I WANT uneven developed film

[tom_kane]

I am trying to get that mottled distressed chemical stain look on

some 4x5 film. One thought I had was to overexpose the film and when

processed (in trays) heat up the developer to 80-90 degrees and pull

the film after a couple of minutes.

 

Another thought I had was to use Polaroid Type 55. I would take the

negative, not clear it, and smear the gel on it.

 

If anyone has any ideas or tips I would love to hear them....

 

THANKS

[danny_liao]

I don't really know what you are talking about but kinda have an idea. Check out this site,www.jamesfee.com. Click on A False Sense of Wellbeing. If that's it, email him. He was an old instructor of mine. Hopefully, he's still willing to teach.

[j.w.]

You can try to badly reticulate the emulsion by extreme temperature swings during processing. For instance, use a warmer-than-normal developer, then ice-water for stop bath. I'm not sure if reticulation is the look you're after, but it can't hurt...er, help.

 

However, with the advent of digital workflow, all the work of trying to distress a negative in the darkroom can now be done from the comfort and convenience of your computer chair.

 

Yes, that's right, introducing PS 10.0 with a new toolbar tab called "Virtual Misprocess". You will be able to selectively misprocess your film in a multitude of ways.

 

From now on, newbie process problems will be much easier to answer. We'll just direct them to check the "Misprocess Settings" tab.

 

Happy April 1st.

[ronald_moravec1]

Develope in a tray emulsion up and don`t agitate but once or twice. The smaller the tray the better. By the time you get to 4x5 in a 5/7 tray, it will be a mess no matter what.

[lex_jenkins]

In the words of Andre 3000: "Shake, sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture..."

 

Okay, semi seriously... there are several things you might try, including shaking the crap out of the film during development. I mean, milkshake makin' shakin', not just "vigorous agitation". Flog it hellagood.

 

Another: Mix up a weak solution of fixer and water. Smear it around the film *before* developing.

 

Yet another: Smear some oily or greasy goop unevenly around the film before developing. Vaseline, baby oil, Jergens, Crisco, nose grease, whatever's handy. Might have to wipe it off before developing to ensure that at least some development occurs in the greased areas.

 

I'm on a roll: Develop for a while; sprinkle and smear some stop bath unevenly around the film; develop a while longer; and so on, back and forth.

 

Naturally, all of this craziness is gonna kill your developer early. So what. It's just a little developer. There's more. It's yours, you aren't breaking any laws that I know of.

 

Okay, your turn now.

[ethan_melad]

it may also be easier to do what you want in the printing process...

try developing in hot developer, toning, print-bleach-tone multiple times w/

different toner types, manipulating (crumpling, etc) paper before printing, using liquid

light...

and dont forget about taking some fine sandpaper to the neg.

[bj_bignell]

Try developing at 30C and using a water stop somewhere around 10C, and then back into a nice hot fixer... As for the mottled, chemical stain look, or other damage to the negative, check out the work that Emil Schildt does (http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member?user_id=526277). I dunno if that's what you're interested in, but he makes a beautful mess sometimes.

 

I like Lex's idea of nose grease... I might just roll myself a 12-shot of Delta 100 and give that a try!

 

BJ

[glenn_thoreson]

Might as well smear some snot on it, too.