How To: Light-Proof a Darkroom on a Budget

  I haven’t posted in a long time – i have been spending the last month or so setting up my darkroom and working through my backlog of negatives that i want printing.  I do plan on shooting some film again soon but at the moment i can’t seem to tear myself away from the enlarger.  Im sure ill scan my prints soon and make a blog about them.

  Anyway, to the point!  Im not the richest man in the world at the moment as my wife is currently off work sick, so were on a reduced income.  The only way i got my darkroom kit was because i sold some of my old music equipment that i wasn’t using anymore and the seller only wanted a very small amount for it (it was a ridiculous bargain considering all the gear i got).  Anyway, after buying my darkroom kit i needed a simple, low-cost way of light-proofing the spare room so i could print without worrying about fogging the paper.  I should say that my spare room consists of one door and one tall window so it wasn’t too big a project.

  I spent a few hours online (in work time, obviously) looking for solutions which others had found.  Now there’s a lot of information online about light-proofing – some people suggesting draught excluders, felt, and even dedicated blackout material.  I didn’t feel that any of these solutions were for me though as i live in a rented house and i didn’t want to do any nailing or screwing.

  In the end i hit upon a solution that has worked really well for me so far and cost £3 to setup.  If you go to B&Q or any other DIY type store you can pick up these rubble sacks:

http://www.diy.com/nav/build/building-materials/tarpaulins-sheets-sacks/sacks/B-and-Q-Rubble-Sacks-Pack-Of-10-Black-535mm-x-820mm-9273085

I remember using them a few years ago for some garden work i was doing.  They’re thick, and most importantly black.  I bought a bag of 10 and then all i needed to do was head home and gaffer tape the bags over my window.  There was still some light soaking through even though the window was covered so i taped another layer of bags over to create a double layer.  At this point you need to make sure that there’s no light leaking through from your gaffer tape - make sure you press it down firmly onto your wall.  I decided to keep the curtain over the window as an extra layer of defence.

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  There wasn’t much light coming in through the door but it definitely needed protecting.  I remembered i still had a box of curtains that were left in the house by the previous tenants when we moved in so i dug one out.  All along the top of the curtain were hoops for the curtain rail to go through.  I hammered a tack into the top-left and top-right of the door frame and hung the curtain on them using the hoops.  Although some light still seeps through its fine as i ran some tests and my paper hasn’t fogged at all.

  So there you have it – a simple, removable and cheap way to light-proof a room.  I just thought i would post this in case anyone was having similar difficulties to me in getting setup.  As always if you have any questions just contact me on the blog.  Happy printing!

How To: Home Develop C41 Negatives

  Yes, its another post about developing.  Im in a very darkroom frame of mind at the minute as im currently in the middle of getting an enlarger setup in my spare room (going to look and probably buy tomorrow, yay).  Im thinking back to when i first started getting setup developing my own film and how i got lots of help from various forums but it still took me a long time to get all the information in required and to find a process that works for me.  So i thought that i would use my blog to pass on some knowledge to others, as well as my usual phototrip posts.

  So - this post is about my C41 process.  Unlike most others i started off doing C41 processing before i did black and white.  Most people start on black and white as its done (generally) at room temperature and there is more rom for error (yes, i know hardcore b&w enthusiasts will disagree, but lets just keep going).  However, many that get used to black and white seem to be under the impression that C41 is very complex and near impossible to do at home - but that just isnt the case.

  There are a few ways to do it.  Poeple get good results just getting a tub full of water and heating it up and if you fancy that route (lets face it, its cheaper) then go for it.  Personally i use a rotary processer - a Jobo CPE-2 to be precise.

  These are readily available on Ebay and all they are is a water bath with temperature control and a rotary motor which agitates your tank for you.  Some better (i.e. more expensive) models also have a lift which let you add and remove chemicals to the film tank without having to lift it off the rotary.  I find though that the CPE-2 easily meets my needs.

  As for chemicals i am a huge fan of the Rollei Digibase C41 kits.  I tend to buy from AG Photographic who are based in the UK as i have always had excellent servcie from them and they tend to be a little cheaper than everywhere else.  These kits come in a variety of sizes but i tend to go for the 1L kit which lets me do 4 batches of 250ml - around 20 films altogether.  These kits also have a long shelf life (when unmixed) which i find very handy as i often have a month or 2 where i dont have any films to process.  The only drawback is that the instructions that come with these kits arent the best.  There are washes missing and personally i think some of the times are off for processing which is why it took me so long to get my procedure nailed.

