equeue Posted November 13, 2008 Share #1 Posted November 13, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) After many years of shooting digital, I just started using an M6 and developing my own B&W film. Unfortunately, I'm not having much luck with development - see the image below - what am I doing wrong? Here's my recipe: Tri-x at 400 Tmax developer Kodafix Kodak Photoflow Thanks for your help! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 13, 2008 Posted November 13, 2008 Hi equeue, Take a look here Help - funny spots on negative . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
imported_peter_m Posted November 13, 2008 Share #2 Posted November 13, 2008 Drying marks and dust by the looks of it. Dry the film in a dust free environment would be my suggestion. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted November 13, 2008 Share #3 Posted November 13, 2008 How much photoflo are you using? I found too much or too little is a recipe for marks. I have an eye dropper and drop in 8 drops per 8 oz of distilled water for my final rinse. Then I hang the negs up in the shower to dry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
antistatic Posted November 13, 2008 Share #4 Posted November 13, 2008 I use my children's bathroom soon after they have had a bath. The humid air and the extractor fan seems to keep the dust down. I also dry my negs on an angle (a tip from Roger Hicks) as it seems to help the water run off without accumulating on the negs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_peter_m Posted November 13, 2008 Share #5 Posted November 13, 2008 That is an interesting idea, have to try the angle thing. Yes that is what I do develop film after a shower, the moisture in the bathroom keeps the dust down and the film won't dry to quickly. Word around here is if the place gets smelly I don't take enough pictures Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodaktrix Posted November 13, 2008 Share #6 Posted November 13, 2008 I never use photoflow or something like that. The last rinse of water is filtered water, then I wipe them off with an very old leather cloth, which I wet and press out before use. The cloth is one that has been used for years for windows wiping, and it is perfectly smooth and clean then. Regards Oliver Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan States Posted November 13, 2008 Share #7 Posted November 13, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was able to eliminate dust by using no more than 4 drops of photoflow in a 300ml tank of distilled water as the final bath. Do this for 60 seconds, shake off the reel to shed excess water and then hang to dry in a room that has NO air movement. NO FANS!!. Finally, the smallest particles look more like what comes off fingers so keep your paws of the face of the film. By they way, how long are you washing the film? If you underwash you will have more trouble with dust and crap on the film. Finally, I'd suggest D76 instead of Tmax as it is cheaper and more predictable but that's another topic;) PS...NEVER EVER EVER SQUEGEE YOUR NEGATIVES! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted November 13, 2008 Share #8 Posted November 13, 2008 Yeah it might take a while to reach your personal balance of photoflo to water. I had it good before I moved and then the water at the new place messed me up so bad that I finally had to move to distilled water for *all* of the wash steps. I'm still not sure why... I found that 4-8 drops per 8 oz of water was good. Probably a bit more was ok too. 16 drops was too much I think - you start to leave an oily residue on your negatives. These showed up as little white specks sometimes when you scan. If you use too little, the water doesn't roll of your negatives as easily, and you can get drying marks where there water drop sat on your negative. I finally settled on 8. Another tip is to make sure your hanging clips are clean. Gunk builds up on them, and runs down on to the top couple negatives. I'm definitely seeing drying marks in addition to white flecks on your negatives. Whether thats do to too much photoflo (and we're seeing photoflo gunk) or too little (and we're seeing deposits left from water drying), I'm not sure. Oh, and don't reuse photoflo. I mean its probably fine in the same session, but don't store it in a bottle and use it for weeks on end. It grows crap which makes a mess if you get it on your negatives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted November 13, 2008 Share #9 Posted November 13, 2008 As others have said dust and drying marks. To eliminate the dust dry in a dust free environment - or try the shower trick already mentioned. For the drying marks, use no more that say 5 drops of wetting agent per film, and more importantly use distilled or de-ionised water from the wetting agent rinse. You can buy de-ionised ater by the gallon from a car accesories shop. If you live in a hard water area you'll get dring marks if you use tap water for that final rinse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
equeue Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share #10 Posted November 13, 2008 Thanks every for all your help! I'll definitely try the shower trick. Actually, I remember seeing David's picture of film drying in the shower before, and it's one of those that made me want to shoot film in the first place. There's just a "look" to it that's difficult to describe. I think my 5D would have lost the details in the highlighted tiles. I probably used too little photoflo; the bottle said 1:200, so I just put one or two drops in. I'll measure next time. I'll also use distilled water for the final rinse. Some D76 is on its way from Adorama, so I'll try that as well. Wish me luck! Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
antistatic Posted November 14, 2008 Share #11 Posted November 14, 2008 Thanks every for all your help! I'll definitely try the shower trick. Actually, I remember seeing David's picture of film drying in the shower before, and it's one of those that made me want to shoot film in the first place. There's just a "look" to it that's difficult to describe. I think my 5D would have lost the details in the highlighted tiles. Happy to help inspire (and I should have noted that I have posted the pic before) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted November 14, 2008 Share #12 Posted November 14, 2008 No fans. Use an air filter to clean up a small room, then hang the film. Hunter makes a nice small one for less than $100. I have two in my darkroom. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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