the culprit during drying, or perhaps bubbles left on the surface after a photoflo contaminated pre-wash and the film has been left too long before adding the developer. Or indeed a period between dev, stop, fix, when the tank has been drained but left too long before the next chemical.

 

Steve

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Seems to be drying marks, possibly caused by contamination during the final wash, foam may have been left to dry on the film rather than contamination before or during the dev and fix stages.

 

It looks as though you have burnt-in the top half of the frame, which makes the problem more obvious.

 

If these are drying marks, you might be able to do something about it:

 

Breathe on the non- emulsion side of the neg and gently wipe with a clean microfibre cloth. If that doesn't work, the contamination is likely to be on the emulsion side. As a last resort you could try fixing and/or washing the film again. After washing again, run the film between two fingers to remove excess water before hanging it up to dry, but don't squeeze your fingers together too hard!

 

Try using less wetting agent and less vigorous agitation during the wash in future. I prefer a continuous flow of fresh water rather than several changes, but both methods are equally effective.

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Hello,

 

It is interesting that we should face the same problem.

I recently had the same issue and my good friend pointed me towards this thread of yours.

I shot a roll of Tri-X 400 and devloped using Tmax Developer and Ilford Rapid fixer.

The problem, as can be seen in this small photo, is pretty similar to yours.

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6164/6203008047_9c92906d5d_m.jpg

 

Anyway, it has come to my mind that this could very likely be due to the residual soap solution (Ilford) that I may have inadvertently not washed off completely from the developing tank. Thus I recall while developing this roll, there was plenty of bubbles on top of the cover when I opened the lid.

 

I think it serves as a reminder to myself to be particularly careful when I next wash my tank after completing a development.

 

Limwhow

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Thanks for all the responses everyone, and interesting to see someone else with the same issue. Sounds like I may not have cleaned the tank well enough after my previous developing (leaving photoflo to dry in the tank), because the marks are definitely in the developed film not on the surface of the emulsion (I tried cleaning a strip and to no avail).

 

I will make a point of cleaning the tank with a little more purpose from now on...

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Some developers can cause more frothing than others. I only use inversion for the first minute, then all other agitation is swirl (unless its a very long dev time or for very weak mixtures of developer). It means bubbles can't form and sit around.

 

Steve

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