  So, what is my procedure?  Well, the Jobo tank i use allows for 1 x 120 film (or 2 x 35mm) to be processed (well, technically 2 x 120 films can go onto one reel but i dont like to do that).  I prefer to do my films one at a time simply for quality control - if something goes wrong during developing then i havent ruined multiple films.  I fill my Jobo with water (preferably warm as it means that you dont waste time and electricity heating cold water) and leave it to heat up to around 38C (C41 should be processed at 37.8 +/-5C).  I like to leave it to heat up for about an hour to make sure the temperature has stabilised.  Whilst the water bath is heating up i mix my chemicals following the instrucitons included with the kit.  The instructions say that they solutions must be mixed with water at 49C, and i am fortunate in that i can hit that temperature with the hot water from my taps.  If you cant then boil a kettle, pour the water into a jug and wait for it to cool down to around 49C.  The kit comes with multiple syringes - you need to make sure that you use one for fixer, one for stabiliser, one for bleach etc.  Use permanent marker to label them otherwise you will end up cross contaminating your chemicals.  Unfortunately there arent enough syringes included in the kit for 1 per chemical so i use the same syringe for parts A,B and C of the developer.  Some people may be renounce this but it works ok for me so i do it.

  So, you have measured out your chemicals and mixed them with water.  Pour them into their bottles, stir them well and put them into your water bath.  Whilst you wait for your chemicals to settle to 37.8C load your film onto your reels (if you dont know how to do this or even what im on about check youtube, theres lots of videos there that will help you out).  You're all set now and ready to develop (once your chemicals have heated up).  After about an hour dip a thermometer into your developer and check the temperature is stable at around 38C.  You will also need some jugs of water at around 38C too for washing yourn film later.  I like to fill a jug with a anrrow bottom and stand it in the spare space in my Jobo bath so the temperature keeps up.

  Once you're all heated up put your developing tank onto the rotary and set it going at full speed for 5 minutes.  This brings the tank and film up to a similar temperature to your chemicals which will stop your film being 'shocked' when you suddenly pour in some hot fluids.  Some people like to prewash their film.  They heat up the tank and then fill it with water for 3 minutes or so.  I used to do it but have personally gotten far better results by not doing so so i am dropping this step from my developing procedure.  If you google it you'll see a tremendous amount of debate covering this topic with everyone having a differing opinion about what effects prewashing/soaking has on the film.  If you do choose to prewash dont be worried when the water comes out a vivid colour like purple or green, this is the the anti-halation layer and dye being washed off your film.

  After 5 minutes it is time to start pouring in your chemicals.  Start your stopwatch and pour in your developer.  Put the lid on the tank and rotate the tank by hand 3 times so as to get coverage of the developer over the film, give the tank a solid tap on the floor/work surface to disoldge any air bubbles (remember this - it will make your film easier to scan later) then put the tank onto the rotary.

  My developing procedure is as follows:

Preheat 5:00
Developer 3:15
Bleach 6:30
Wash 1 3:00 (6 washes of 30s)
Fixer 6:30
Wash 2 6:00 (6 washes of 1m)
Stabiliser 1:30 (to be done at room temperature)
Dry

  With each step allow 7 seconds or so to pour out the first chemical and pour in the next eg pour the developer out at 3:08 and pour the bleach in at 3:15.  The washes are important steps but they are not included on the Rollei instructions.  The first wash should come after the bleach and consist of 6 changes of water every 30 seconds.  This makes sure that the tank is fully removed of bleach before you pour in your fixer.  The second wash comes after fixing and consists of 6 changes of water every 1 minute.  Again, this stops the stabiliser being contaminated by fixer.  Some people wash between developer and bleach but you really shouldnt do that as it can be detrimental to the process.

  Stabilising should be done at room temperature.  When you come to stabilise just pour it into your tank and rotate it by hand for the required amount of time.  I used to stabilise at 37.8C but i was advised by a fellow processor to do it at room temperature; to be honest though i cant see much of a difference in my negatives.

  The above steps should take you around half an hour to complete.  Once you're done you can take the lid off your tank and remove your film.  The film should be covered in foam from the stabiliser - dont wash this off.  Just hang your film up to dry naturally (in as dust-free an environment as possible).  Once its dry take it to your scanner or your enlarger and see how it looks.

