First Roll In 12 Years

[jim_causey]

I developed my first roll of film in over a decade yesterday.

 

I've been reading photo.net for years, and playing with various color

films and, more recently, digital cameras, but the whole time, I've

been aching to get back into the darkroom. I took a photo class as a

kid, but struggled with it quite a bit, and took those fears with me

into adulthood.

 

Yesterday, in the closet, I rolled the Tri-X 400 onto a Hewes steel

roll, then processed it... and at the end, the joy of seeing those

silver negatives hanging to dry was greater even than I thought it

would be. And it was so much easier than I remembered, and feared,

that I still can't believe it.

 

Thanks to everyone who's posted here over the years for the tips and

help... that Hewes roll was so much easier to use than the plastic

crap I used in school that I nearly wept with delight.

 

Now, I just hope that the B&W tools and chemicals that I've been

aching to play with for years stay available for a while longer.

[jim_a]

Great post. Yeah, those Hewes reels are the best. It's impossible to load them incorrectly. If you appreciate well-made items now you have to pick up a <a href="http://search.ebay.com/kodak-process-thermometer_W0QQsofocusZbsQQsorecordsperpageZ50QQfromZR6QQnojsprZyQQpfidZ0">Kodak Process Thermometer.</a>

 

<P>

 

Developing film is all not that hard. The secret is to find what works for you and then do the same thing again and again and again.<P>

 

Have fun!

[rick_gray]

Jim,Alleluia! It is sweet,isn't it. Some say B&W is making a revival -I say it has never really left(redefining itself perhaps) and hope it will remain with us forever. Play away.

[eric_kim]

Congratulations!

I started developing b+w myself 2 months ago after many years of playing with color/digital stuff. I used D-76 & Tri-x and currently use TMax 100 & Rodinal. I am using Leica MP, summicron 35 mm pre-ASPH, summilux 50mm and Focomat V35 and love the results.

I had initially struggled with my $5.00 reel and finally fixed most of problems. I should have bought a Hewes reel. I had spent over 8 hours for printing last Friday and made 4 8x10, 10 5x7 and many test strips. Not very productive, but I enjoyed a lot.

[frank.schifano]

Good for you! Developing film is fun, but the real fun starts when you start printing again. BTW, that Kodak process thermometer - way too much overkill. It's nice, but you can spend your money better on more film, paper, and chemistry. I'm using a Patterson Color Thermometer that cost me about $20 new from B&H. No it's not the precision instrument that the Kodak instrument is, but it's plenty good enough.

[dean_williams]

Good on ya, Jim. For some of us (and I'm one of them) doing it all ourselves holds a certain satisfaction, of which pressing the shutter release is only the begining. Seeing a roll of negs come off a reel is still fun for me, even after some 30 years. And don't fret about B&W supplies. They'll be around for a good long while, just like oil paints and wood burning stoves.

[silverhalide1949]

Welcome back. There is almost nothing on earth as good as working in a darkroom. It has stareing at a monitor beat hands down.

 

"Until the Last SilverHalide Crystal is Extinct." Robert O