Analog - Developing issues (white lines)

Hello.

 

I've been developing a couple of rolls 35mm B&W lately and my last roll got all this white thick lines in almost every photo (see link). The question is simple, what did I do wrong? (Don't want to make the same mistake again).

 

Misstakes I know I did whit this roll (Yes, I'm new to this):

• Didn't let it dry long enough (1h - 1,5h only)
  
• Took quite some time to mount the roll to the spiral in the dark (It aint easy!!!)
  
• Twisted the "gear" for rolling back the film on the Nikon F3 the wrong way before realising it goes the other way
  

 

My gear:

Nikon F3 35mm

Kodak Tri-X 400

Paterson dev tank

Dark bag for getting the film in the spiral

Precise measuring tools

Precise chemical thermometer

Div stuff you need

 

My process (based on Ilfords website):

 

Ilfotec DD-X Developer

20c 8min

1+4 mix (60ml dev + 240ml water)

Agitate according to Ilford website (First 10 sec and again for 10 sec at the start of every further minute + tap in the bench to dislodge any air bubbles)

 

Ilfostop

20c 20sec

1+19 mix (15ml stop + 285ml water)

One agitation

 

Ilford Rapid Fixer

20c 4min

1+4 mix (60ml dev + 240ml water)

Same agitation as Developer

 

Cleaning

20c 10min

Under running water

After 10min - applying a few drops of wetting agent + 1 agitation

 

Than I hang it up for drying (only did this for about 1-1,5h on this film)

 

Photos are quite poorly scanned but I can clearly see the lines on the negative so it's not my scanning process.

 

You'll find three example photos here:

Edited January 24, 2018 by nikig

Could be a light leak in the camera back. Or in the developing tank.

 

Are you agitating by 'twizzle stick' or by inversion? The Paterson tank should have a sealing gasket between lid and tank.

 

You never get this sort of nonsense with a digital camera!

Looks to me like a light leak in the camera back. The "streaks" along the sprocket holes are an indication.

 

Were it mine, I'd shoot some cheap C-41 and have a lab develop it to eliminate light leaks in the developing process as a source of potential problem.

 

If the camera is leaking light, replacement foam is cheap and is about a 10 minute job on an F3.

 

BTW, what is "analog"?

Seems like light leaks to me, agree with the comment that the streaks seem spaced with sprocket holes. Any chance you opened the camera door by mistake, then quickly closed it? The number and position of the streaks appears different across the images you posted.

Rather than a light leak, these could be pressure streaks. You said you rewound the film backwards, and that may have stressed the film. If film gets kinked or twisted or folded it can end up with streaks or crescents. Do the streaks coincide with the corners of the sprocket holes? Can you show us the full width of the film? Are the streaks more prominent toward one end of the film?

Light lines on the prints are dark lines on the negs and could be a light leak. Do you see any lines between the frame on what should be clear film? Many 35mm film cameras are now old enough to be needing new light seals if they used foam of any type. Not a hard job to do.

Take first half of a cheap roll of colored film with camera in an area with substantial ambient light with camera as is.

Take last half of the roll after applying black electrical tape or gaffers tape (careful of finish removal) along seams of back cover.

As previously suggested, take it to a local drug store for development.

Yeah that's a light leak. My guess though is that this is not happening in the camera. Shoot a roll of color and have it processed somewhere. If this problem does not show itself there my guess is your problem is loading film in a loading bag and getting a light leak there. Try loading in a completely black room with no light leaks coming in under the door or from the sides. Easiest way to do this is to wait until dark and make sure lights are off all around the house. I load film on stainless steel reels in the guest bathroom at night with all the lights off in the house. I'll bet you an expired roll of Superia film that this will solve your problem.

 

Rick H.

Weird, looks sort of like a light leak to me too, but oddly it seems from the first shot that both top and bottom of the film door leak, and that its through the sprocket holes. I would have thought if it were a light leak that the density of the white lines would have got higher as you get further from the edges, which doesn't appear to be the case, at least not as strongly as I'd imagine it should be. Also looks a bit like an extreme 'streamers' maybe from lack of agitation, but the lines in picture 2 go right across the whole frame. Whatever, if you're camera is an oldie, new light seals would be one thing to sort, and be fastidious with your processing making sure you have complete darkness when winding spirals. Or I'd go with marksmith's idea of shooting a roll in good light, and after half of it, tape up all possible light entry points on the camera before taping up the other half.

 

Another thought, maybe a light leak in the hinge or opposite end of the film door. As the camera has a ratchet type rewind, is it possible that as you wind on, the force involved opens up a tiny crack somewhere at the hinge end or open end, across the whole width of the film. The ratchet action means the film passes that slot in discrete jumps, fast/slow/fast/slow on the slow passes, the film gets fogged?? Just a thought, it doesn't sound that feasible to me but I don't know enough about rewind mechanisms.

I'm not convinced the streaks have anything to do with sprocket holes. There are, what, 6 or 7 sprocket holes across the length of a frame? I'm counting more than twice that many streaks across the sample shots above.

 

It's this sort of random mystery fault that made me glad to see the back of film after suffering it for 40 years.

id like to see the full frame including the sprockets. but seems the op is a hit n run so we will never know.

Showing a print instead of the negative where the problem lies is like showing a picture of your car to a mechanic and asking, "Why is there smoke coming from under the hood?"

Showing a print instead of the negative where the problem lies is like showing a picture of your car to a mechanic and asking, "Why is there smoke coming from under the hood?"

 

Perhaps you shouldn't try drying your film on the engine?

Rodeo joe has a point re the sprocket holes, there are too many for that to be the issue. Have a look at your negs and see if you can identify any that were taken in quick succession. Are the ones that were taken and wound on quickly less affected than perhaps ones that were the first in a sequence (i.e the first shots after some time dormant?) This might suggest light leak in camera rather than out of it. And I don’t think there is a problem you showing us the print instead of the neg.

I too think Rodeo Joe has a good point on sprocket holes. Marksmiths suggestion would give you a good start to locating the cause. I first thought of bromide drag. I once had a similar experience when improperly using a Patterson tank (as Rodeo Joe notes, from using the 'twizzle stick' rather than inverting)

Arthur (apiarist1)

I vote for Rodeo Joe!

 

the problem can be anything from kinked film to processing to light leaks... gotta see the patient up close and question the OP.

We may never know the cause.

 

It appears the OP checked in and checked out again without leaving a response.

 

- FWIW, I bothered to count, and there are 8 sprocket holes to the frame. However, I count 19 unevenly spaced streaks on the worst affected frame, so I still don't think it's sprocket-hole related.

 

It's a bit like the fogging you get with loosely rolled 120 film. Maybe the top lifted off the cassette?

 

There are 101 things that could be the cause, but it'll probably stay a mystery to all of us now.