Ever developed film in an instant cofee?

[ruslan safin]

How do you do! A friend of mine has just finished an experiment: for

35mm film he used 10 teaspoonful of Nescafe and a spoon of baking

soda. Developing time was 8 hours. here is the example of what he

has gotten (don't pay attention to the scanner's mischiefs):

http://club.foto.ru/gallery/photos/photo.php?photo_id=480172

[bobatkins]

Boy, thing must be bad in Russia if photographers have to use coffee as a developer.

 

Looking at the image you have to wonder if it was worth the effort.

 

I hear you can also use horse urine, though I'm not sure things could get bad enough for me to try that one...

[steve_dunn2]

<p>Never tried it, but I've heard of it before. A Google search turns up several other articles about it, including <a href="http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/text-coffee.html">one from RIT</a>.</p>

[erickpro]

Oh boy, things must be too exactly as the book in USA, people don't use their imagination anymore.

[randall ellis]

I've heard of this but never done it myself. They say that you can develop film in other acids as well, although I'm not sure how I feel about developing film in uric acid... There are some posts on this site about Folgernol, using Folgers instant coffee that may provide more info. Neat idea!

 

- Randy

[bobatkins]

Just because something is possible to do doesn't always mean it's a good idea to do it.

 

I'm sure you can use many household chemicals and body fluids to develop film. I'm just not quite sure why you'd want to unless you're really, really bored or you're a chemist.

[erickpro]

We like to keep our minds busy, thinking all the time. "What if" is always in our minds, so we have 3 choices:

 

1. Try it and see what happens.

2. Don't try it and wish you'd tried.

 

3. Or read a book to learn what other people have invented.

[40mm]

Because it's there.

[glen peterson]

I've done this, and it has been talked about, to some extent in the BW Film formum. My developing time was more like 30-40 minutes, and the pictures looked a little better. This one was taken on Tmax 400.<div></div>

[kymtman]

Rusla;

I have use Nescafe crystals and washing soda: 4 rounded teaspoons of coffee, 2 level teaspoons of washing soda, and 200ml of water. stir the washing soda into the water untill completely disolved and no bubbles come to the surface (aprox 10 minutes time) then add coffee and stir until all foam is gone. Time in this solution will be 25 minutes at 20 degrees celcius.

Go to this link to see the results. The third photo is in Folger coffee solution ;;; http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DVC4

 

You have a nice day and Keep burning the films. Tell Gustov Caeslaer Ron says hello!

[kymtman]

Rusla;

Not all Americans are rude and arrogant, most of us are spoiled by inheritance.

Why would one use coffee to develope film? It is not as harmful to our enviroment as other chemicals, and I get finer grain. It's always available.

Why would one want to climb Mt. Everest?

[anupam]

Bob, I am from India and I occasionally do pinhole photography, but not because I can't afford a lens! I agree that the picture is not very good, but sometimes it's all great fun. Thanks for the horse urine tip:-)

 

-A

[r.t. dowling]

Go to Google.com and search for "folgernol" and you will find lots of information about using instant coffee to develop film. Some people get very nice results with it.

[jordan_w.]

In addition to R.T.'s tip try searching Google for "Caffenol" as well as Folgernol. There have been dozens of threads here, on APUG, and on USENET on the subject of instant-coffee developers.

[kymtman]

It might serve us all well, those of us who drink the beverage, to not broadcast such facts merely to serve in keeping down the cost of coffee. Oh, by the way, you can dilute the mixture in half and get some nice look Prints. I believe that I have posted at least one somewhere on pnet. They can pass for antiques with the sepia look to them on fiber paper. Quite unique in fact I will send up one of an old house that was built in 1812 or there abouts. "Old Joe Clark's house" ! The detail is unbelievable seeing the real photo. Enjoy!<div></div>

[James G. Dainis]

I wonder how long it will be before a Nescafe/Folgers flame war breaks out.

[craig_shearman1]

Popular or Modern Photography years ago developed a roll of film with water from the Hudson River.

[rustys pics]

Personally I hate instant coffee, and would never develop my film in anything less than virgin, organic, fresh ground Hawaiin beans.

 

Good lord, is a bottle of Rodinal that hard to find these days?

What people forget is that you can develop film in tap water. The developer is merely the accelerant that allows you to control what you're doing. But maybe I just lack imagination.....

[ryanjoseph]

Man if crappy instant coffee can make such interesting photos I wonder how well they would turn out if you used legendary Blue Mountain Coffee from my homeland of Jamaica! I bet the resolution would at least double ;-)

[bhneely]

Bob,

 

Things in Kazakhstan are bad enough that I won't buy locally made developer. Universal Developer #2 produces contrast that is truly mind-blowing - I get Zones 8-10 and Zones 1-3, and nothing in between using it. Vanya's coffee picture is much, much better by comparison.

 

As to using Jamaica Blue Mountain or Kona, are you guys insane? Drink it, then use the resulting uric acid, so at least you get some value for your $80/kg. Much better to use some inexpensive Colombian ($20/kg), or better yet, the West African robusta you get in Maxwell House ($5/kg).

 

b.

[scott_kinkade]

Assuming that a certain amount of do-it-yourself mentality prevails here, I will point out that home coffee roasting is itself, like film and photo processing, a rewarding and possibly money-saving hobby. Take a peek at <a href=http://sweetmarias.com/>this site.</a> Just imagine carefully roasting your own batch of Kona peaberry to get just the right tonality out of your HP5+.

[rowland_mowrey]

Guys;

 

B&W developers are getting hard to find.

 

I just bought the last pack of Xtol at my local shop. They informed me "Thank God that is gone. We won't be ordering any more unless you want a case of it. There is no call for B&W." So, there you are. Coffee is the wave of the future.

 

Grant Haist used coffee, wine, and suggested urine and a number of other natural products that contain catechols and other reducing agents as possible developing solutions.

 

More power to you all using unique methodology. I heartily subscribe to these unique processes having been part of Kodak's unconventional imaging group for several years myself.

 

I'm reduced to mixing my own B&W processing solutions a lot of the time to get exactly what I want when the local shops run out of the things I usually use. The various papers are impossible to find now. I used a lot of Luminos. Well, it is no more here locally. I loved their charcoal warm tone paper.

 

But, I've been able to make my own warm tone emulsion and coat it on a vellum support with good results. I hope it pans out. I may be reduced to making everything from scratch.

 

I've just come up with a simple Dektol work-alike, and am working on my own Xtol work-alike just to stay in business. Otherwise no B&W with prepackaged chemistry. I'm out of 1 L Dektol packs.

 

AAAAAAAa.

 

Regards.

 

Ron Mowrey

[david_m]

I've never been much of a coffee drinker, can you develop films in tea?

[ruslan safin]

David, it is like "I am vegetarian but not because I like animals - it is because I hate plants!". :)

[WJT]

Ha! Good one Rusla! LOL Regards.