  This tutorial is by no means definitive.  This is just how i currently develop my C41 negatives/cross processed slide films at home.  Im sure as time goes on i will home my skills in processing and change my process as i see fit.  If you have any quesitons feel free to post on this blog and ill be sure to answer them.

How To: Home Develop Black and White Film

  I thought i would do a tutorial on home developing black and white film as when i was starting out just over a year ago it took me a long time to get all the info together that i needed and its nice to give something back.  Hope you find this helpful.

Equipment

Stopwatch/timer
Film changing bag (the biggest you can afford)
3 x 50/100ml meausring cylinders
2 x plastic water bottles
2x plastic jugs (just some cheap supermarket ones will do)
Developer (i like to use Rodinal as it lasts forever and you only use small quantities).
Stop bath  (i use Ilford Ilfostop)
Fixer (i use Ilford Rapid Fix)
Wetting agent (i use Kodak Photo-Flo)
Developing tank and at least 1 reel (i use a Paterson system 4 tank)
Accurate thermometer (needs to be able to read 20oC)
Film clips

Background

  Im not going to discuss loading your film onto a reel, there a plenty of videos no youtube for this kind of thing.  Basically your film goes onto your reel inside your changin bag and then gets loaded into your tank.  Once this is done you're now ready to start developing.

  First you'll need to mix up your developer.  Now, Rodinal is very versatile as you can mix it in different concentrations which will produce different results on your negative.  The most used ratios are 1:25, 1:50 and 1:100, sometimes 1:200 is used.  The smaller the ratio the bigger the contrast that will be produced eg 1:25 will produce more contrast than 1:50.  The ratio means that for every 25/50/100ml of water you have you add 1ml of Rodinal.  So if your tank takes 500ml of solution and you want a 1:50 ratio you will mix 10ml of Rodinal with 490ml of Water .

  So, measure out your Rodinal using one of your measuring cyclinders and pour it into one of your jugs.  Measure out the water (you can use the same cylinder) and add that to the jug and then mix it (you can use your thermometer to do this).  Once you have mixed your developer you repeat with your stop bath and your fixer.  There is a fixed ratio for these and this will be printed on the bottle of each chemical.

  Once you have completed this step you should have 3 jugs, one with developer, one with stop bath and one with fixer.

  Next you will need to find out how long you must develop your film for using the ratio of developer you have chosen.  The best source for this information can be found on the massive dev chart here: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php  Basically you tell it what developer youre using with what film and it will tell you the times to develop for certain ratios.  For instance if i want to develop some Ilford HP5+ shot at 400iso in a 1:25 mix of rodinal the chart tells me that for 120 film i should develop for 6 minutes.  You will need to keep an eye on temperature.  20oC is ideal so you may need to warm your chemicals a little if you're developing in a cold room  If you're a few degrees off then follow this link http://www.ilfordphoto.com/aboutus/page.asp?n=87&t=Developing+Black+and+white+film and at the bottom of the page you will see a link to a temperature compensation chart.  Use this to determine developing times at alternative temperatures.

Procedure 

  Ok, our chemicals are all mixed and we have got all our times together.  Now to begin.  I like to start with a prewash of my film.  Some people do it, some dont; both get good results so its really up to you.  I shoot 120 film so i prewash for 5 minutes.  Get 500ml of water at around 20oC and pour it into your tank (holding your tank at about a 45 degree angle to reduce air bubbles).   Once its all in put the lid on and shake your tank.  Rotate it, shake it, spin it.  Really work it hard to make sure that the water covers every part of the film.  Do this for 1 minute then pour out the water.  It willprobably come ou a greenish blue colour.  Pour in another 500ml of clean water and shake again.  Do this for 5 minutes.

  After 5 minutes has passed and you have poured out the last of the water you are ready to pour in your developer.  Agin, angle the tank as this reduces air bubbles.  Put the lid on and rotate the tank vertically 3 times whilst turning it horizontally (this makes sure the whole of the film gets a quick covering of developer).  Tap the tank firmly on the floor to release any trapped air bubbles and then stand the tank on the floor.  When 1 minute has passed give it 3 more rotations and a little tap.  Reapeat this for the length of time you have been told to develop for.  I should tell you here that the more you agitate, the more grain you get.

