bethe_fisher

Another vote for Eric. I have an H1a from about 1964-ish. I've been using it since high school and sent it to him for a CLA a few years ago because the winder was not always cocking the shutter. He fixed it, cleaned it, and it's still working great.

I used a cheapo foam brush and consumer-grade watercolor paper and didn't worry much about even-ness and still got reasonable images. If I could find them, I'd take a photo to post.

If Ilford fiber-base isn't quite right (and it's easy to find at places that deal with B&W paper like www.freestylephoto.biz ), then try Ilford Art300. It's heavier, but can't be in water quite as long as regular papers. If you aren't experienced in darkroom printing, then fiber would be better to start with over the Art300. And older papers were fiber-base ones so look for a warm-tone one and you'll likely be fine. If you're asking about inkjet papers, then Ilford doesn't make those and I can't suggest any. Some companies will provide samples though.

I'm guessing you took the picture in a fairly dark area and did not use the flash that some disposables have. The frame is very underexposed and I doubt that it is salvageable. On top of that, there is obvious ridge detail over most of the right side (the dotted lines) - it doesn't quite look like a fingerprint, but could be the palm of someone's hand. Whichever it is, someone handled the film very poorly. The blue stripe near the middle looks like chemicals that weren't handled correctly as well. If you want to shoot film and don't have experience with it, a point and shoot camera that can adjust to the light conditions would be a better start than a disposable. If you use this kind of camera again, you will get better results using it in daylight.

I had a similar thing happen to me once by a lab that hadn't cleaned its processing machine on Saturday then let it sit all weekend and mine were the first rolls through on Monday. In my case, the owner of the lab owned up to it and said he'd done the same thing to his own film once (it was a new employee who did mine). There was a residue on the rollers the film went through and it ended up on my film. By the end of the whole cycle, it was fixed and dried on like everything else. The only way I've gotten images out of those two rolls is because I scanned them. Yours look very similar to mine. While it could be from something else, I'd have a talk with the lab. If they aren't running a lot of film, consider a different lab.

Or the OP only put enough developer in to cover the roll that came out fine (assuming that was on the bottom).

The other possibility (ok, so I'm a little cynical) is that they were fishing for someone to tell them they don't want their business because of that other photo so they can then sue for the same reason the people sued in the case of the cake maker hired to make a cake for a gay couple. There have been several of these cases, with varying results. One of the cries from the right is that liberals are all about being tolerant as long as you agree with them. I agree with your method of turning it down - just realize they may have been looking for a pawn.

HP5+ should only need 2-4 minutes at 1:4 in fresh Ilford rapid fix. Are you agitating when the fixer is in as well? It should be agitated pretty much the same as with the developer.

Praus Productions in Rochester, NY does a good job with all film. I think they use XTol for B&W. I usually do my own B&W, but have sent them a few sheets when I had too many to get to.

I'd recommend to "shoot loose" - shoot with the idea of having things in the frame that will get cropped out. Don't frame your shots in camera the way you want to see them later. Keep in mind you're shooting to show the house and not your compositional skills, too.

There are some gadgets that let you use a backlight under the negative and take a picture with your phone - I have one somewhere, but can't remember the brand (might have been from Lomography). For web use, they're fine, but I wouldn't try to print from them. And you'll need something to invert it from neg to positive (PicShop is one app that can do it, I'm sure there are others).

While I'd love to sell some of my photos, I shoot for me instead of for money. But no, I don't think about loss of value because I don't plan on selling my gear. I also don't buy new stuff often and I plan on really using it when I do buy something. I don't think about trade-in value of cars either. I drive enough miles per year that my cars are never worth much as a trade. I enjoy them myself while I have them.

I use Ilford MG developer with Ilford RC and FB, so YMMV if you use others. My temps are right about 68 F and I develop for 1 minute for RC and 2 minutes for FB. Always. All adjustments are made with filters and exposure time, as rodeo joe suggests. It's easier to see the differences if the development is kept consistent.

Just shoot - you'll find your subject(s). And you'll likely find the darkroom addicting again once you do.

Ilford multigrade developer is sold as a liquid and I've never had a precipitate in mine. To me, the spots look like something got spattered on the paper at some point before the fixer. Looking at her chin, it also looks like the development was uneven. How long is the print in each chemical? It needs to be consistent, btw - same amount of time for each print. Right-side up or upside down? How much agitation? Do you have one pair of tongs for each chemical? Do you wash the tongs and keep each with the same chemical always? With Ilford RC and MG Dev, it should be 1 minute in the developer and with Ilford rapid fix about 30 seconds or 1 minute in the fixer (depending on if it's 1:4 or 1:9). The fixer timing can change if you do a two-bath fixer. FWIW, my tongs and my trays are all labeled and each is only ever used with one step of the process. All prints are in each chemical for exactly the same amount of time. I vary the look by changing the exposure only. When I move the paper to the next tray, I allow it to drip first before putting it in the next one and it is face down all the way through. I agitate by lightly rocking the trays through the time.