nikon grrl. . . Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 hi everyone. so i spent a week with my ailing father, taking pictures of him all the while. these shots are, of course, invaluable to me. i whipped up some xtol and went to processing. i did everything as usual. the thing is, ALL my negs are coated with opaque, perfectly circular spots. i can only see these when i look at the neg from a side view. when i hold it up to the light, the neg looks good. however, i'm terribly distressed, and kicking myself all the while. now, i've never seen spots like this. they are not on the emulsion side. they will not rub off. my only thought is that i didn't let the xtol 'rest', and that tiny granuels burned their way onto the films surface. guys, before i go into the darkroom and face absolute heart break, please, please, for the love of god, tell me there is hope. do you think these will print? if i can see the neg clearly, isn't that a good sign? or, since there are these marks, am i totally sunk? i shot with tmax3200 at 1600, used freshly mixed xtol 1:1. any help (and hope) is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_snay Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 You might try rewashing a few of them to see if the spots come off. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon grrl. . . Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 dave, i wish it were that simple. these spots sort of look 'burned into' the negative, but only when viewed from a 90 degree angle. as i said, looking head on, i don't see them. have you ever heard of anything like this? are my negs ruined? do you think this is becuase i used the xtol straight away after mixing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profhlynnjones Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Either make a macro shot or a print showing the problem so that we can see what is going on. IF this were on the emulsion side I would say that the all fo the developer components were not fully dissolved. However, Xtol being what it is (the only acid based developer now in common use)we all have to think differently (and by the way, I hate the stuff, but then those of you who have heard me talk about Xtol know this). Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon grrl. . . Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 thanks lynn. i'll try! as soon as i can i'll post a shot of the disaster. oh my god, rolls and rolls of my father. i pray all is not lost. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon grrl. . . Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 oh, another thing i wanted to add--i washed the film in tap water after the stop bath and before the fixer. i've never done this before. just thought i would stretch out my fix. do you think this could have caused the big, white, opaque spots?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christer_almqvist2 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 If you can see the spots only when you look at the film from a 90 degree angle, perhaps the spots will not be seen by the enlarger either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard jepsen Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I'm a long time user of XTOL which is a terrific developer. Perhaps your white spots are from air bubbles. They would form round lighter spots on film? Your water rinse is not a factor. I always mix XTOL at temps between 80 - 90 degrees F. and let it sit overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon grrl. . . Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 richard, i don't think they're air bubbles. in fact, i'm positive. this may just totally throw me into digital. the only way i can describe the dots are that they're all over every frame of every roll of film, and it looks like it would look if my film were covered in fungus. which it's not. it's just ruined, i'm sure, and i'm so sick i can't even deal with this. i just can't believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_jones1 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Try making a print like Christopher mentioned. Then you will know if you really have a problem. FWIW, chalk me up as an Xtol hater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon grrl. . . Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 here is a picture of the nightmare scenario. by the way, i think they're totally ruined. i looked again through light, and the spots show, through and through. does anyone here know if it would be possible to scan these and fix this awfulness?<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon grrl. . . Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 sorry guys, that attachment was too large. here it is again:<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_jones1 Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Believe me your film is not totally ruined as far as being able to yield good images. I can tell that by looking at your film in the photo. Are you familiar with photoshop? The heal tool is my friend in photoshop! I use it, and other photoshop features, to restore old images where the negative has been grossly scratched, torn, or mutilated. You would not believe the garbage I have been able to fix in photoshop, stuff that would have taken days of retouching and diddling with in the old days. Stuff that make your negs look pristine. Get your negs scanned, get photoshop (LE version is cheap) and have at it. You will be amazed. Definitely worth it especially if these are cherished images of your father. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripanfal Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Regina, It was mentioned to rewash your negatives...did you try? what might look "burned in" may not be. Also, you looked at them "through light", did you actually make a print? Don't worry yourself until you try both of the above. I'm sure you could scan and fix some in PS, but you may not have to. Keep us posted. If you do not have a lot of experience in PS, post some examples at http://www.dpreview.com in the retouching forum. Those guys chomp at the bit for challenges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripanfal Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Oh I forgot, rinse in distilled water, you probably already know this. My tap water is BAD, and in the winter it is WORSE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon grrl. . . Posted March 20, 2007 Author Share Posted March 20, 2007 hi everybody. well, first i want to start off by thanking all of you for your input. i couldn't bear the thought of going into a darkroom and seeing everything come out ruined. greg, i followed your advice and scanned the negs--used a cheaper office scanner, but it looks like if anything, i can scan them as you suggest and get images that way. thankfully. i am so grateful. if ever i hated digital, i don't now. also, chris, i haven't rewashed them, but will try with a strip. still don't have much hope for that, but it's worth a try. also, i have class tonight so i will ask my teacher. i'll post what he says. also, i hope anyone in the future reading this will take heed and let your chemistry sit overnight before using it, please! the picture below is blown out terribly, (tmax 3200, way over-developed. will use much selectol if i can traditionally print these) but thought i'd show you a sample of my beloved dad. i'm not sure, but i think if you look over his right shoulder, there's a light spot that may be caused by these infernal white marks. or it could be the sun. thanks again.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchell_kirschner Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 It's impossible to rule out tap water contamination until you've actually tried re-rinsing. Use distilled water if at all possible (usually available in supermarkets). Let a strip soak on a reel in distilled water for 10-15 minutes. Make sure the water is close to 68F, or even warmer. After the rinse, do a brief soak in distilled water with a few drops of Photo-Flo. If you go the scanning route for printing, I do recommend a dedicated film scanner. There's also an excellent group on yahoo dedicated to digital B&W printing using dedicated inksets for that purposes: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/ Good luck, and let us know how it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k.l._carruth Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Sorry to use this as locator..only thing that came up...looking for Regina lived on Avondale (it looks like your dad in photo);wanting to re-connect communications & catch up. if interested, please contact....Kandi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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