  After your developing is done you can pour the liquid from the tank down the sink and pour in your stop bath.  Ilfostop only needs to be in the tank 10 seconds so once youve got the lid on agitate the tank for 10 sec and then pour the liquid out back into your jug, DO NOT DISCARD IT because you can reuse it.

  Now its time to add your fixer.  Pour it into the tank in the usual way and you need to constantly agitate for 3 minutes (note, 3 minutes is for Ilford Rapid Fix - if you buy anotherfixer follow the guidelines provided by the manufacturer).  After 3 minutes pour your fixer back into your jug.  Again, this can be reused so DO NOT DISCARD.

  Now it is time to wash the film again so add 500ml of clean water and agitate constantly.  After 1 minute pour out the water and some more fresh and repeat agitation.  Do this for 5 minutes.  On your last wash you will need to add a tiny amount of wetting agent.  Kodak Photo-Flo is highly recommended.  Add 2ml of it to your final rinse and agitate for about 20-30 seconds.  Pour the liquid away and open up your tank.  You should have a fully developed negative.  Remove the film from the reel and hang it up to dry using your clips.  Pour your stop bath and fixer into your plastic bottles and store them away ready for your next development.

  So to put it in a more bulletpoint form:

1) Prewash (constant agitation) - 5 minutes

2) Developer (Agitate for around 15s - 3 inversions at each minute of development) times from massive dev chart

3) Stop Bath - 10 seconds

4) Fixer - 3 minutes (constant agitation)
5) Wash - 5 minutes (constant agitation)
6) Wetting Agent - 20s
7) Hang to dry

  And thats it.  Any questions then feel free to comment on this page and ill get back to you.  All the black and white shots on this blog have been developed with this method so i can assure you it works.  I will be doing another blog soon about push/pull processing and also one about stand developing which is another method of development that takes longer but is simpler.  Hope this has helped.

Our House Party

  Last Friday my wife and i had our first house party.  About 40 people showed up so the house got pretty packed.  I decided to load up some Polaroid 600 film and take a few shots of friends.  Don't ever host a house party.  Stains, broken kettles, lots of recycling and very little sleep.  Looking back though, it was worth it!

Party Night

  Old friends visiting is always a good excuse to go out on the town.  7 of us headed into town to our local live band venue to see some bands and get a few drinks.  I decided to bring my Polaroid 600 as i thought it would be nice to get some shots of us all together.  The music was good, if not to everyones taste (after a middle-of-the-road rock band finished their set a thrash band started playing)!

  We left shortly after and headed to the off licence (via a cash machine which nearly ate my card) and then into the centre.

  We ended up at Glovers which is not my kind of place but served the vimto/fruit pastille cocktails that the girls wanted.  Not long after we decided to head back to my house for fun and games.

 

  We ended up staying up until 4am playing hide and seek and blind mans buff.  Quite a few people collided or had their shirts accidentally ripped mid-game but its was all part of the fun.  Then it was off to bed for us all (dont ever try to inflate a double airbed using your own lung power) ready to spend sunday tired and sleepy.

Instant Gratification II

  I recently came into possession of a Polaroid 640CL camera which has built in flash, auto exposure and also a macro lens fitting.  I also came into 19 boxes of twin pack expired Polaroid 600 film for a ridiculously low price.  I shot the first pack with my new camera and these are some of the results:

  I'm rather pleased with how they came out as i was a little worried the expired film would result in poor colour quality.  I'm looking forward to shooting the next pack now.

Instant Gratification

  There is something altogether awesome about taking a photo and having it shoot out the front of your camera almost immediately.


  I bought a polaroid 1000 Instant camera about 3 weeks ago forma  local antique warehouse for a mere £7 pounds.  It came complete with bag and Q-Light flash and i felt that the risk of it not working was worth the cost.  I got some film off ebay (impossible project PX70 Push!) and loaded it up.  WHIRRR!! It ground into life and i was ready to start taking my first shots.  


  I had spent the days up to delivery of my film scouring forums online about the best way to shoot this film.  From what i read i gathered it was quite temperamental and so i prepared myself for some bad shots.  I got snapping and although the colours weren't exactly what i hoped for, i still think i got some decent shots.

   Cant wait to get my hands on some more film now and refine my technique.  I hear you can use 600 film as well with a slight modification to the camera; maybe ill look into it.