Weird Grain or Dust?

[byron_fry1]

Hi guys,

Just processed and scanned my first roll of tri-x. I used dc 110 b dilution,

kodak indicator stop bath, and ilford rapid fixer, then washed with a hypo, then

used a wetting agent.

 

My problem now is that, besides little obvious mistakes like a watermark or

scratch here and there, I have a lot of little white speckles all over my

photos, at first I thought maybe dust, but there is just so much of it and they

are pure white that they could not be dust? I am wondering if maybe I did

something developing to create this effect?

Sorry I cannot upload photos today, as I am using a dialup connection and it

will take a year.

Thanks for any help.

[evan_goulet]

Was your fixer fresh? I have had a similar-sounding problem when I have used older fixer, that has had a few rolls run through it. You can get particles precipitating from the solution, and they get caught on the film. Usually these appear as fine white spots on a scan or print. For me at least, dust looks slightly larger and more abstract in shape, rather than a solid particle. I now tend to use fixer as a one shot, or at most I will run two rolls through it during the same darkroom session. Just a possibility.

[jtk]

Scanning with Nikonscan and Nikon V (maybe IV too...I don't know), that's what one gets from silver film... unless one scans as if it was a slide, then invert in Photoshop or Elements. Another alternative is to use Vuescan, which doesn't have that problem.

 

Did you use a Nikon?

 

It's also good to do a last rinse and Photoflo in actual distilled water rather than tap or filtered water because the Nikon does resolve small mineral particles that you wouldn't see in an optical enlargement.

[byron_fry1]

i am using a coolscan V. Its normal to get this? I will try scanning as a slide then converting, maybe it will be better. I have been thinking of vuescan, I may just do it.

[beasleyglb]

Sounds like an artifact of unsharp masking. I would turn that off in the scanner preferences and only sharpen in photoshop. Then when you sharpen you set the radius to larger than the grain size so the sharpening is enhancing only the image and not the grain. You will have to experiment some to determine the right radius for your setup. Try a radius of about 18 to start.

[Craig_Cooper11664875449]

Im with Evan's diagnosis, check your fixer for muck!

[mendel_leisk]

"they are pure white"

 

Is this looking at the film or scans after inversion?

 

Assuming the latter I'd guess dust accumulated during (or after) drying. Say dust in the air where you hung the film to dry. Crud in your chemical should (hopefully) float off in the wash process. If it isn't, you'll likely have more problems down the road, with the film going off, changing color, etc.

[byron_fry1]

Could be the drying, they are in my shower... It was my first roll, and was less so then on some images so I have taken better care this time, used a new fixer (even though the old one was brand new) and used distilled water in the wetting agent, so it is drying right now and we will see.

[mendel_leisk]

A shower is a good place. Some advocate run the shower hot for a couple of minutes before hanging the film, to put humidity in the air, which in turn captures the dust floating around.

 

Be sure to follow an accepted wash regimen, maybe Google Ilford Wash Method. I'd double the recommended number of water changes and inversions, time and water are cheap. The water temerature should be around room temperature. And then final dip in distilled water, as you mentioned. Use *just* a single drop of wetting agent, stir in just enough to mix, don't froth it up. When dipping the film reel in, again, avoid the urge to froth it up. After hanging the film, dip your fingers in that wash and run them once down the length of the film.

 

And then get out of there ;)

[byron_fry1]

hmm, thanks guys, this is what I have found so far with my next roll.

Slightly less speckling or white dots. It seems to collect in the bottom corners of the neg, and is like this on all my photographs so I have a feeling it may have to do with improper washing in those areas. Though because of the extra care I took this time, I came out with almost no scratches on the film.

I will try another roll again soon, hopefully they will get better. I will be sure to follow all your great advice.

[mendel_leisk]

Another tip mentioned here was to hang your film to dry, and then swing the bottom corner out until the film strip is close to 45 degrees away from vertical, or the best you can do. This require some sort of tensioning connection at the bottom, say a long rubber band with hooks.

 

The logic is that water will then run (vertically as usual) down to nearby sprocket holes on the lower side, and drip off there, instead of having to run down the entire length of the film.

 

I've never tried it but seems a good idea to try, if you have the extra space.

[beasleyglb]

If it is from the drying you may be getting mineral deposits from the water. A good way to get past this is to do a final rinse in distilled water for several minutes to displace and dilute the mineralized water. The advice on the drying techniques is very good. You might be able to clean up the spots on the film with a weak stop bath solution with a little salt added to make some HCl to dissolve the minerals. Handle the film carefully doing this to avoid damage to the emulsion. I'd try it on a test clip first before committing to anything worth keeping.

I hope you can resolve this soon.